2022-23 Public Humanities and Partnerships
Our departments, centers, schools and faculty are advancing the humanities through partnerships and projects with other institutions and disciplines.
Initiative ‘Borrowing’ Libraries Will Expand Access to Dental Care
A multi-institution project based at UMD is focused on understanding and responding to inequities in dental care by reaching patients at public libraries. The two-year Narratives and Medical Education project, led by Michelle V. Moncrieffe, a lecturer in the English department, is placing predoctoral dental students and dental hygiene students at six libraries in California, Indiana, Iowa and Maryland to provide screenings and education along with students in English and professional writing who are using their skills to highlight the experiences of marginalized communities and seek to inform the public around issues of health access and disparities.
Celebrating Harriet Tubman Day
The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies celebrated its third annual commemoration of Harriet Tubman Day on March 10, 2023. The event, “Wanted: Harriet Tubman,” examined art, politics and identity and featured speakers including Ernestine “Tina” Wyatt ’95, Tubman’s greatgreat-great-grandniece, pictured third from left. Pictured above (left to right): Neda Atanasoski, Chair of the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Stephanie Shonekan, Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities; Tina Wyatt; Adrienne L. Childs, Adjunct Curator, The Phillips Collection (moderator); Nina Cooke, founding principal of Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design (speaker); and Mike Alewitz, labor activist and muralist (speaker).
CLCS Awards in the Public Humanities
The Center for Literary and Comparative Studies (CLCS) in the Department of English launched the CLCS Awards in the Public Humanities—$2,500 each to six projects led by graduate students and professional track faculty in the department that seek to connect research and teaching to current problems and captivate audiences beyond the university. Projects in the inaugural cohort ranged from workshops for teens to a podcast and were all in support of the principles and practices of CAARES, the department’s Committee for Antiracism, Accessibility, Respect, Equity, and Social Justice.
$1M NSF Award to Support Data-powered Fight Against Pandemics
A $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation is supporting efforts by UMD researchers to develop sophisticated predictive models and best communication practices needed to combat future pandemics. The team, which includes Xiaoli Nan, a professor of communication, is crunching voluminous data from the current pandemic to build a seamless, end-to-end network that considers complex and interdependent biological, environmental and human factors.
Two Programs Present A Festival of Restored Films
The Italian Program and the Program in Cinema and Media Studies presented “Il Cinema Ritrovato ON TOUR,” a festival of restored films in collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna film archive. They also partnered with the National Gallery of Art for two special programs, including a Buster Keaton Celebration. During this celebration, School of Music musicians performed an original composition by Donald Sosin to accompany three silent films.
‘Bridging’ an Academic Divide
UMD faculty and students are teaching writing skills to those incarcerated by Washington, D.C.’s Department of Corrections, helping them share their stories and preparing them for higher education and job opportunities in the future. The work, led by Associate Professor of English Peter Mallios and Ph.D. candidate in English Elizabeth Catchmark, is part of a college bridge program developed and operated by the nonprofit Petey Greene Program.
Grand Challenges
In support of programs, initiatives and projects designed to impact enduring and emerging societal issues, the University of Maryland’s Grand Challenges Grants Program awarded $30 million in funding to 50 projects and 185 faculty members across every school and college on campus. Among them, ARHU faculty were the recipients of one Institutional Grant, three Impact Awards, four Team Project Grants and one Individual Project Grant.
ARHU faculty are partnering with colleagues across campus to focus on groundbreaking and impactful research on topics including racial and social justice, education, pandemic preparedness and ethical technologies. Their work will shape the future of our community, state, nation and world.