Richard Utz
Senior Associate Dean, Professor
- Ivan Allen Dean's Office
- School of Literature, Media, and Communication
Overview
Richard Utz is Senior Associate Dean in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and Professor of Medievalism Studies in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication at Georgia Tech. He has taught a range of topics, from Geoffrey Chaucer's medieval poetry through Bruce Chatwin's postmodern prose, and his scholarship centers on medieval culture, medievalism, the interconnections between humanistic inquiry and science/technology, reception study, and the formation of cultural memories and identities. He is the author and (co)editor of 21 book-length publications and serves on the editorial advisory board of journals and book series based in Australia, Great Britain, Denmark, Germany, and the United States. He has published more than 130 essays and reviews and presented invited plenaries and keynotes at Canterbury Christ Church College (England), Ewha University (South Korea), Towson University (USA), the University of Bamberg (Germany), Western Michigan University (USA), University of Greifswald (Germany), the University of Hamburg (Germany), the University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and the University of Groningen (Netherlands).
Utz has been the recipient, at Regensburg, of the Dr. Katharina Seiler Award for Outstanding Work in English Studies and, at Northern Iowa, of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts Teaching Award; the College of Humanities and Fine Arts Faculty Excellence Award; the Donald N. McKay Research Award; the Dr. Philip Hubbard Award for Outstanding Educator, the University Distinguished Scholar Award, and the Iowa State Board of Regents Award for Faculty Excellence. He served as President of the International Society for the Study of Medievalism from 2009 to 2020, and he edits the review journal Medievally Speaking. In 2017, he was Johann von Spix International Visiting Professor at the University of Bamberg, Germany, and in 2018 Director's Visiting Scholar at Harvard University's Dumbarton Oaks Research Library & Museum. Utz is a member of Georgia Tech's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council and on the steering committee for the Transformative Narratives project.
- Dr. phil. Universität Regensburg, Germany
Distinctions:
- President, International Society for the Study of Medievalism (2009-2020)
- Director’s Visiting Scholar (Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, Harvard U, 2018)
- Johann von Spix International Visiting Professor (U of Bamberg, 2017)
- Dr. Phillip Hubbard Award for Outstanding Educator (U of Northern Iowa, 2006)
- Faculty Excellence Award (College of Humanities & Fine Arts, U of Northern Iowa, 2004)
- University Distinguished Scholar Award (U of Northern Iowa, 2003)
- Regents Award for Faculty Excellence (Iowa State Board of Regents, 2002)
- Donald N. McKay Faculty Research Award (U of Northern Iowa, 2001)
- Outstanding Teaching Award (College of Humanities & Fine Arts, U of Northern Iowa, 1995)
- English Department Professor of the Year (Sigma Tau Delta, U of Northern Iowa, 1993)
- Dr. Katharina Sailer Award for Outstanding Work in the Field of English Studies” (Dissertation Prize, U of Regensburg, 1991)
Interests
- Communication
- Digital Media
- Education Policy
- German
- Literary and Cultural Studies
- Media Studies
- Science and Technology Studies
Focuses:
- Europe
- Europe - United Kingdom
- North America
- United States
- Race/Ethnicity
- Digital Humanities
- Education
- Higher Education: Teaching and Learning
- History and Memory
- Literary Theory
- Literature
- Media
Courses
- LCC-3502: Medieval Lit & Culture
- LCC-3823: Special Topics Lit/Cult
- LCC-4100: Seminar in STAC
- LMC-2000: Intro-Lit, Media, & Comm
- LMC-2050: Lit, Media, Comm Seminar
- LMC-3226: Major Authors
- LMC-3502: Medieval Lit & Culture
- LMC-4000: Senior Seminar in LMC
- LMC-4200: Seminar Lit/Cult Theory
Selected Publications
Books
- Medievalism: A Manifesto
Date: January 2017
Journal Articles
- Medievalism, Anti-Semitism, and 21st-Century Media
In: Studies in Medievalism 28 (2019): 41-51 [Peer Reviewed]
Date: January 2019
- Medievalism and the Subject of Religion
In: Studies in Medievalism 24 [Peer Reviewed]
Date: 2015
Assesses the reasons for the relative disregard of scholarly work on studying the continuity of religious thought and faith by scholarship in Medievalism Studies over the last 25 years. Postulates that medievalism scholars have an ethical obligation to investigate and historicize religion and theology, at least in its temporal manifestations.
Chapters
- Academic Medievalism and Nationalism
In: The Cambridge Companion to Medievalism
Date: 2016
Medievalism - the creative interpretation or recreation of the European Middle Ages - has had a major presence in the cultural memory of the modern West, and has grown in scale to become a global phenomenon. This essay surveys the nationalist tradition in the reception of medieval culture among amateurs, dilettantes, enthusiasts, and antiquaries to full-time academic scholars.
Internet Publications
- For US tenure to survive, academics must take peer reviewing seriously
In: Times Higher Education
Date: April 2022
- Against Adminspeak
In: Chronicle of Higher Education
Date: May 2020
- Whose (Medieval) Congress Is It Anyway?
In: Inside Higher Ed
Date: August 2018
- Game of Thrones Among the Medievalists
In: Inside Higher Ed
Date: July 2017
- The Diversity Question and the Administrative-Job Interview
In: Chronicle of Higher Education
Date: January 2017
Recent Publications
Internet Publications
- For US tenure to survive, academics must take peer reviewing seriously
In: Times Higher Education
Date: April 2022
- Integrating STEM and the Humanities
In: Inside Higher Ed
Date: March 2022