Rate My Professor Amy Elias

A specialist in post-1960s arts as well as humanities institutionalism, Elias teaches courses in contemporary fiction, theory and criticism, and interdisciplinary humanities. She is the author of the monograph Sublime Desire: History and Post-1960s Fiction, published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 2001. Elias co-edited The Planetary Turn: Relationality and Geoaesthetics in the Twenty-First Century with Christian Moraru, issued by University of Iowa Press in 2015. Her recent editorial work includes Speculative Light: The Arts of Writer James Baldwin (1924-1987) and Painter Beauford Delaney (1901-1979). She has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, supporting projects like interdisciplinary symposia on Black arts history. Notable honors include selection for the Chancellor's Leadership Academy (2022-23), the Penn State Outstanding Alumni Award (2026), and designation as Chancellor's Professor and Distinguished Professor. Elias contributes to public engagement through media appearances, such as an interview on The Hallerin Hilton Hill Show in 2022, and leadership in academic societies like the Narrative Society. Her directorship has advanced humanities research, grant-funded programming, and campus-wide initiatives at UT Knoxville.