Rate My Professor Allison Parker

Dr. Allison Parker serves as an Associate Professor in the English and Language Studies Division at Pasadena City College, where she joined as a full-time Instructor in August 2018. Originally from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, she holds a Ph.D. in English Literature with an emphasis in African American Literature and Feminist Rhetoric from Arizona State University, completed in May 2010. She also earned an M.A. in English Literature in 2003 and an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction in 2004 from Arizona State University. Prior to her position at Pasadena City College, Dr. Parker was an Associate Professor and African American Literature specialist in the Humanities Department at Massachusetts Maritime Academy for two years, teaching African American Literature and Gender Studies. She taught two sections of African American Literature, covering Pre- and Post-Harlem Renaissance periods, at Arizona State University since 2008. Additionally, she brings over seventeen years of community college teaching experience as a tenured Residential Faculty member at Maricopa Community Colleges in Phoenix, Arizona, where she instructed courses including African American Literature, Introduction to Literature, World Literature, English Composition, Developmental English, Critical Reading, Women and Films, and Introduction to Gender Studies. In 2013, students in her African American Literature class at Arizona State University nominated her for 'ASU’s Funniest Teacher.'

At Pasadena City College, Dr. Parker contributes significantly to faculty governance as a member of the Academic Senate representing English and Language Studies and as the Director of the Pasadena City College Faculty Association (PCCFA), serving from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026. Her academic interests encompass African American Literature, feminist rhetoric, and cultural studies, reflected in her conference presentations such as 'Clash of the Titties: Female Fans Versus RuPaul's Drag Race' at the Northeast Popular Culture Association and similar roundtables at the Northeast Modern Language Association. She maintains an active role in departmental activities, including reassigned time for Faculty Association duties.