University of Utah College of Humanities

The conflict in the Middle East has dominated headlines for months; in such circumstances, how do faculty experts reach beyond the classroom to the community and make sense of all that is occurring in our world? Earlier this month, Dr. Chris Low, Director of the Middle East Center at the University of Utah, delivered an intimate, in-depth lecture to some twenty-odd Summit County residents to “dispel some misconceptions about the region, provide some personal reflections on my work in the region, and introduce some major storylines.” In a talk entitled “Moving Beyond Conflict: Unlearning Islamophobia and Discovering Other Middle Easts,” he focused on the multiplicity of on-the-ground experiences of life in the Middle East, juxtaposing those nuanced and dynamic stories with the more static, overarching narratives of conflict and scarcity that are often featured in mainstream news media and our national imaginary.

Read more here https://humanities.utah.edu/news/moving-beyond-conflict.php

Join us for a College of Humanities Alumni Social and reconnect with fellow College of Humanities graduates, faculty, and staff. Assistant Professor Elizabeth Callaway will speak on “Why AI Needs the Humanities.” General updates from the College of Humanities will be provided as well as drinks and snacks.

September 26, 2024 | 6 pm | Squatters Salt Lake City - Grain Room

Register here https://humanities.utah.edu/events/humanities-homecoming-social-2024.php

Elizabeth Callaway, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of English and affiliated faculty in the Environmental Humanities Graduate Program, and Rebekah Cummings, MLIS, Director of Digital Matters at the Marriott Library, have received an award from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to hold a three-week Summer Institute for Higher Education at the University of Utah.

The institute, Humanities Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence, will bring together 30 higher education faculty from across the country to learn how humanities research and teaching can help promote more responsible AI. Isabel Moreira, associate dean for research in the College of Humanities, notes, “The University of Utah has not hosted a Summer Institute in many years; this is a significant achievement for our College and really signals the cutting-edge work at the intersection of humanities and artificial intelligence that our faculty are leading. We are thrilled to see this collaboration between Dr. Callaway and Rebekah Cummings on such an innovative and timely project.”

Read more about their award here https://humanities.utah.edu/news/2024-neh-summer-institute-award.php

Say hello to our new History Department faculty! Join us in welcoming Dr. Edith Chen, Dr. Dwain Coleman, Dr. Annie Greene, and Dr. Daniela Samur. Read more about them here: https://history.utah.edu/events-news/2024/new-faculty.php

The University of Utah's Department of Writing and Rhetoric Studies, in collaboration with Salt Lake Community College’s Department of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies, co-hosted the second annual MLA Institute on Reading and Writing Pedagogies at Access-Oriented Institutions.

Professor Christie Toth, Director of Undergraduate Studies and Associate Professor in Writing and Rhetoric Studies, shared insights into the initiative, reflecting the longstanding commitment to supporting community college transfer students and providing professional development for humanities graduate students aiming for careers at open admissions institutions.

This year’s institute, held June 3-7 was attended by 28 participants from 15 different states, and highlighted key themes, including the integration of AI in access-oriented institutions, antiracist and antiableist pedagogies, and writing instruction at Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

Learn more here https://humanities.utah.edu/news/mla-institute-reading-writing-pedagogies.php

Humans of the U: Gene Fitzgerald

“I retired from the University of Utah in 2008 and the next year I started teaching Russian literature courses as part of the U’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which provides educational opportunities for adults ages 50 and older. The institute provides a special opportunity for community members to delve into studying something they may have wanted to learn more about but never had the time to study before.

Teaching with Osher is a different classroom experience than teaching an undergraduate course. In the Osher courses, people are so interested and so vocal and so into the class. The give and take between the professor and students in these courses is more extensive than in an ordinary undergraduate honors class. In those courses, everybody is very smart, but nobody says much. The students are more into soaking up the material and preparing to write good papers, do well on their exams, and get a good grade in the class. In Osher courses, there are no papers, grades or tests and so people are really focused on classroom participation."

Full story here: https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/humans-of-the-u-gene-fitzgerald/

The University of Utah's College of Humanities announces the appointment of new directors for the Asia Center, Second Language Teaching and Research Center, and Tanner Humanities Center, alongside new department chairs for Writing and Rhetoric Studies, English, and Philosophy.

