Written by Colleen Miller, Photos by Nick Thomsen
Students may have seen Roy Christopher riding around town on his bike or even speaking at a past Geekend event in Savannah. During the fall 2019 quarter, he became a new addition to SCAD’s liberal arts department as a professor teaching speaking of ideas.
Growing up, Christopher moved often with his family throughout the southern states for his father’s job as an air traffic controller. Now, he continues to move frequently. “Being in one place for a long time just doesn’t make sense to me,” Christopher said. “It’s just natural to move.”
Teaching has allowed him this freedom of movement. Christopher decided to enroll in graduate school, and this is where he had his first taste of teaching. Moving forward, he knew that he wished to continue as a professor. “This is it. This is what I want to do,” Christopher said.
Since he began as a graduate student, Christopher has taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Loyola University, University of Chicago, University of Texas, San Diego State College and Wallace College. At these schools he has taught a variety of communication and public speaking courses.
However, SCAD is Christopher’s first time teaching at an art and design school. “There’s a great thing about having all students who are artists or creatives that makes the way you approach it completely different,” Christopher said. “You don’t have to qualify a lot of things you would with other students who might be accountants, or finance majors.”
While his ideal city is “Chicago with San Diego weather,” Savannah is a welcome change of pace. “I was looking forward to coming somewhere smaller and quainter after living in Chicago for seven years. I was just looking forward to that focus and coming back to the south. This is still home even though I’ve been all over the country,” Christopher said.
In addition to his work as a professor, Christopher is also an avid writer. He is a contributor, editor and author of many works listed on his website with more on the way. “I have several projects that are finally coming to a close right now,” Christopher said. This includes current projects like, “Hip-Hop Theory: Time, Technology, and the Future” from Northwestern University Press, “Follow for Now, Volume 2: More Interviews with Friends and Heroes” from Punctum Books, “The Medium Picture” from MIT Press and “Escape Philosophy” from Repeater Books.
In the classroom, Christopher hopes to instill a love of writing in his students as well. “Everything we enjoy from movies to books to television shows are all written first,” Christopher said. This idea became the inspiration for his course’s theme: Writing as a Practice.
Even as a Speaking of Ideas professor, Christopher admits public speaking was daunting when he was younger, but a change of mindset helped enormously. “A classroom full of students doesn’t know who I am,” Christopher said. “I am whoever I present to them when I walk in there. A sort of professor cosplay is what I always say I’m doing.”
More recently, he has spoken at Geekend twice and gave a solo talk during his third time at South by Southwest.
With a true passion for communication, Christopher leaves with a parting remark, “No matter what you do, writing will be a part of it.”
