Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez
Dr. Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. English Education (Arizona State University)
Office: Minard 318E46
What made you want to work in English Studies?
I have wanted to be a teacher since I was six years old, but it took until I was in high school for me to truly commit to English as my field, though I had always been an excellent English student. In my undergraduate program, I studied English and History both with an emphasis on Secondary Education, and, as of Spring 2024, I am in my 15th year of teaching! I have taught every subject I am credentialed to teach in grades 6-12 in both English and History and more! One of the best things about English as a discipline is that it is so wide-reaching. It is an interdisciplinary discipline: I can study religion, language, history, writing, reading, the law, communication, research methods, students, teachers, myself, and so much more. And a person can do anything with a degree in English studies. It is a degree that opens one’s mind and opens so many doors, which is why it’s the perfect spot for me. I have too many interests and passions to be pinned down to just one thing, so that’s why I love English. English Studies is the boat dock, and my brain is the boat, and I can pretty much float anywhere, as long as I can justify the path.
What do you like about working with students?
I love pretty much everything about working with students, really. They are just so weird and amazing, and their brains always astound me. There is so much they can do, and it’s a gift to be able to give them the tools and support they need to succeed. Plus, students will keep a person young!
Three book recommendations
You can’t ask an English teacher to limit herself to only three book recommendations—that’s too few! My favorite book of all time is A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, so I will always recommend that one. Another of Dickens’s novels that is particularly apropos at the moment is Hard Times. For young adult literature, I would definitely recommend anything by Eric Gansworth, Cynthia Leitich Smith, or Tae Keller. I love historical fiction and nonfiction, and one of the best books I have read recently is The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. In that same vein, I would recommend all of Ruta Sepetys’s books, as she is an excellent researcher and just has a huge heart for crafting excellent historical fiction based in fact.
Recent publications
About me:https://english.asu.edu/about/newsletter/accents-english-fall-2020-spring-2021/asu-doctoral-students-and-faculty-take-lead-among-arizona-english-teachers&https://news.asu.edu/20231208-asu-english-education-doctoral-graduate-committed-student-success
By me:
Hope, K., Alford, K., and Chatham-Vazquez, R. (2022). Multimodal memoirs: Re-envisioning literacy narratives. English Journal, 111(6), pp. 45-51.
Chatham-Vazquez, R. (2022). Braving the new world: ASU’s El Día goes online! With a live Q&A with Newberry Medal Award-winning author Tae Keller! The ALAN Review, 49(2), pp. 12-17.