Regents' Outstanding
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Dr. Amy Austin

Assistant Professor

Department of Modern Languages

College of Liberal Arts

UT Arlington

My primary motivation to be an outstanding teacher is to provide tools and opportunities for students to build communities and become lifelong learners.  As an undergraduate, I was inspired by a passionate professor who not only made medieval literature come alive for me, but also helped me to see the world from new perspectives.  Through all of my teaching, curricular, and mentoring efforts, I aim to show students that learning happens on multiple levels and in more than one setting.  I hope to create an awareness among students to be mindful of the content in question and conscious of how critical thinking is essential to connecting with the world and becoming well-informed, global citizens. 

Amy Austin (Ph.D. Emory University 2004) specializes in medieval and early modern peninsular literature. Her research focuses on the practices and theories of medieval reading, mysticism and spiritual constructions, visual studies, and theater and spectatorship. She is co-editor of Ramon Llull and His Legacy (1232-1316) (Brill Press, 2018). Most recently, Austin published "Love of Language as the Language of Love: Image, Reading and Translatio Studii et Imperii in Ramon Llull's (1232-1316) Arbre de filosofia d'amor (1298)" in eHumanista (December 2015). Austin has also published an article on theatricality in Spanish minor theater entitled “Escenificación corporal y autorreferencialidad en el entremés La casa holgona de Pedro Calderón de la Barca.” Her first book, The Worlds of Ramon Llull: Mapping Translatio in Medieval Iberia is currently under consideration at Brill Press. At UT Arlington, Austin teaches third and fourth year undergraduate courses as well as graduate-level courses in Medieval and Early Modern Literature.