Arts & Humanities

  • Dear Maria Edgeworth: Digitizing Historical Letters

    Dear Maria Edgeworth: Digitizing Historical Letters

    A UT Digital Humanities team leads the Maria Edgeworth Letters Project to create a digital database of the author’s history-revealing correspondence. The UT faculty-led Maria Edgeworth Letters Project (MELP) will digitize the historic and extensive correspondence of the most commercially successful novelist from the Regency period, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities…

  • UT Professor Shines Light on Virginia Woolf

    UT Professor Shines Light on Virginia Woolf

    UT Professor Urmila Seshagiri’s scholarship provides context for Virginia Woolf’s first fully realized work of fiction in The Life of Violet: Three Early Stories. A century after Virginia Woolf became a leading modernist writer, a professor from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is showing the world a new side of her, through three of the…

  • UT Opportunities Create T-Shaped Career Skills

    UT Opportunities Create T-Shaped Career Skills

    Exploring courses, internships, and other activities, Emma Miller is earning dual degrees that are built on her interests and will ensure she stands out in the workforce. Emma C. Miller is preparing to graduate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December with deep expertise and broad understanding, a combination that provides a strong foundation…

  • Radicals in Early Christian Conflict Redefined

    Radicals in Early Christian Conflict Redefined

    A new book by religious studies Professor Tina Shepardson examines religious devotion and polarization within Christianity during late antiquity. Examining conflicts over Christian doctrine in the fifth and sixth centuries might provide a case study for thinking about religion and violence today, a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, scholar suggests.  Tina Shepardson, UT Distinguished Professor in…

  • Scholar Spotlight: Moussa Seck

    Scholar Spotlight: Moussa Seck

    “I introduce students to the vast histories and exciting cultural expressions of the French-speaking worlds.” Moussa SeckAssistant ProfessorDepartment of World Languages and Culture I enjoy teaching the French language and francophone studies with a focus on culture. I study the historical trajectories of the African migrant and the impacts of migration on post-independence African communities,…

  • Scholar Spotlight: Molly Granatino

    Scholar Spotlight: Molly Granatino

    “I help students improve their writing and research skills, as well as their ability to analyze a piece of literature.” Molly GranatinoTeaching Assistant ProfessorDepartment of English I teach a range of English classes, from first-year composition to introduction to fiction. My research examines the intersection of architecture, narration, and subjectivity in the mid-Victorian novel. My…

  • Good Research Neighbors: Measuring Innovation in Urban Areas

    Good Research Neighbors: Measuring Innovation in Urban Areas

    A UT research center team published a new study in npj Complexity that challenges conventional wisdom on how city size fuels innovation. Researchers with UT’s Center for the Dynamics of Social Complexity (DySoC) published a new study in npj Complexity revealing that the method by which cities are measured—and not just their size—profoundly shapes patterns…

  • Vol Impact: 2025 Alumni and Philanthropy Awards

    Vol Impact: 2025 Alumni and Philanthropy Awards

    Group Photo 2025 Alumni and Philanthropy Awards. Left to right: Dan Ricketts, Steve Frankel, Margie Nichols Gill, Interim Executive Dean Robert Hinde, Todd Metcalf, and Mike Dennis. The 2025 Alumni and Philanthropy Awards honor dedicated Vols whose support and service dedication help maintain the College of Arts and Sciences advantage. The UT College of Arts…

  • New Arts and Humanities Faculty for Fall 2025

    New Arts and Humanities Faculty for Fall 2025

    New faculty members add their perspective to the UT arts and humanities community. New faculty members joining the college’s Division of Arts and Humanities this fall contribute fresh, interdisciplinary perspectives in literature, history, culture, languages, art, and more. They build upon UT’s community of engaging scholars who help students ignite their personal aspirations and hone…

  • Scholar Spotlight: Ehsan Lor Afshar

    Scholar Spotlight: Ehsan Lor Afshar

    “I study the things people care about most, and how those things shape our lives, choices, and feelings.” Ehsan Lor AfsharAssistant Teaching ProfessorDepartment of Anthropology My work explores how changes in what we value—especially when something important loses its worth—can make people feel out of place or disconnected from their home and community. My research…