Klayton Tietjen

Klayton Tietjen received his PhD in French and Linguistics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2022 with a dissertation directed byAnne-Hélène Miller: “Outlaws and Traitors: Justifying Rebellion in the Chansons de Geste.” He takes a multi-lingual and interdisciplinary approach to his research into Old French literature and medieval French culture. In particular, Klayton explores how social change and economic pressures influenced the development of the chansons de geste, trouvère songs, and fabliaux of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and how these texts impacted societal ideas about identity, race, essentialism, gender, rebellion, and justice.

Klayton enjoys teaching French courses at all levels of the undergraduate curriculum, from introductory French to advanced classes in literature and phonology. In 2022, he was recognized for his dedication to effective teaching when he received the Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures Department Excellence in Teaching award. He has been a recipient of the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Paul Barrette Travel Prize, a WLC Grant for Doctoral Research, the UT Student/Faculty Research Award, and the Tennessee Fellowship of Graduate Excellence.

Email: ktietjen@vols.utk.edu