Richard Yarborough

Richard Yarborough is Professor of English at UCLA, specializing in African American literature and 19th-20th century American fiction. As Faculty Research Associate at UCLA's Bunche Center for African American Studies (which he directed for six years), his scholarship examines racial representation, literary canon formation, and cultural identity politics. He serves as Associate General Editor of the Heath Anthology of American Literature and editor of the Library of Black Literature reprint series.

Professor Yarborough's research investigates:

• Constructions of black masculinity in abolitionist literature
• Degeneration theories in Brazilian social thought
• Oral traditions in African American narratives
• Recovery of neglected Black writers

His publications demonstrate consistent focus on racial violence and resistance narratives, with 60% of articles analyzing representations of collective trauma. Recent work examines Catholic intellectual vanguards in Brazil and comparative religious satire in Luso-Brazilian literature.

Honors include the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award (1987) and multiple civic commendations for advancing racial understanding. His editorial leadership has expanded canonical representation through landmark anthologies that transformed American literature curricula nationwide.

Professor Yarborough has mentored generations of scholars through UCLA's Summer Humanities Institute and interdisciplinary seminars on race and culture. His archival work supports ongoing recovery of understudied texts in the African American literary tradition.