Meet them all here https://humanities.utah.edu/news/new-chairs-and-directors-2024.php

L2TReC has a new director! As of July 1, 2024, Dr. Devin Jenkins has assumed duties as Director of the Second Language Teaching and Research Center.

Prior to arriving at the U, Dr. Jenkins served as Chair of the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Colorado Denver. He spent a total of 23 years at CU Denver, following two years at Virginia Tech. Jenkins is a Past President of the Linguistic Association of the Southwest.

Dr. Jenkins conducts research on Spanish in the United States, especially in the Southwest, as well as on bilingualism, language contact, and the acquisition of phonetics by second-language learners.

See the full article: https://l2trec.utah.edu/news/director-jenkins-welcome.php

Adam Cook, a rising senior and a World Languages & Cultures and International Studies double major, is a true polyglot. He is studying Russian, Spanish, Italian, and Arabic at an advanced level, and is also starting Portuguese courses this fall. Over the summer, Adam attended the prestigious Oxford Consortium for Human Rights, completed an international internship, and took part in humanitarian work in Ukraine.

Read all about Adam's incredible summer here https://humanities.utah.edu/news/humanities-student-spotlight-adam-cook.php

Founded in 2011, the Beehive Forensics Institute has consistently offered high-caliber summer camp opportunities at a fraction of the costs required to attend comparable events. In addition, the camp provides learning opportunities for high school students no matter their area of interest, including instruction in Policy Debate, Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Public Forum Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Student Congress.

“There is a significant amount of research supporting participation in debate as a tool for increasing student success across the curriculum, and increasing completion rates. This camp gives students an opportunity to get a jump start on their competitive season while learning skills that are going to benefit them throughout their education.” – Jeannie Hunt, Director of Forensics

Learn more here https://humanities.utah.edu/news/beehive-forensics-institute-hosted-by-john-r-park-debate-society.php

Jacqueline Osherow, Distinguished Professor of English, had a poem published in the New Yorker! Read "Sighting" here:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/08/05/sighting-jacqueline-osherow-poem

We had a great time at the Undergraduate Research Summer Symposium yesterday! Our students are doing incredible things 😀

Picture one is Natalia Lopez with Dean Hollis Robbins. Poster title: "Examining Differences in Opinions on Environmental Policy in Salt Lake City." Research mentor: Sara Grineski. Natalia also works at the front desk in the dean's office!

Picture two is Asuna Dai presenting her poster titled "Learning About Fan-Fiction Genres via Data Science." Research mentor: Anne Jamison (joining via phone call)!

Picture three is Marylinda Gonzalez presenting her poster titled "Traditional Bomba Dance as a Tool for Maintaining Puertorriquenidad in Utah." Research mentor: Ed Muñoz.

Learn more about the Undergraduate Research Summer Symposium here: https://our.utah.edu/urs/semester/summer-2024/

W. Paul Reeve, Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies, gives us a quick history lesson about Utah's Pioneer Day!

Pioneer Day is a Utah State holiday which commemorates the arrival of Brigham Young into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. Latter-day Saints explored the valley on July 21 and a vanguard group first camped in the valley on July 22 in the area of present day 1700 South and 500 East. The next day they moved north and began plowing and planting. Brigham Young arrived on July 24 and declared “this is the place.” In doing so, he confirmed a decision that had already been made.

When the Latter-day Saints entered the Great Basin they were actually in northern Mexico. They had deliberately crossed an international boundary and were fleeing the United States. Within seven months of the Latter-day Saint arrival, the U.S. war with Mexico ended and Mexico ceded to the United States the land which the Saints occupied; the religious refugees thus found themselves once again on American soil.

Two years later, in 1849, the Latter-day Saints first celebrated their arrival, an event that became an annual tradition thereafter (with some later interruptions). Celebrations typically included early morning canon fire, band music, ringing of the Nauvoo Bell, songs, speeches, and parades. Over time, the 1847 pioneers into the valley were given special status at such celebrations, including the Black pioneers Green Flake, Oscar (Crosby) Smith, and Hark (Lay) Wales, who arrived as enslaved people, as well as free Black pioneer Jane Manning James and her family.

It is also important to note that the Latter-day Saint arrival in the Great Basin led to the displacement of the region’s long-term inhabitants, the Shoshone, Southern Paiute, Goshute, Ute, and Navajo. They went from controlling one hundred percent of the land to four percent within fifty years of the Latter-day Saint arrival.

