Richard Vernon

Richard Vernon is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Portuguese at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, directing Portuguese language instruction and advising study abroad programs. His expertise spans Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian literature, focusing on non-traditional forms such as 18th-century Portuguese chapbooks and Brazilian children’s literature from the military dictatorship era. He holds a Ph.D. (2001), M.A. (1996), and B.A. (1994) from UC Santa Barbara and Brigham Young University.

• Education: Ph.D. University of California, Santa Barbara, 2001
• M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1996
• B.A., Brigham Young University, 1994

His research explores marginalized literary forms as vehicles for social and political critique. Recent projects include studying Portuguese street literature and Brazilian children’s literature’s role in identity formation. Vernon has conducted archival research in Portugal’s Torre do Tombo and Lisbon National Library, supported by grants from the Luso-American Development Foundation.

Publications include edited volumes on Lusophone African writers and translated works on Candomblé rituals. His writing bridges literary analysis with historical contexts, emphasizing cultural hybridity and subversive narratives.

Teaching includes courses on modern Brazilian literature, Lusophone African literature, and accelerated Portuguese for Romance language speakers. He has advised no listed students but actively engages in curriculum development for study abroad programs.