Moving Beyond TragedyBeginning a New Chapter in the Story of CHID

Upcoming Events! 10/29: CHID Potluck 7-9:30pm Kari Tupper’s Home 5806 16th Avenue NE Theme: Spooky! 10/30 & 31: El Dia de los Muertos Saturday 12 - 8 pm Sunday 12 - 6 pm Center House & Fisher Pavilion Seattle Center, Free! CHID student Virginia Rodriguez is building an altar for Jim Clowes at the Seattle Center. Anyone interested in helping her build the altar, donate any items for the altar or just talk about this project, contact her at mvr@u.washington.edu. First Monday of Every Month: Open Mic Poetry Night Presented by RETRO-Revolutionary Po’ets’ free evening of spoken word, hiphop, poetry, and whatever you bring to the table, because the mic is open. Ethnic Cultural Theatre 8-10pm First Monday of Every Month your hosts Anthony Rose & Tony Rivisto (CHID student) for info, please contact us at retropoets@yahoo.com November: Photography by Brita Fisher (CHID Student) On display at Tempero do Brasil 5628 University Way N.E. _______________________ CHID Chat A Newsletter of the Comparative History of Ideas Program, University of Washington Autumn 2004 From The Director Moving Beyond Tragedy: Beginning a New Chapter in the Story of CHID By John Toews T he academic year 20032004 was a difficult and memorable time for the Comparative History of Ideas Program. It was a year of loss and mourning for the students, staff and faculty. For many of us, it will always be remembered as the year in which Jim Clowes, our beloved and inspiring Associate Director, became ill and died. Community Development Last year saw many incredible fundraising events, most of them student organized. As state budgets get tighter, it becomes more and more imperative that we find alternative ways to fund our great program! If you have an idea for a possible event, contact Lydia or Sylvia (lruddy@u.washington.edu or sbk@u.washington.edu). On a related front, we’ve been thinking about creating something like a “CHID Salon” which would basically be an occasional informal gathering in the evening to discuss a given topic. Often this takes the form of a panel discussion followed by questions and socializing. Anyone can come and people are asked to give a small donation if they can afford it. Anyway, this concept seems appropriate to the CHID context— do you have any ideas for topics or a name? If you have any suggestions, please email Lydia or Sylvia (lruddy@u.washington.edu or sbk@u.washington.edu). Jim Clowes passed away March 1, 2004. From the time Jim was diagnosed with cancer on August 10, 2003, until his death on March 1, 2004, and through the month of memorial services that followed, we lived our lives in the shadow of Jim’s passing. Many wonderful things, however, occurred in that shadow. The amazing outpouring of love and recognition by Jim’s students, friends, and colleagues was unprecedented in recent memory at this university. After working most of his career under the university’s radar and without much academic recognition, Jim finally became visible through the voices of the people he had touched in so many ways, and found, unsought, the recognition he so richly deserved. The university created a new teaching award—The James D. Clowes Teaching Award for the Advancement of Learning Communities—and posthumously awarded him one of the prestigious established awards—The Sterling Munro Public Service Teaching Award. This somewhat belated official recognition, however, was not as significant as the response of Jim’s friends and students. The CHID community mourned Jim’s passing by embodying his vision. In an ongoing process that culminated in a stunning exhibition of student work five weeks after his death—“Swarming the Beehive”—students displayed the living reality of a learning community that nurtures both individual creativity and collective loyalty and commitment. Paradoxically, CHID’s great tragedy also became one of its great triumphs. The very depth of our common pain expressed the break under the pressure of the load the fates had imposed on us, CHID prospered and continued to grow. We greet the new academic year and its challenges and Jim and Faith share a quiet moment at the CHID Christmas party. Phillip Thurtle relaxes after the CHID Spring 2004 graduation extent of our commitment to each other and to the task of carrying forward the moral and educational legacy Jim represented. In a year when many of us thought we would surely possibilities with optimism and confidence. Things are different without Jim, but we are ready to continue the CHID story and embark on new adventures in undergraduate education. When you come into the office in Padelford this fall you will notice a few changes. In mid-summer Faith Hines, our long-time administrator and a mainstay of the program, moved to Virginia to join her husband. In her office you will find Amy Peloff, our former irrepressible advisor, now freshly crowned with the title of Assistant Director. Across the way, in the advisor’s office, is Jeanette