By 1910, Georgia Tech President Kenneth G. Matheson went so far as to say that, without these humanities subjects, stating that, without them, our students “never reaches full potential.”

“Throughout the 125 years of its existence, the English Department has played a central role providing humanistic perspectives in an increasingly technological world,” said Richard Utz, chair of the School of Literature, Media, and Communication which houses the English program “We have adapted the curriculum and name many times to fulfill the needs of students, Georgia Tech’s strategic plans, and to innovate in a world in which disciplinary boundaries need to be continually rethought.”

Today, as the School of Literature, Media, and Communication (LMC), the unit is the home to the nation’s first Ph.D. program in Digital Media.  It also offers a unique codisciplinary B.S. in Computational Media (collaboratively run with the College of Computing) and a recently rebooted and threaded B.S. in Literature, Media, and Communication.

A Timeline of 125 Years of English at Georgia Tech

The school’s faculty are thought leaders who serve as editors of refereed journals and book series all over the world.  They include noted poets, teachers of multimodal communication, and specialists in science fiction, film, literary and cultural studies, media studies, and performance studies. They have been featured in media ranging from the Colbert Report to MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry Show, Forbes, Wired, the New York Times, and many more.

LMC alumni recently came back to celebrate with their former instructors.  The celebration took place in the newly renovated Stephen C. Hall Building which now houses LMC’s Writing and Communication Program. More than 120 alumni, faculty, staff, and guests shared memories and told many a story of how their LMC education continues to present a firm foundation for their diverse careers.