Photo by Eleanor Y. Stewart.
Dr. Robert T. Rhode
Professor of English
Northern Kentucky University
Robert T. Rhode's Most Recent Books
Emma's Gift from Africa (with Timothy W. Lyons)
Flyways: A Green Fable for Our Times (with Eleanor Y. Stewart)
Kitchenary: The Persons, Places, and Things in Our Kitchens
Maggie Quick (with Eleanor Y. Stewart)
The Steam Tractor Encyclopedia, New Revised Edition (with John F. Spalding)
Background
I earned my bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. With the exception of a B on my undergraduate transcript, my grades were all A’s through all degrees. My doctoral work was in early American literature and prose fiction. My minors were creative writing and American studies, an interdisciplinary field combining such areas as literature, history, and philosophy. I have taught thirty-six separate courses at NKU. Twenty-eight of these courses have been in English. Ten have been honors seminars; five, graduate courses; and nineteen, American literature courses, ranging from colonial through modern. I am a new historicist. My research interests include William Dean Howells, Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, the cultures of small towns and rural areas, the literature and history of the steam power era, and traditional grammar. What unifies and distinguishes my record is that I am myself an active learner, curious about a full spectrum of subjects. For me, learning is an ongoing adventure. My students replicate my excitement for discovery.
Publications
I have published the book entitled Kitchenary: The Persons, Places, and Things in Our Kitchens and the award-nominated book The Harvest Story: Recollections of Old-Time Threshermen; thirteen co-authored books (Great Photographs of Farm Steam Engines from the Collection of John F. Spalding with John F. Spalding; Emma's Gift from Africa with Timothy W. Lyons; Maggie Quick, Flyways: A Green Fable for Our Times, Desktop Grammarian for University Students, Desktop Grammarian for Homeschoolers, Desktop Grammarian for Editors, Desktop Grammarian Exercise Workbook, and Essential Grammar Tips with Eleanor Y. Stewart; The Steam Tractor Encyclopedia: Glory Days of the Invention That Changed Farming Forever with John F. Spalding; Speak No Evil! with Patricia C. Borne; Your Personal Writing Workout with Nancy D. Kersell; and the award-winning Classic American Steamrollers, 1871-1935, Photo Archive with Judge Raymond L. Drake); an invited essay in Black Earth and Ivory Tower: New American Essays from Farm and Classroom, an anthology featuring "North America’s foremost contemporary writers on the present rural experience"; 130 articles in books and magazines covering the subject of agricultural history and literature; a chapter in the 175th Anniversary Edition of a book on the history of Warren County, Indiana; twenty-one refereed articles (with "refereed" implying that expert readers served as a jury to decide whether or not my work should be published); twenty-one articles in journals having editors who decide to accept or to reject submissions; and over twenty poems in refereed journals. Sunrust devoted an entire issue to my poetry.
Presentations and Plays
I have presented my research, scholarly papers, and creative work at twenty-two national conferences. On twenty-four occasions, I have served as an invited speaker at academic gatherings. I have given twenty-six presentations at regional and state conferences.
I have acted original, one-person plays depicting the lives of Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman. I performed over thirty productions as Whitman and two hundred productions as Poe for a combined audience of over twenty thousand people. In the spring of 1988, I performed for the Baltimore Poe Society, which named my play the authorized stage version of Poe’s life. That society brought me back in 1990 for repeat performances.
Awards and Grants
A summary of career highlights in reverse chronological order follows. In 2011, I was inducted into the Early Day Hall of Fame primarily for my publications on the history and literature of the steam era. In 2010, I was profiled in a cover story in NKU's magazine Discover. In 2009, I was honored in the Indiana University Department of English newsletter and in an Indiana University School of Music publication. Also in 2009, I was profiled in Indiana University's Alumni Magazine, which presents only eighteen profiles annually. In 2002, I was named a Presidential Ambassadors Lamplighter "Flame" Honoree. In 1998, I received an award in recognition of my contributions to LaLink, the student organization within the Literature and Language Department. In 1997, I was promoted to the rank of full professor. In 1995, I received the Strongest Influence Award, an honor given by alumni. From 1990 through 1991, I served as the scholar for the National Endowment for the Humanities grant entitled "A Paradigm of the Integration of Scholarship and Classroom Practice through the Study of Edgar Allan Poe." From 1986 through 1992, I consulted in the formation of honors programs at other colleges. From 1986 through 1989, I served as Vice-President, then as President, then as Past-President of the Mid-East Honors Association. In 1985 and 1986, I served as President of the Kentucky Honors Roundtable. I received tenure and promotion to the rank of associate professor in 1987. I was appointed Director of NKU’s Honors Program in 1983. In 1981, I received the Indiana University Lieber Award for Distinguished Teaching by an Associate Instructor, presented to only four graduate students annually.
Interest in Art
I have served for many years as an illustrator and commercial artist and have contributed drawings for numerous publications at NKU and throughout the nation.
Interest in Music
I began my college experience by majoring in piano performance in the IU School of Music. I played clarinet in the famed Marching Hundred and in Summer Concert Band.
Scroll through my curriculum vitae.
Note my genealogical work on the Rhode family.
E-mail me at rhode@nku.edu.