Rhody-Ann Thorpe, PhD, is a scholar in Anglophone Studies whose research examines the enduring influence of British colonial frameworks and the global circulation of institutional and intellectual models. Her work focuses on the transfer, adaptation, and persistence of colonial structures and their implications for indigenous thought, cultural identity, gender relations, and processes of reform in postcolonial societies.
Her doctoral research explored British influences on the development of higher education in Jamaica and Ireland, analyzing how imported academic models shaped national priorities while also becoming sites of negotiation, resistance, and redefinition. More broadly, her research engages questions of nationalism, language and knowledge production, women’s access and participation in higher education, and the tensions between inherited institutional forms and locally grounded educational visions.
Originally from Jamaica, Dr. Thorpe is currently a university lecturer in France and is actively involved in academic, civic, and institutional initiatives at national and international levels. She has served as an elected doctoral representative for the Société des Anglicistes de l’Enseignement Supérieur (SAES), Vice-President of the Association of Jamaican Nationals in France (JAMINFRANCE), and Vice Chair of the Jamaica Diaspora Youth Leadership Taskforce.
Dr. Thorpe is the founder of Languesol International (est. 2016), an initiative that promotes Jamaica as a language travel destination and facilitates international language-learning mobility for Jamaican students. She also serves as the Northern France territorial representative for the NGO 100,000 Entrepreneurs and is President of the non-profit association Success.
In recognition of her leadership and international engagement, Dr. Thorpe received the Prime Minister’s National Youth Award for Excellence in Leadership (Jamaica, 2020) and the ACP YPN Youth Day Award for Youth Empowerment (2021).