A message from Professor and Head of the English Department Dawn Coleman.

Since last August, I have had the privilege of serving as head of the UT Department of English, a storied place with a long tradition of excellence. I consider myself especially fortunate to have followed Professor Misty Anderson, a dynamo who piloted us through the choppy pandemic waters, then through the roiling seas of university-level curriculum change. Her leadership laid a strong foundation for the future.

English continues to thrive by building on our historic strengths in literature, rhetoric, and creative writing, while innovating to reach a new generation. 

In 2025, we welcomed a brilliant new assistant professor of digital media studies, Brandee Easter. We also celebrated new faculty books, including Urmila Seshagiri’s first-ever edition of Virginia Woolf’s Life of Violet (Princeton), which brought to print a newly discovered typescript of Woolf’s short stories, and Bill Hardwig’s hometown-favorite How Cormac Works: McCarthy, Language, and Style (LSU), a study of the fiction of our most famous literary alumnus.

Enchanted by stories and language ourselves, we are always striving to connect today’s students with the rich literary and cultural traditions that precede us. This past year we ran new literary introductions to sports, the environment, disability, and the twenty-first century. This fall we’ll add courses on women and literature, medieval romance, games and narrative, and writing the self, the last winningly titled Main Character Energy. Last year, we marked the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth by holding a sold-out Regency Ball in the spring, and, in the fall, by taking 110 students to the UT theatre department’s production of Sense and Sensibility. 

We have also found new ways to help students learn by doing, enhancing their career readiness. New programs in publishing and in teaching English as a second language, which connect students with internships, have proven popular. Students are gaining hands-on skills in our digital humanities minor and graduate certificate. 

Looking beyond our four walls—and to the future—we have partnered with Knox County Schools to bring high school sophomores to campus, where they participate in faculty-led workshops in rhetoric, gaming, and creative writing.

Lest anyone be anxious that generative AI is eating our lunch: It’s not. Writing is thinking, and in a world where so many use generative AI as a shortcut, people who read, analyze, ponder, read some more, then write and revise from their own deep wells have a cognitive and professional advantage. We hold fast to this truth while also giving students critical AI literacy, teaching them what AI can do and what it can’t. We integrate that instruction at many levels, from our first-year composition courses to a new upper-level course on writing with generative AI.

I am deeply grateful for the many generous individuals who share their time, talent, and treasure with UT English, from graduate students to postdoctoral scholars to faculty to alumni. Friends are always welcome. If you’re on the third floor of McClung Tower, stop in. In the meantime, connect with us on LinkedIn or write in to share your story, as only you can tell it.

Sincerely, 

Dawn Coleman

Department of English

Professor and Head