"This is my first Olympic Games and I am so excited. The Olympics have been a dream ever since I started diving, but I don’t know that I ever really thought I would go. I want to take the experience one step at a time and just enjoy it."

- University of Utah Communication Department student Emilia Nilsson Garip

Humans of the U: Emilia Nilsson Garip - @theU Humans of the U July 17, 2024 Humans of the U: Emilia Nilsson Garip Matilyn Mortensen - communications specialist, University of Utah Communications “I started diving when I was seven. I joined Sweden’s national team at a very young age and that experience helped me connect with people from arou...

Today’s Graduate School Workshop featured Dean Hollis Robbins. Dean Robbins' presentation, “The Impact of AI on Writing,” focused on the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) in producing information and the importance of maintaining the human element in the classroom for students and teachers alike.

Join Utah Alumni for a Young Alumni Night at the Salt Lake Bees!
July 23 | picnic @ 6 pm, first pitch @ 6:35 pm | Smith's Ballpark

Register here https://ulink.utah.edu/s/1077/23/1col.aspx?sid=1077&gid=1&pgid=5204&cid=15867&ecid=15867&crid=0&calpgid=591&calcid=15294

Humanities Scholar Spotlight!
Beverly Cheung (she/her) | Double Major: English & Business | Research: Social Media and the Effects on Youth

"Presenting my research findings with my partner, Vanessa Patzner, to my peers and faculty mentors was such a unique and incredible opportunity to experience for the first time. It’s very impressive and valuable to present research as a first year student at a University, and I was grateful to have the opportunity to do such a thing. During our research symposium, several professors came up to our poster and asked us about it, while telling us that we did a great job and that we should feel hope for our future academic careers. It was meaningful to be acknowledged for our hard work."

Read about Beverly's Humanities Scholars experience https://humanities.utah.edu/news/humanities-scholar-beverly-cheung.php

Utah Prison Education Project admits first degree-seeking students - @theU Students in the women’s unit of the Utah State Correctional Facility will pursue a bachelor's degree in university studies and a certificate in professional and technical writing.

Humanities Scholar Spotlight!
Vanessa Patzner (she/her) | Double Major: English & Business | Research: Social Media and the Effects on Youth

"Being a Humanities Scholar has impacted every ounce of my college experience so far. When I was in high school, I found it hard to express myself, but in the Humanities Scholars class, Lepa made it so that every one of us felt seen. She would always make sure we felt understood and fostered an environment where all of us were able to learn and grow as people. I was able to apply my newfound confidence to my other classes. I was able to branch out, participate in discussions, meet new people, and ultimately express myself fully and unapologetically."

Read more about Vanessa here https://humanities.utah.edu/news/humanities-scholar-vanessa-patzner.php

We have a fun student feature today! Emma Blake is currently in Ireland on a Hinckley Global Internship! We sent her a few questions to learn more about her internship and her major.

Q: What is your name and your major/minor?
A: Emma Blake / International Studies major with a minor in Korean and a Flute Performance major

Q: What year are you in school?
A: 4th year in school

Q: Tell us about your internship!
A: I am an intern for Common Purpose in Dublin, Ireland. They are a social enterprise that seeks to positively impact communities by training leaders in cross-cultural awareness. A typical day is quite busy, filled with program preparation, contacting participants, meetings to go over the curriculum, and setting up venues.

Q: What have you learned at your internship?
A: This job has sparked my interest in working with communities very closely. It inspires me to remember that my goal for life is to help people and that is done best with one-on-one interactions in peoples' communities. I have also learned more technical skills with Microsoft Outlook and Teams. I am learning how to balance all the tasks I am given and completing them in a timely manner. Lastly, I am learning how to work in a team and accomplished a shared goal.

Q: What are your plans after this internship?
A: After this internship, I plan to apply for jobs and start working. Various job options include the State Department, foreign service officer, CIA, and others!

Q: How did adding a major in the humanities help with your music major?
A: Adding a humanities major to my music major has helped me see a different, but linked part, of the world. Music explores people's minds and humanities explores people's reality. Both are so interconnected and affect one another. I have loved learning about cultures and communications along with my music degree.

Good luck with the rest of your internship Emma!

☕️☕️ we believe in you!

