Matthew Helm

Matthew Helm is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of English at the University of Iowa, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He specializes in twentieth and twenty-first century transnational American literature, with a focus on LGBT+ literature, queer and trans theories, media studies, and gender and the Gothic. His teaching includes courses in the General Education Literature program and for English majors, such as 'Reading and Writing About the Short Story.'

His research explores the interplay between queer literary expression and evolving media technologies, culminating in his current book project, Transmediations: Queer Literature, Media Technology, and the Archive, which traces the role of media in shaping queer identity and community from the 1930s to the present.

Matthew's scholarly work has appeared in Religion & Literature, The Nathaniel Hawthorne Review, and Studies in the Novel. His recent publications reflect interdisciplinary engagement across literary studies, media theory, cultural history, and queer theory, with recurring themes of archival practice, technological mediation, and narrative innovation.

• Certificate in College Teaching, University of Iowa College of Education
• Graduate Teaching and Research Fellow, American Studies Department, TU Dortmund, Germany (2022–2023)
• Humanities for the Public Good Internship, Obermann Center for Advanced Studies (Summer 2020)

Matthew is deeply committed to pedagogy and public humanities, having taught in both U.S. and German academic settings and contributed to community-based projects, including a food history publication for the Iowa Valley Scenic Byway. He is actively involved in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and advocates for bridging academic scholarship with public engagement.

He is affiliated with the Department of English at the University of Iowa and contributes to programs such as the Nonfiction Writing Program and the Krause Series in Contemporary Nonfiction. No formal advisees are listed, but his mentorship extends through undergraduate and graduate teaching.