Bushnell, whose wit, warmth and savvy will continue the tradition of exceptional CHID advising. In Jim’s old office we have installed Phillip Thurtle, an old friend and former teacher in the program, who is here on a one year visiting professorship. (Continued on page 4) Page 2 CHID Chat Teaching Tupac...from Classroom to Community C HID TA Georgia Roberts, a 4th-year doctoral student in the UW English Department, received national recognition last year for her CHID focus group entitled “The Textual Appeal of Tupac Shakur.” Media attention sprang up from a course description that had been posted on a message board. She was soon inundated with requests for add codes from students and requests for interviews from the media. Her class was featured in University Week, The Seattle PI, The Source, XXL Magazine, KOMO news, and NPR’s The Beat (KUOW). It was even mentioned in the New York Times! The strong and continuous interest in the course allowed Georgia to expand what had initially been a 2-credit focus group into a 5-credit special topics CHID course. The latest manifestation of her class is a collaboration between Georgia and a group of her students from her spring quarter class. They will be facilitating a reading group through the Seattle Public Library geared towards young adult readers and will focus on the literary-historical influences present in the work of Tupac. The monthly group, which will be held at the new Central branch, will read The Art of War, Native Son and poems by Nikki Giovanni. Much like the class at UW, attendees will read the literary works alongside Tupac’s lyrics and poetry to better understand the social, political and aesthetic significance of his work. As Georgia says, “Our main goal is to create a learning community of young adult readers (outside of a classroom setting) where critical perspectives and lively community discourse are valued and where engaged intellectual exchange is encouraged.” The first workshop will take place on Saturday, Oct. 23, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Avenue. For details, visit www.spl.org. Rethinking “American”: DIALOGUEing Across Difference by Lori Mizuno ’03 II Veterans, Rethinking “American” had over 30 panelists and nine organizations participating in this dialogue. For more information on the DIALOGUE Project and the Rethinking “American” conference, please visit www.dialogueproject.org. T he DIALOGUE Project hosted its second annual conference, Rethinking “American” on May 15, 2004. Throughout three focused sessions, we encouraged students, educators, and community members to question what it meant to be “American” and to acknowledge the voices of those marginalized by our current national narratives. In opening up a space to discuss the changing significance of American identities, the DIALOGUE Project hoped to create a forum through which to explore how national identity is interpreted and reconstituted by government structures, grass- roots movements, and international perspectives. We were honored to have Ms. Pramila Jayapal, the Director of the Hate Free Zone, as our keynote speaker, and have the support of Dr. Kari Tupper and the rest of the CHID faculty. From immigrant high school students to World War Swarming the Beehive S tudents inspired by the vision of Jim Clowes, the late Associate Director of CHID, shared their artistic and intellectual expressions in a first-of-its-kind interdisciplinary event April 10, 2004. The academic projects—expressed in such nontraditional media as spokenword, film, sculpture, poetry, music, painting and dramatic productions—collectively expressed a dynamic learning community. The event drew roughly 300 people to Consolidated Works to celebrate the ongoing impact that Jim has had on CHID students, past and present, as well as the larger Seattle community. The proceeds from this event were divided between the Local/Global International Fund, the James Clowes Teaching Endowment and the Clowes Children Education Fund. Clockwise: Lori Mizuno, CHID ’03 and Brad Weikel sell t-shirts and CDs; The Small Change (featuring Greg Collinsworth, current CHID student) rock out; DJ Gabriel d. Fahoum ( aka Rev. Gabelicious, CHID student) spins tunes while folks check out the art in the Gallery. Come to our events! Mentor Undergrads! Donate Money! To make a financial contribution, please visit: http://depts.washington.edu/chid/giftsandgiving.html How can YOU support CHID? Autumn 2004 Page 3 CHID Alumni Spotlight: WHIT MASON ’02 T hose of you enrolled in Philip Thurtle’s CHID 390 class may be surprised to learn that Whit, one of the characters in Joe Sacco’s graphic novel Goražde, has had a devoted yet intermittent involvement with CHID which resulted in an attendance record that would have baffled many departments. His passion for geopolitics and world affairs wasn’t conducive to staying in one place for the sake of earning a degree: Although starting CHID sometime in the late 1980’s, it wasn’t until three years ago, when a job with the UN