Ralph teaches in the English program, and has particular interests in the fields of Colonial and Postcolonial Literatures.

Ralph is a past Chairperson of the South Pacific Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (SPACLALS), and past Vice-President (New Zealand) of the Association for the Study of Australasia in Asia (ASAA). He currently co-edits new literatures review with Anna Johnston, and is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Commonwealth Literature, World Literature Written in English, and The Atlantic Critical Review. He is Honorary Associate Professor of English at the University of Otago, New Zealand and an Associate of the Centre for Postcolonial Writing (CPW), Monash University.

Ralph is also involved in the Colonialism and its Aftermath research cluster.