Dr. Thomas Johnson

Thomas graduated from the Catholic University of America in 2014 with an M.A. in English Literature, and from the University of Florida in 2024 with a PhD in English, including a concentration in film and television studies. His dissertation was on the evolution of prestige fantasy television (basically, fantasy television that bougie people watch) over the past 30 years. His other research interests involve analyzing adaptations of books into film and television and studying science fiction and fantasy literature. His monograph on HBO's The Leftovers, co-authored with Kyle Meikle of the University of Baltimore, is forthcoming in 2027 as part of the TV Milestones series from Wayne State University Press.

Thomas has over a decade of tutoring and teaching experience at the undergraduate level. As a graduate instructor at the University of Florida from 2016 to 2024, he taught classes on subjects as diverse as book to film adaptations, “literary” genre fiction, prestige fantasy television (with a focus on Game of Thrones), and general film and American literature surveys.

In his current position as a Marion L Brittain Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he has taught freshman composition courses built around topics that include the Disney Renaissance, time-travel television, and 1980s dark fantasy cinema. In his free time, he enjoys exploring the culture of Atlanta, including independent movie theaters and restaurants. He is excited to share his love of speculative fiction with students in the SPACE program at Signum.