required a bachelor’s degree, that he finished his last CHID paper. Whit began his career in 1991 by founding and editing The Siberian Review, an English-language newspaper based in Novosibirsk. This idea was largely inspired by contacts he made to create a learning on the UW Our main goal is campus throughyoung adult readers ... community of a Russian where critical Since and lively language class. perspectivesthen, community discourse Whit has held many are valued ... positions as a journalist and foreign correspondent including stints in Vladivostok, Hong Kong, Seoul and as a CBS News correspondent in Sarajevo. In 1998, Whit was awarded a prestigious fellowship from the Institute of Current World Affairs to spend two years based in Istanbul writing about the nexus between religion and political culture in Turkey, Iran and the southern Balkans. While he was there, Whit worked with Jim Clowes, assisting in the design of a CHID program in Istanbul. After the fellowship, Whit’s cameo in Joe Sacco’s Whit moved to Kosovo, graphic novel Goražde. where he worked as the speechwriter and public affairs vard, The New School and the advisor for the UN Interim Western Policy Center, and has Mission in Kosovo. His writwritten speeches delivered to ing has been published in the UN Security Council, the many major publications inOSCE Permanent Council, the cluding The New York Times, North Atlantic Council and the The Los Angeles Times, The European Parliament. Washington Post, The WashWhit is now working on a ington Monthly, Newsday, The book explaining why the World Policy Journal, international intervention in Asiaweek, Barron’s and others. Kosovo failed to accomplish He has spoken on panels at its main aims. He and his numerous academic instituwife and three dogs and cat tions and think tanks, including live between Istanbul, The Kennedy School at HarBurgundy and Sydney. Community Updates News about current students, alumni, and assorted members of the CHID CHID Director John Toews published his third book, Becoming Historical: Cultural Reformation and Public Memory in Early NineteenthCentury Berlin in August 2004. Samantha Appleton ’97 is continuing her stellar work as a photojournalist. Her photos from the World Trade Center can be seen in an anthology published by Life and the book New York September Eleven Two Thousand One. She has traveled to western Kenya and Tanzania to document the AIDS crisis. In Mexico City, she documented the story surrounding the serial murders of young factory workers in Juarez. She is currently covering the U.S. Presidential campaign. Andrew Pulkrabek, current CHID student and sideshow freak, now has a sideshow website under development at http://princeof pain.com. Dig intense entertainment that challenges the hegemony of traditional theater? Check it out… Jill Rothenberger ’04 organized the massive new mural on Northeast Campus Parkway. The project, which grew out of her senior thesis, involved 40 young artists, designers, art students and middle-schoolers. Jill successfully fought against some city officials’ efforts to paint over parts of the mural they felt looked too much like graffiti. As Jill pointed out in an article in the Seattle PI, “Vandalism is illegal, but how can a style be illegal? Graffiti is a style. It's the visual manifestation of hiphop culture. Hip-hop is youth culture. Does the city really want to be against that?” We really want to hear from and about people who have graduated from CHID! Please send us updates about where you are and what you are doing or news about any other post-CHIDdies. You can email Lydia Ruddy (lruddy@u.washington.edu) or send us a note at B-102 Padelford, Box 354300, Seattle, Washington 98195. Who knows, you may show up in the next newsletter as an Alumni Profile! New CHID Advisor Extraordinaire! J eanette Bushnell comes to CHID via Women Studies where she is a doctoral student. She has many, many years of all sorts of experiences including undergraduate advising at University of Alaska Anchorage and nursing for 25 years so if you have a boo-boo she can help with that, also. On a more Jeanette in action advising Marge James. serious note, she studies, works with and researches with American Indian women in Seattle and her home reservation at Turtle Mountain, North Dakota. The advising calendar continues to be on the CHID web page at http://depts.washington.edu/ chid/fcal.html. You can make advising appointments directly on the calendar. If this transition causes you undue distress, please feel free to sit with Amy or Jeanette, have some hot tea and chocolate. Of course, you will have to adjust all over again with the return of former CHID advisor Matt Scheiblehner ’95 for winter quarter. Jeanette will be back in the advising seat in spring! Page 4 CHID Chat DIALOGUE Project Update T he DIALOGUE project is meeting Monday evenings from 4:30 to 6:20 and is open to anyone who would like to drop by. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the project, this is a student-run focus group that started two years ago as a forum for students who were returning from international travel to discuss issues related to their experience abroad and to think about ways to “internationalize the community.” In the past, the project has been responsible for organizing conferences that have drawn people from all over the world (see page 2 for details). This year the participants are exploring a range of possi- bilities including internships with some local groups, outreach to high-schools (including making a database of UW students/alums who can go speak to high schoolers about their international experiences, as well as a list of interested high-schools), setting up a CHID Traveling Roadshow where students from the inter- national programs can show slides and do a quick presentation on campus, followed by refreshments, discussion and merriment. If you are interested in becoming involved either stop by on a Monday evening or talk to Lydia or Theron in the CHID office. And check the CHID bulletin board for upcoming events! Struggling with Power in the Classroom ou should wear a dress, Mommy, because all teachers wear dresses!” my sevenyear-old daughter’s response to my explanation of what being a peer facilitator exactly means.1 The first day of class, I wore pants. From the first exhilarating moment of being in front of a room full of bright eyes, I fell in love with this new opportunity to help shape lives. My completely altruistic motivation was in serious jeopardy by the end of my first class. It was then I realized a change was needed in my approach before I was going to be able to “guide” students on their educational by Sunshine Eversull, CHID 110 Peer Facilitator At the moment of epiphany, I was struck by how simple the answer to a seemingly tangled problem had been. It was then I realized I knew the answer all along. Everyday, I go through power struggles with my own children who are attempting to develop their sense of the world and how they fit into that place—the exact same thing the students must be experiencing in this entry course. Although the process is never complete, the tools one has can ease the navigation of the journey. It was an amazing reminder of the constant reshaping of our perceptions of Self through the many stages of life. Armed with this new understanding, I have seen things around me with a fresh perspective. Formulating a well-designed structure in the classroom, coupled with the acceptance of various viewpoints, is the key to successfully introducing students to the tools of self-realization. All of these ideas seem quite attainable, despite the fact I still have my second day to tackle! However, having confidence in my new understanding certainly helps to curtail my nervousness. ——————1 “Y journey. A reaffirmation of my authority seemed the only place to start. I had various thoughts on how to maintain classroom order following my experiences that first day, ranging from regurgitating formulated smartass remarks to bringing a yard stick to class to swat the hands of unsuspecting usurpers. After much discussion with other “guides,” I settled on approaching the problem from a psychological standpoint. I must empower the potentially difficult students by acknowledging their uniqueness and therefore dissolve the perceived power struggle. (More details on this if you can find me!) As to not encourage the reader’s potential impression that I am in any way reinforcing gender roles, I want to stress that we had a detailed discussion on what it means to be a girl and to dress as we please—not as From the Director, continued from page 1 Theron Stevenson in the International Office and Sylvia Kurinsky at the front desk will seem familiar, though a bit more frantic as they try to maintain both order and creative excitement in the burgeoning international programs. The presence of Phillip marks an important renewal of a dimension of CHID that has been missing the last few years—the humanistic study of the life-sciences and information technology in cultural context. In a world that is increasingly reliant upon informational technologies to exchange cultural products and communicate cultural information, knowing how these technologies shape cultural identity, difference and dialogue has become critically important. Similarly, recent developments in biomedicine have placed traditional humanistic concerns about the nature of life and death, and about the difference between the human and non-human worlds, into new contexts. CHID hopes to help pioneer the study of these interactions and become the center of a new web of connections between the upper and lower campuses. You will notice other new or renewed initiatives if you drop by the office. We plan to continue to “exploit” our talented alumni. Claire Dederer, will return with her husband Bruce Barcott to lead a workshop on “Writing for the Public.” Both Claire and Bruce are distinguished free-lance authors. Wendy Wiseman is back by popular demand with