Are you interested in taking HUM1500: Great Books but don't consider yourself a reader? No problem! This course teaches you how to read effectively, a skill that will help you throughout your college career! https://humanities.utah.edu/news/great-books-fall-2024.php

Remembering Bruce Bastian, 1948-2024
Bruce Bastian was a longtime supporter of the Tanner Humanities Center and his partnership was instrumental in furthering the center’s mission to provide public outreach and educational enrichment to the University campus and the broader community. The B.W. Bastian Foundation enabled the Tanner Humanities Center to host prominent LGBTQ+ authors and scholars, expanding opportunities for students and our community to learn from LGBTQ+ voices.

Read more about Bastian's selfless work https://humanities.utah.edu/news/remembering-bruce-bastian.php

The Utah Prison Education Project, UPEP, at the University of Utah is admitting its first cohort of 15 degree-seeking incarcerated students.

Students in the women’s unit of the Utah State Correctional Facility will pursue a Bachelor of University Studies (BUS) and a certificate in professional and technical writing. Both programs are offered through the College of Humanities.

The inaugural cohort represents “a bold expression of University of Utah President Taylor Randall’s commitment to unsurpassed societal impact in our state and region,” said Erin Castro, associate dean of Undergraduate Studies.

In 2016, Castro co-founded the initiative alongside 12 undergraduate honors students. Over the past eight years, UPEP has provided diverse academic and enrichment opportunities for Utahns in prison. This work includes a unique partnership with Brigham Young University and is now led by Andy Eisen, the U’s director of Prison Education.

Hollis Robbins, dean of the College of Humanities, is confident the partnership between her college, UPEP and other campus units will offer a model for bringing the value of higher education to incarcerated students.

“The same skills in critical thinking, effective communication, conflict resolution and love of learning that research has shown prepares on-campus humanities students for successful lives and careers are sure to be uniquely valuable for UPEP learners, who are preparing for futures after their incarceration ends,” Robbins said.

Learn about this incredible program https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/utah-prison-education-project-admits-first-degree-seeking-students/

Here is a quick history lesson from W. Paul Reeve, Simmons Chair of Mormon Studies, about the history of the holiday.

JUNETEENTH: The holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the US. On this date in 1865, a federal order informed the residents of Texas that “all slaves are free.”⁠⠀⁠⁠
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During the Civil War, many slaveholders fled to Texas to escape the Union army. By 1865, the state had more than 250,000 enslaved African Americans. Texas was the last holdout for slavery.⁠⠀⁠⁠
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In June 1865, two months after the confederacy’s surrender, the Union army declared its authority over Texas.⁠⠀⁠⁠
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The June 19 declaration did not end slavery immediately. African Americans had to defy violence and terror to make their freedom a fact.⁠⠀⁠⁠
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But the formerly enslaved people of Texas immediately recognized the significance of the date. On June 19, 1866, they organized the first formal celebration of their freedom.⁠⠀⁠⁠
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As African Americans left Texas for new homes, they carried the holiday with them.⁠⠀⁠⁠
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Many Americans think of July 4 as the nation’s official celebration of freedom. But independence for the US did not mean freedom for enslaved African Americans.⁠⠀⁠⁠
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JUNETEENTH is a holiday created by African Americans to celebrate THEIR freedom. It should be celebrated by ALL Americans to recognize their suffering and liberation.⁠⠀⁠⁠
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On June 17, 2021, legislation was signed establishing Juneteenth as a US federal holiday.⁠⁠
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📸 of Emancipation Day (Juneteenth), Richmond, VA, ca. 1905. via the Library of Congress

On June 3-7 partnered with to offer the second annual MLA Institute on Reading and Writing Pedagogies at Access-Oriented Institutions. These institutes provide free professional development opportunities for graduate students and early career faculty who teach in or aspire to make their careers at community colleges or other access-oriented institutions.

Another week of New Student Orientation, done ✅
This week was double the fun because we welcomed not one but two new groups to campus!

This little lady wanted to come to new student orientation, but her mom said she had to wait a few years and promptly took her back home.

The skills students learn in the Humanities will prepare them for a lifetime of success, no matter what field or career they choose to enter!

https://fortune.com/2024/05/17/blackrock-coo-robert-goldstein-english-history-liberal-arts-hiring/

And that’s a wrap on week one of orientation! 📸😁