His research interests lie in the areas of intercultural communication, motivation, and task-based learning. Specifically, he is interested in the way that the inclusion of components of intercultural communication and task-based learning may increase motivation in the classroom.
In some 30 years of teaching, he has worked in Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Taiwan, and, most recently, the Chinese mainland.
Harper has a B.A. in English from the University of Southern Mississippi and an M.A. in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from the University of Alabama. Before joining Duke Kunshan, he taught at Shantou University, Guangdong Province.