Scholar Artist Teacher

Rick Pulos (he/him/his) studies the influence of media and popular culture in our everyday lives. As a gay Latinx scholar from a working class family, he  is interested in how mainstream media influences notions of identity and belonging, especially as it relates to race, gender, class, and sexuality. As an ethnographer, he creates projects that put him into conversations with folks to hear their stories about how popular culture works for them - or against them - socially, culturally, and politically. He is currently working on his dissertation project Sci-Fi Fandoms: LGBTQ+ Fan Culture & Community which will include a traditional text-based research project and a related ethnographic film, “Journey Through Gay Space.” Rick raised $10, 500 for his dissertation project including a recent award of $4000 from the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research at A&M and a $2000 competitive grant from the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. 

Rick is also a filmmaker, media content creator, and theatre artist with a focus on storytelling. He creates strategic content for social media marketing campaigns, artistic creations for theatrical projections, and ethnographic films about interesting people and communities. He is currently editing a documentary about The Theatre Company of Bryan-College Station, which awarded him The Randy Wilson Award for Service and Leadership in 2024 .His media production skills include videography, editing (Adobe Premiere and Da Vinci Resolve), design (Adobe Creative Suite), and programming in Q-Lab. He is also a theatre producer and director, most recently leading a cast, crew, and orchestra of over 40 community members in a production of 1776: The Musical  (Summer 2024). 

Rick holds a B.A. from Yale University in Film Studies, an M.A. in Media Arts from Long Island University-Brooklyn, and an M.A. in Strategic Communication from Regent University. He is the former chair of the LGBTQ Caucus of the National Communication Association and an active Board Member of The Theatre Company of Bryan-College Station (TTC). He is also the creator and program director of TTC Teaches, a series of low-cost theatre workshops for the local community.