Ryan M. Brooks

Ryan M. Brooks is an Associate Professor of English at the Department of English, Philosophy, and Modern Languages, West Texas A&M University. He holds a B.A. in English and Journalism from the University of Missouri, an M.A. (2006) and Ph.D. (2014) in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and served as a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Washington University in St. Louis (2014–2015).

His research examines shifts between contemporary American fiction and postmodern literature, exploring intersections with social conflict frameworks in political and activist contexts. Key interests include transatlantic modernism, postmodernism, and the history of literary criticism. He authored Liberalism and American Literature in the Clinton Era (Cambridge UP, 2022) and contributes to journals like Twentieth-Century Literature and 49th Parallel. Brooks also hosts the podcast Humanities on the High Plains, focusing on humanities research tied to the Texas Panhandle and High Plains region.

Teaching spans American literature, 20th/21st-century texts, literary theory, and composition. His work bridges literary analysis with broader cultural and political discourse, emphasizing interdisciplinary engagement.