by Carly Schnitzler, Graduate Communications Editor
UNC doctoral graduate and Florida State University Assistant Professor John Ribo (UNC PhD ‘15) was recently featured on FSU’s Faculty Spotlight, highlighting his thoughtful and engaged pedagogy and accomplishments in his research. Ribo exceptionally integrates current events, popular media, and social justice initiatives into his teaching. He has recently taught courses which included discussions of Black Lives Matter, the March for Our Lives, Oscar-winning film Moonlight, and the works of Dominican-American author Junot Diaz.
Earlier this year, Ribo received a McKnight Junior Development Fellowship from the Florida Education Fund, an award that aims to promote “excellence in teaching and research by underrepresented minorities and women.” The Fellowship includes a one-year sabbatical, during which Ribo will work on his research analyzing the dark side of Pax Americana in popular media preoccupied with criminality and violence at the southern edges of U.S. empire.
Ribo advocates for “having faculty that validate students’ experiences or interests,” particularly the often underrepresented experiences of students of color. He credits his UNC advisor, Dr. María DeGuzmán, with modeling this while he was in graduate school at UNC. Discussing the significance of his mentor, Prof. DeGuzman, he states, she “validated me to see that we exist, and our experiences are worthy of academic scrutiny,” he says of DeGuzmán. Ribo continues, “She gave me direction in my scholarly experience.”
To read more about Dr. Ribo’s research and pedagogical accomplishments, click here.
