Ralph Carlson - Azusa Pacific University

Ralph Carlson, Ph.D.

Professor

Phone: (626) 815-6000, Ext. 3102
Email: rcarlson@apu.edu

Ralph Carlson, Ph.D., teaches classes in grammar, linguistics, introduction to literature, and poetry. He has presented papers at Popular Culture Association and at Conference on Christianity and Literature meetings on the fiction of Robert Olen Butler, and has published critical articles on Butler, Peter Shaffer, Arthur C. Clarke and other authors. His poetry has appeared in Genre, Poetry/LA, The Texas Review, The Hawai’i Review, the US Air Force Academy’s War, Literature and the Arts, Viet Nam War Generation Journal, The Lucid Stone, Sunstone, and other literary magazines.

Education

Ph.D. - English Linguistics, University of Oregon, 1978, Minor: Bible as Literature
M.A. - English Literature, University of Oregon, 1974, Major: Renaissance Drama; Minor: Old and Middle English
B.A. - English Language and Literature, Seattle Pacific University, 1968

Expertise

Creative writing

Novels and short stories of Robert Olen Butler

Poetry and fiction pertaining to the Vietnam War era

Courses Taught

ENGL 110 – Freshman Writing Seminar
ENGL 111 – Introduction to Literature
ENGL 302 – Creative Writing: Poetry
ENGL 402 – Principles of Language
ENGL 404 – Approaches to Grammar

Professional/Scholarly Presentations

Publications
“Robert Olen Butler’s ‘A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain’ as Parable of Socio-Political Harmony.” Viet Nam War Generation Journal 2.3/4 (April 2003): 67-74.

"Orders." Viet Nam War Generation Journal 2.1 (August 2002): 31-46.

"Religion Builds Character: Some Uses of Folk and Religious Lore in Robert Olen Butler’s The Deuce." Viet Nam War Generation Journal 2.3/4 (April 2003): 11-21.

Professional Involvement and Accomplishments

Basic and Intermediate Certificates, Hanoi Dialect Vietnamese, 1969 and 1970
Defense Language Institute, Presidio of Monterey, Monterey, California
Dean’s Accomplished Scholar Award, Azusa Pacific University, Summer 2001, 2000, and 1999
Faculty Development Grant, Azusa Pacific University, Fall 1998
Dean’s Accomplished Scholar Award, Azusa Pacific Univesity, Summer 1997 and Summer 1996
Creative Curriculum Grant, Azusa Pacific University, 1994

Special Interests and Activities

Novels and short stories of Robert Olen Butler
Poetry and fiction pertaining to the Vietnam War era
Creative writing