Whether he’s in the classroom teaching Italian Studies or sitting on the Quad playing his classical guitar, professor Robert Rushing constantly displays a passion for life. 

Hailing from North County, San Diego in California, professor Rushing grew up as an introvert with a passion for reading and learning that has led him to many intellectual paths.

Rushing is a professor in the department of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese and the department of comparative world literature. He also teaches in the Unit for Cinema Studies and the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory. 

But while he has a passion for teaching, Rushing also finds time to explore his many interests.

“I think it’s really important for intellectuals not to just think about their tiny thing. I’m kind of a dilettante. I want to know a little about everything,” Rushing said. 

His office is a clear depiction of this belief: peplum movie posters, various portraits and marathon medals adorn his walls. Bookshelves full of DVDs, books and VHS tapes sit in the corner of the office. One item in particular holds much value: his classical guitar. 

“In high school, I was in a heavy metal band, with hair down my back and it was all electric,” Rushing said. “That’s where most classical players start.”

In early spring, one may spot Rushing playing classical music on the Quad.  

Writing is another interest of Rushing’s. He has written a book titled “Resisting Arrest: Detective Fiction and Popular Culture,” published in 2007. He is in the editing stage of another book he is writing, which is about the popular TV show “Mad Men.” 

His passion for language began when he was an undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Cruz — a place he describes as being full of culture and academia.

It was the experience of reading all the works of the Italian writer Italo Calvino that truly brought about more direction to his trek for knowledge and discovery.

“I’ve never had the reaction before where I wanted to know everything about something,” Rushing said.

But after reading Calvino’s works, he thought to himself, ‘I need to learn Italian.’ 

With this revelation, Rushing began the further development of his passions by attending graduate school at the University of Michigan in pursuit of a master’s degree in Comparative Literature. 

After graduating from Michigan, Rushing pursued a Ph.D. in Italian Studies at University of California, Berkeley. He said he found an intellectual community he could thrive in and connect with at the University of California.

Three years after finishing his Ph.D, he found his first consistent teaching job as a professor at the University of Illinois. 

Beforehand, he taught a course on detective fiction at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where his wife, Lilya Kaganovsky, was a professor of Comparative Literature and Cinema Studies.

As well as offering Rushing a job, University of Illinois offered Kaganovsky a job, too.   

“The University of Illinois does something that a lot of universities don’t. If you’re married to an academic, then the university looks seriously at the possibility of doing partner hires,” Rushing said. 

Rushing and his wife have been teaching at the University for 12 years since.

“They were not only able to offer me a job, but they were also able to offer a job to my wife, a professor in Slovak Comparative Literature,” Rushing said. “I know of East Coast, West Coast academic couples where they see each other three or four times a year. To be in the same town at the same university was an absolute no-brainer.”

During his time as a professor at the University, Rushing has ensured that he pursues a variety of hobbies. 

“That’s one of the exciting thing about being a professor and an intellectual is discovering stuff all the time that you didn’t know about before and it turns out tremendously interesting,” Rushing said.

Rushing aims to make this true about his teaching.

“There are people who can make anything boring. I try to be one of the people who can make anything interesting,” Rushing said. 

His passion for teaching is recognized and admired by students of the University. 

“The energy he carries makes every class interesting, and makes me want to learn more,” said Genevieve Scheele, junior in LAS. 

Dora Lee, a graduate of the University, said the classes she took that were taught by Rushing were a “unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Other students believe Rushing is unlike other professors they have met in their time at the University. 

“What makes Professor Rushing different from other professors is his wide range of knowledge and the way he puts it to use,” said Stephanie Ashton, also a graduate of the University.

Rushing describes teaching not merely as a job, but as his identity. 

“It’s not what we do, it’s who we are,” he said. 

Stephanie can be reached at [email protected].