courses in winter and spring. Matt Scheiblehner (as advisor in the winter and TA in autumn and spring) is back to put a little edge into the investigation of Human Rights, Globalization and Empire. Georgia Roberts will continue to expand her innovative courses on hip-hop culture… and so on. I’ll be in Berlin (with a CHID program) when you read this, but I’ll be in Padelford B-102 in spirit. Enjoy! It’s time to eat from the tree of knowledge (partying was never this much fun). Autumn 2004 Page 5 CHID International Programs: Shaping Scholars of the World by Theron Stevenson ’02, CHID International Programs Coordinator T hings remain busy at CHID International World Headquarters (aka B102-A Padelford). During the summer, Doug Merrell ran his ever-popular Roma Eterna program, and Fakhereddine Berrada ran the inaugural CHID Morocco program, accompanied by yours truly. Although the group was smaller than we had hoped, the Morocco program was truly amazing. I cannot wait to put together another program in that beautiful country. Our office also coordinated nine Exploration Semi- nars—short 5-credit programs that took place between summer and autumn quarter, sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences. These programs are offering the option of international study to UW students who could not consider leaving the country during the regular academic year, and also broadening the horizons of UW faculty, who are finding themselves transformed by the experience of teaching students outside their regular confines of campus. The list of 2005 Exploration Seminars should be finalized by the end of autumn quar- ter—keep your eyes open! The DIALOGUE project has started meeting for autumn quarter. This group of students and alumni, in partnership with UW faculty and staff, and local community groups, is finding ways to act in the interest of internationalizing our community. The DIALOGUE project has some ongoing projects, such as internships, organized lectures, and outreach in local high schools, but we encourage students to develop their own plans for projects. Participants have the option of registering for the 2-credit Theron takes a break from the grueling work of managing Fakhereddine and the students to spend quality time with a camel. Dialogue Project focus group. If you are interested in participating, or just curious, please contact me and come to one of our meetings. Ciao from Roma! aving fallen in love with La Città Eterna with CHID in the spring of 2003, I am happily back in Rome this year as the UW Rome Center student intern. My role here as the intern is quite varied—you name it and I’ve probably done it. I fill out paperwork, run errands, catalog library books and help students with items like keys and laundry tokens. Academically, I am researching tourism in Rome through the ages as well as continuing my Italian language studies. My favorite aspect of this internship is the interaction I H By Alicia van der Veen (5th Year!) CHID Senior have with the students and gram, joined the Architecture faculty here. Working at the students on their field trip to Rome Center is a chiddie’s the ancient city site of Ostia dream: as many different Antica, and will be attending departthe film series the ments run Rome Center programs hosts this quarter, here, I which features have been lectures and film exposed to screenings from a wondercontemporary ful myriad Italian directors. of subjects Alicia working hard in Rome. The early fall and have CHID/Astronomy been lucky enough to particiexploration seminar here, pate in some of the opportuni“Cosmology and Controties offered. I tagged along on versy,” was quite a success. the tour of the scavi, or excaStudents on the program studvations, beneath St. Peter’s ied astronomy and historical Basilica with the Honors Profigures connected to Rome such as Giordano Bruno, whose statue now stands in front of the Rome Center in the Campo de’ Fiori. The statue, which somberly faces in the direction of the Vatican, commemorates the spot where Bruno was burned at the stake in 1600 for his heretical beliefs. With 3000 years of human history behind it, I feel there is no end to what one could study in this incredible city. On that note, I’m looking forward to seeing some of you on the CHID program this upcoming spring. Until then, arrivederci! Upcoming CHID International Programs Winter 2005 Auroville, India Cape Town, South Africa Costa Rica F Auckland, New Zealand Spring 2005 Summer 2005 Baja, Mexico Prague, Czech Republic Novosibirsk, Russia (tent.) Rome, Italy Prague, Czech Republic Rome, Italy The Anthology Project: Elusive Horizons The focus of the latest volume of the student-produced Anthology Project is Elusive Horizons: Stories of Travel, Return and the Changing Space Between. To get your copy, stop by the office or send $5 to CHID/ UW, Box 354300, Seattle, WA 98195-4300. To find out the latest information on our international programs, please visit http://depts.washington.edu/chid/ University of Washington