Education

• B.A. English, Spelman College
• M.A. English, Georgia State University
• Ph.D. Contemporary American Literature (Primary), Rhetoric and Composition (Secondary), Georgia State University

Biography

Dr. R. Nicole Smith teaches courses in composition, Black speculative fiction, and Afrofuturism. Dr. Smith views Black speculative and Afrofuturistic fiction written by women in the African Diaspora as narratives that offer unique approaches to engaging intersectional oppressions. Her research and pedagogy employ Black feminist frameworks to engage and highlight literal and figurative models for radically reimagined Black futures.

Courses Taught

• SENG 316: Speculative Fiction
• SENG 225: Afrofuturist Narratives
• SENG 103: First-Year Composition
• SBQC 100: Subverting Lovecraft

Research Interests

• Afrofuturism
• African Futurism
• Speculative Fiction
• Science Fiction
• New Media

Publications

• ”The Womanist Speculative Archetype in Alexis Pauline Gumbs’s ‘Evidence.’” Routledge Companion to Gender and Science Fiction. (2023)
• "Audre Lorde's Zami as a Speculative Womanist Guide to Self-Actualization in Octavia Butler's Dawn." New Criticism and Pedagogical Directions for Contemporary Black Women Writers. (2022)
• "Lieutenant Nyota Uhura: A Brief Remembrance." Aunt Chloe (REMEMBRANCE — Aunt Chloe (auntchloelitmag.com) (2022)