Advancing West Valley campus humanities

Is the state of the humanities in flux? It depends on who you ask.

At the Humanities Institute, center director Ron Broglio is intentional about advancing humanities research beyond the institute’s home on the Arizona State University Tempe campus. Through a variety of funding opportunities, such as fellowships, seed grants and subventions, faculty can bring their ideas to life — resulting in a thriving body of research on AI, health humanities, plant humanities and more.

“There are wonderful faculty across ASU. Now is the time to be in community, to think together and to socially celebrate the good work of the humanities,” Broglio says.

Read on to learn how ASU faculty members are advancing their work.

Patrick Bixby brought Samuel Beckett’s 1961 play “Happy Days” to an unexpected stage last month: the Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville.

Following a powerful response to a lecture on the play he delivered there, Bixby organized a production for incarcerated women — marking the first time Beckett’s masterpiece had been performed for that audience.

The production opened at the Irish Cultural Center and McClelland Library, before traveling to the prison for an audience of 75 women over the course of two performances. The production was made possible by local partnerships, including a co-sponsorship from the Humanities Institute.

A U.S. literature professor, Chris Hanlon curates an engaging lineup of speakers for Humanities Institute events, such as Matthew Kirschenbaum, to address pressing humanities questions, including the implications of artificial intelligence in higher education.

Last month, Hanlon hosted author Sarah Mesle to discuss how humanist writers, teachers and students can develop practical strategies to bind the writing we love to the world-building we need.

A recent Humanities Institute seed grant recipient, Hanlon is also pursuing his project “Editing Emerson's Natural History of Intellect,” which is under contract for publication with Oxford University Press. The project will result in the first reliable scholarly edition of "Natural History of Intellect," the last lecture series by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Annika Mann, associate professor in the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies, was appointed director of the Health Humanities initiative at the Humanities Institute last year.

On March 26, the initiative will host author, bioethicist and health services researcher Anita Ho to explore the social justice issues that arise when innovative technologies like AI are used in domestic and global healthcare settings.

Scholars engaging in bioethics, ethics and healthcare will have the opportunity to network at a reception prior to the event.

Julia Sarreal is a professor in the School of Humanities, Arts and Cultural Studies.

A recent Humanities Institute seed grant recipient, Sarreal is leading a project titled “Planting the Histories of the Americas” that will culminate in a conference in October, bringing together historians and historically minded scholars whose work focuses on the relevance of native plants of the Americas, ranging from the pre-Columbian era to the present.