Truman Peyote is a writing and literature instructor within the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University.
Peyote was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area. He graduated from Palma High School in Salinas, California in 1984 and from the University of the Pacific (UOP) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature in 1988. Upon graduation, Peyote entered the work force and was employed in a variety of professions, all in the San Francisco Bay area.
In 2002, Peyote moved to Arizona, living in the northern part of the state until 2014. In August of 2014, he returned to graduate school at Arizona State University (ASU), and in May of 2016, he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from ASU.
After graduation, Peyote accepted teaching positions at ASU, Grand Canyon University (GCU), and Maricopa Community Colleges. He has designed the curriculum for a wide variety of writing and literature courses, including the following: ENG-091, a class designed to transition students from high school to collegiate level writing; ENG-101, an introduction to collegiate writing; ENG-101OSH, a contextualized introductory writing course; ENG-102, an introduction to research based writing at the collegiate level; ENG-240, a professional writing course with emphasis on “real world,” scenario based writing; ENG-333 American Ethnic Literature; and ENG-363 Transborder Chicano Literature. In the spring of 2017, he was specifically tasked by the GateWay English Department with creating a “college wide” curriculum for a contextualized ENG-101 class.
Peyote's primary field of study is Modern American Literature with an emphasis on writings from persons of color, critical race theory, and other "markings of power" within literature.
Peyote’s academic, pedagogical, and life experiences have given him a broad base of teaching skills, especially in relation to non-traditional students and students from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. His forte includes student centered instruction, especially within the online environment.