Brian Russell Roberts

Brian Russell Roberts is a Professor in the Department of English at Brigham Young University's College of Humanities. His work bridges American literature, African American studies, and transnational archipelagic thought, with a focus on oceanic and island-based frameworks for understanding U.S. cultural formations.

His research interests include American Studies, modernism/modernity, African American and black diasporan literature and culture, archipelagic studies, and the environmental humanities. He emphasizes ocean and island studies as critical lenses for reimagining the spatial and political contours of American identity.

The trends in his scholarly publications reveal a consistent engagement with transnational Black intellectual history, postcolonial diplomacy, and the theorization of archipelagic space. His works often intersect literary analysis with historical and geopolitical inquiry, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, and foreground translation and cultural mediation as central to diasporic and decolonial thought.

• Fulbright Senior Scholar (Universitas Sebelas Maret, 2015)
• Fulbright Senior Scholar (Universitas Airlangga, 2023)
• Humanities Center Fellow, Brigham Young University
• Humanities College Professorship, Brigham Young University

Professor Roberts has advised numerous graduate students and has secured significant research support through competitive fellowships, including two Fulbright awards and internal university professorships. His scholarship has been supported by sustained institutional recognition and has led to invitations for talks at major universities across the United States and internationally. While specific grant funding is not detailed, his extensive publication record and international collaborations indicate a robust research profile.

Though no formal lab or research team is mentioned, his collaborative editorial and translation projects—particularly with scholars like Keith Foulcher and Michelle Ann Stephens—demonstrate an active engagement in scholarly collectives focused on postcolonial and archipelagic studies.