Doctoral candidate brings ethics into English

Former Good Five Cent Cigar reporter and current English doctorate candidate at URI studies ethics in English. PHOTO CREDIT: Billy Bowden

Billy Bowden, a Rhode Island resident who grew up in Smithfield and a fifth-year doctoral student in the University of Rhode Island’s English department, has managed to find a way to bring ethics to English.

 Starting off as an undergraduate student at the University of Rhode Island 11 years ago, Bowden has been working as a professor in the English department for the past four and a half years. He’s received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English at URI and is now working towards his doctorate in English. 

“I think because of how much time I’ve spent on the campus and I would say how involved I’ve been at URI, it’s really helped me as an instructor and a teacher to relate more to the URI student body,” Bowden said. 

He started off as a journalism major at URI, having worked for a local newspaper when he was in high school. Bowden said he has always had a passion for reading and writing, which is why he planned to study journalism.

 As a student, he wrote for the Good Five Cent Cigar, which he said helped him with his writing skills and anxiety surrounding interviews. However, his journalism major was short-lived, as he realized his true passion for literature, and switched his major to English. 

This passion started with his mother’s love of Victorian literature. She loved reading and read a lot to Bowden when he was younger and encouraged him to read classic novels. 

Bowden’s instructors inspired him as well. He paid close attention to their teaching practices that worked well and spoke to him as a student. 

One professor that Bowden had that inspired him was professor Carolyn Betensky. Betensky teaches mainly 19th-century British literature and world literature and has been a professor at URI since 2004.

“He just was a terrific student, and somebody very committed to his students and to justice, and equality and inclusion,” Betensky said. 

One of Bowden’s most unique qualities as an instructor is his focus on ethics within the study of literature. 

“My interest in the relationship between literature and ethics has to do with my passion for connecting the humanities to civic engagement or community involvement,” Bowden said.

 Bowden participated in several programs in Central Falls, Rhode Island as an undergraduate, where he attempted to incorporate his knowledge of culture and literature in order to work with students to help them become more engaged in their education and in their communities. 

“I think philosophy and literary studies are very intimately connected,” Bowden said. “I greatly admire several philosophical theorists who discuss the issue or issues related to ethics and I’ve tried to find ways to connect the work of some of those thinkers to discussing poetry, short stories and drama or theater.” 

Bowden has taught a range of literature and media courses that have a connection with pop culture. He aims to challenge his students by having them read books that aren’t popular in the English curriculums.

Bowden said he is excited to teach new things and give students a fun classroom experience.  He has taught a range of courses from both literature and media to American Studies. He makes sure to keep his students engaged in all of the lessons and wants them to walk away learning something new.