Comparative History of Ideas Box 354300 Seattle, WA 98195-4300 AUTUMN20 04 WE’RE ON THE WEB: http://depts.washington.edu/chid/ New Courses for Winter and Spring CHID 498: “Comparative History of Ideas about Cannibalism” Instructor: Lance Rhoades ’98 T Th 11:30-1:20 Seemingly at odds with present day moral values and tastes, cannibalism—which has haunted and intrigued the imagination since earliest times— nevertheless remains a prevalent theme in the lore and culture of the modern West. Over the course of the quarter we will consider reasons for this persistent fascination while we survey its evolving history. Special attention will be given to the function of anthropophagaic imagery and discourse as expressions of contemporary social and psychological concerns. Texts are drawn from a wide array of sources, including novels, fairy tales, travelogues, anthropological case studies, news reports, advertisements, films, and musical compositions. Winter 2005 and passive resistance to socioeconomic discipline, and the propagation of alternative public spheres. The class is designed to challenge traditional models of history by focusing on “traveling cultures” and the frequently ignored spaces between more visible and seemingly stable cultural formations, such as the nation-state. Students will read a mixture of theoretical, literary, and historical texts. CHID 270 “Communication Matters: The Material History of Communication Practices” Instructor: Phillip Thurtle [Group A Course!] “The medium is the message.” Written by Marshall McLuhan in 1964, these provocative catch words have only gained in insight as time has passed. Since then, scholars from diverse disciplines have sought to understand how the material basis of communication tools and practices informs social organization and cultural production. Beginning with the often overlooked communication practices of speech, writing and gesture and ending with new media and the Internet, this class will investigate transformational changes in communication practices and their relationship to social organization, cultural production, and the rhythms of everyday life. Students will find new and interesting answers to the following questions: How do communication technologies shape content? How are cultural presuppositions built into the mediums of information exchange? In what ways are cultural goods communication technologies? And finally, how have communication mediums changed human experience? Far from a comprehensive survey, this class offers students a rigorous introduction to analytical perspectives used by scholars interested in the materiality of communication. Students will read studies from critical theory, cultural history, social history, history of science and technology, cultural studies, communication theory, communication policy, anthropology, and economics to build a “tool box” of approaches they can draw on to analyze the informational content of any material object. —————————— CHID 498: “Anti-Imperialism, Aesthetics and American Family Values: ReExamining the Work of William and Henry James” Instructor: Georgia Roberts This special topics course examines the philosophical, political and literary work of brothers William and Henry James. We will focus our efforts by critically engaging William’s early writings on pragmatism and religious theory to inform our journey through the phenomenal life world of some of Henry’s most challenging fictional works. We will read primary texts, nineteenth century criticism, various biographical accounts, and personal letters alongside contemporary critical theories on race, nation and imperialism. CHID 498 “Animating Cultural Theory” Instructor: Phillip Thurtle This innovative seminar will use an in-depth study of graphic novels, comic books, and animated movies to illustrate difficult readings in cultural theory. Students will learn how to read comics as literary and cultural artifacts, contemplate the differences between visual and textual communication strategies, and understand how other media forms then use these strategies to communicate to audiences. Students will also read key twentieth and twenty-first century cultural theorists from the Marxist inspired analyses of the Frankfurt and Birmingham schools, the situationists (Debord), applications of psychoanalytic theory to cultural analysis (Freud, Lacan, Mulvey, and Žižek), and recent work on the reality of spectacle and theories of affect and embodiment (Deleuze, Bukatmen, and Massumi). Students will then be encouraged to synthesize their findings through written essays and the production of a critical multimedia document. Spring 2005 CHID 498: “Sailors, Slaves, and Pirates: History and Literature in the Atlantic World” Instructor: Steven Tobias This class will explore the Atlantic world of the 18th and 19th centuries from “the bottom up.” Specifically, it will consider how mariners, slaves, and other socially disempowered groups helped shape their worlds through material culture, both direct