Simpson Center for the Humanities at the University of Washington

Six outstanding UW graduate students are representing the Simpson Center in the newly-created HASTAC Scholars Program. As students and teachers leading the way in participatory learning, HASTAC Scholars receive scholarships to encourage innovative uses of technology in their work.

	Deborah Kimmey (English) administers the online interactive "keyword collaboratories" that extend the work of Keywords for American Cultural Studies to classes and working groups.
	Eric Meyers (Information School) investigates how children from ages 6-12 interact in shared virtual environments online.
	Angela Rounsaville (English) studies technological literacy and media access from a social justice perspective.
	Jentery Sayers (English) examines sound reproduction technologies in the context of Anglo-American literature of the 19th and 20th centuries.
	Ramsey Tesdell (Technical Communications and International Studies) studies the role of technology in social movements in the Middle East, and runs 7iber.com, a media website from Jordan.
	Matthew Wilson (Geography) explores how geographic information technologies enable neighborhood assessment endeavors.

More details about the HASTAC Scholars program

Digital Humanities

Digital Initiatives on Campus

From reusable toolsets to scholarly databases to collaborative online learning environments, UW faculty, staff, and students are deeply involved in the digital transformation of the humanities.

The Simpson Center is working to seed, support, and strengthen work in the digital humanities, through participating in consortia, sponsoring classes and hosting hands-on workshops on digital scholarship.
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UW - Highschool Partnership

Texts and Teachers

Odai Johnson, "Staging Shakespeare Then and Now"

For ten years, this program has brought University of Washington faculty and local high school teachers together each summer to co-design a literature class to be taught simultaneously at both levels. Led by Gary Handwerk (English and Comparative Literature), Texts and Teachers is currently looking to parter with more UW faculty for the 2008-09 academic year. Students at both the UW and Eastlake, Lake Washington, and Roosevelt high schools will be reading and discussing Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Go Down, Moses by William Faulkner, and Wild Seed by Octavia Butler.

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K-12 Professional Development

Teachers as Scholars Registration Open

A joint program of Seattle Arts and Lectures and the Simpson Center for the Humanities • K-12 Professional development • Washington State-Approved Clock Hour Workshops

Teachers as Scholars is a professional development program designed to ignite and sustain the intellectual interests of K-12 teachers. It joins primary and secondary school teachers with university faculty in an educational environment. The 2008-2009 program includes: "Understanding Evolution" with Becca Price (Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, UW Bothell), "Young People, New Technologies" with Crispin Thurlow (Communication), "Sherman Alexie on Page and Screen" with Tom Grayson Colonnese (American Indian Studies), "Artists and Intellectuals as Icons" with Jessica Burstein (English and Women Studies), "Staging Shakespeare Then & Now" with Odai Johnson (Drama), "A Human Rights for the 21st Century" with Bruce Kochis (Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, UW Bothell), "Teaching Racial Literacy" with Jonathan Warren (International Studies), "Graphic Novels: Reading the New Genre" with Caroline Simpson (English), "Youth in Global Times" with Craig Jeffrey (International Studies and Geography), and "Ethics and Climate Change" with Stephen Gardiner (Philosophy). Register online or call (206) 621-2230 x16.

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Public Humanities

Wednesday University Registration Open

A joint program of Seattle Arts and Lectures and the Simpson Center for the Humanities • Cost: $210 for the series/ $80 for individual courses

Imagine the stimulation of taking university-level courses in the arts and humanities, with none of the papers or exams. Every year Wednesday University offers Puget Sound residents three varied courses taught by distinguished University of Washington professors. These courses, which meet Wednesday evenings at the Henry Art Gallery, are open to all lifelong learners—from high school students to adults. Registration is now open for the 2008-2009 series. In the fall quarter David Domke (Communication) will teach "For the Good of the Nation? Media Politics in America." Winter quarter will feature "Food for Thought: The Ethics, Politics, and Culture of Eating" taught by Ann Anagnost (Anthropology) and Lucy Jarosz (Geography). In the spring quarter join JoLynn Edwards (Art History) for "Art and its Publics, from the Renaissance to the Present." Register for all three courses today or for an individual course beginning August 4.

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Kathleen Woodward Receives University of Washington Leadership Award

Kathleen Woodward (Director, Simpson Center for the Humanities and Professor, English) has been named the 2008 faculty recipient of the David B. Thorud Leadership Award. First awarded in 2006, this award is given to one faculty member and one staff member who have demonstrated exceptional abilities to lead, serve, inspire, and collaborate with broad impact. The award is named in honor of David B. Thorud, who has effectively served the University in leadership positions for 25 years.

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Norm Dicks Receives National Humanities Alliance Award

On March 4, 2008, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) was honored with the Sidney R. Yates Award for Distinguished Public Service to the Humanities at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Dicks represents the 6th District of Washington State in the U.S. Congress, and has been a longtime advocate for the humanities and the arts in the Northwest. The award was presented as part of the national Humanities Advocacy Day by Raymond Jonas (History). Jonas traveled to Capitol Hill together with Jentery Sayers (Graduate Student, English) and Sarah Spreitzer (Assistant Director, Federal Relations, UW) to meet Congressional representatives and national leaders engaged in shaping national humanities policy.

Digital Humanities

Keywords for American Cultural Studies

An interactive website accompanies the release of Keywords for American Cultural Studies, edited by Bruce Burgett (Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell) and Glenn Hendler (English, Fordham University). Developed through a partnership between the Simpson Center for the Humanities and New York University Press, this website enables users to revise, extend, and add to the research conversation contained in the volume. The website will provide spaces where classes and working groups can create, experiment with, and publish new keywords projects.

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