College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Department of English
4008 Turlington Hall
PO Box 117310
Gainesville, FL 32611
352-392-6650
352-392-0860 Fax
January 27, 2013
Dear Dean D’Anieri,
I am very pleased and honored to recommend Professor Richard Burt for an extremely positive
SPP review. Richard is an very strong excellent candidate for an SPP. In the review period,
Richard published one single-authored book, one edited (two-volume) encyclopedia, one
coedited book, and one 38,000 word monograph in rhizomes. Richard has also to his credit
eighteen refereed articles and book chapters and a number of shorter pieces; he has given many
keynotes and invited talks in international venues. Richard's scholarly productivity is
exceptional, and his teaching and service are strong excellent.
Richard has developed an international profile at the cutting edge of Shakespeare studies and
also in film and media studies, and book history. Richard joined the Department in 2003 and
in the last seven years has published fifteen articles and book chapters and two co-authored
articles. He has more five articles now at press. His third book, Medieval and Early Modern
Film (Palgrave 2008) has won rave reviews. Theis astonishingly ambitious book contextualizes
historical films within the history of cinema and new media, but, more significantly and
originally, in relation to premodern and early modern media (scrolls, tapestries, illuminated
manuscripts). Richard also explores the paratext of digital reproductions of film, such as footnote
tracks, audiocommentaries, and documentaries that reframe viewers’ experience of historical
films. In so doing, he finds unexpected continuities and repetitions between past and
present media, as well as contrasts. Christopher Pye at Williams College finds it “A
marvelously rich and surprising book. Combining formal attentiveness with the giddy pleasures
of the improbable detour.” Peter Krapp of UC-Irvine praises its risk-taking and “playful …
lucid[ity]” The encyclopedia that Richard has edited is also a truly impressive contribution and
has been well received. And Richard is speeding up, not slowing down when it comes to
scholarly pursuits – he has a contract in hand for delivered the manuscript of his contracted
fourth book, What's the Worst Thing You Can Do to Shakespeare? to Palgrave Press. , and
recently he was offered an advance contract for his fifth book, File Under "Life" (Fordham).
Richard has given invited papers at sessions of the Modern Language Association (2003, 2008,
2013), the World Shakespeare Congress (2002, 2006, and 2011. And he has given invited
keynote lectures at Tsukbua University, Tokyo (2012); Donghai University, Shanghai,
China (2011); New York University (2012); Central Taiwan University and National
Taiwan University (2009); the British Museum (2008), the University of Lodz, Poland
(2007), and Amherst College (2005). This high level of activity and accomplishment is very
extremely impressive. Richard is by far the most frequently cited and most internationally
influential member of our department.
The Foundation for The Gator Nation
An Equal Opportunity Institution
Richard joined the Department in 2003, and so has still been in the process of accruing
graduate students. Still, In the last seven years he has served on 13 graduate committees, 8 as
director (4 PhD, 4 MA) and 5 as member (4 PhD, 1 MA). He has also been involved with several
honors theses. Each semester Richard often conceives of and develops new, highly original
courses in a wide variety of fields, and his teaching scores are strong. excellent. He plans his
courses meticulously and intensively and develops websites for all of them. In terms of service,
Richard’s service record is also excellent. Richard has served as a Faculty Senator and on the
Academic Freedom, Tenure, Professional Relations and Standards Committee, and in the
Department he has served on the Graduate Studies (including the Admissions and Awards
subcommittee), Merit Pay, and Publicity Committees. His service to the profession is notable
extraordinary.
Let me say again that Richard is an very strong excellent candidate for an SPP. Thank
you for your consideration.
Kenneth Kidd
Associate Professor and Chair
The Foundation for The Gator Nation
An Equal Opportunity Institution