News from School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
Category: Cultural Studies
Jin-Kyu Jung and Christian Anderson : (Un)Mapping Social and Spatial Inequality
IAS faculty members Jin-Kyu Jung and Christian Anderson co-chaired a panel session on “(Un)Mapping Social and Spatial Inequality: Extending Socio-Theoretically Informed Critical Approaches to Engage Policy” at the 2021 University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) Symposium held virtually. The session ...
June 9, 2021
Jennifer Atkinson and Kari Lerum receive SRCP Seed Grant
IAS faculty members Jennifer Atkinson and Kari Lerum were awarded the SRCP Seed Grant for 2021. The UW Bothell Scholarship, Research, and Creative Practice (SRCP) Seed Grant program is intended to competitively support UW Bothell faculty in all disciplines who are starting new projects or relaunching current projects in ...
June 1, 2021
Ching-In Chen: “Women and Non-Binary Faculty of Color are Vulnerable One Year into Pandemic”
IAS faculty member Ching-In Chen collaborated with other pre-tenure women and non-binary faculty of color at the University of Washington to write an opinion piece about the impact of navigating the transitions resulting from coronavirus on women or non-binary faculty of color early in their academic careers.
May 18, 2021
Mateó B. Ochoa: An unexpected shift from global travel to community arts organizing
Last November, Master of Arts in Cultural Studies alum Mateó B. Ochoa joined Sundance Institute as their Senior Manager of Community Programs. In this role, Ochoa amplifies the creative works of local theater artists and filmmakers through live and digital public programs throughout the State of Utah. Perhaps best known for its annual film festival, Sundance Institute is a leader in discovering and supporting independent artists, and its reach is worldwide. It’s a place that suits Ochoa’s commitment to elevating other artists — and a place they did not expect to find themself one year ago.
April 30, 2021
On the Boards announces Berette S Macaulay as inaugural Curatorial Fellow
The performing arts organization, On the Boards, has announced M.A. in Cultural Studies alum Berette S Macaulay as their inaugural Curatorial Fellow. Macaulay is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and writer from Jamaica and Sierra Leone whose research and visual arts practice engage themes of belonging, identity-performance, illegibility, love, memory, and mythmaking. The Curatorial Fellow has ...
March 24, 2021
Joshua Heim helps build a cultural ecosystem
Joshua Heim (Master of Arts in Cultural Studies ’10) is working behind the scenes at 4Culture, King County’s cultural funding agency, to help arts and culture recover from the pandemic – with equity as their North Star. “The good things most people like about their communities are cultural, whether it’s a festival, a local civic organization or an old building that anchors your main street,” says Heim, who as deputy director is leading the agency’s COVID-19 recovery task force.
March 23, 2021
Kristin Gustafson receives Jinx Coleman Broussard Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Media History
The Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s History Division selected IAS faculty member Kristin Gustafson as one of the 2021 winners for its Jinx Coleman Broussard Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Media History. She will present a hands-on virtual teaching module at this year’s conference in August. Her teaching idea submission ...
March 15, 2021
Ruth Gregory receives WSU Provost’s Featured Faculty award
Ruth Gregory makes media. The 2011 Master of Arts in Cultural Studies alum is an award-winning filmmaker, published writer, and web designer with over two decades of experience in the creative industries. She is also an Assistant Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Digital Technology and Culture Program (DTC) at Washington State University (WSU). In February, Gregory was recognized as ...
March 5, 2021
Helen K. Thomas: Young adult books connect Black girls globally
A fan of young adult fiction, Helen K. Thomas explored the genre in the Master of Arts in Cultural Studies program and now is researching the books' global appeal with a Fulbright in Nigeria. Although the coronavirus pandemic is far from over, Thomas plans to start her nine-month Fulbright this spring, leading reading circles with teen girls in Lagos, Nigeria. “My goal is to see how these books create a greater sense of agency in the Nigerian girls’ sense of their future, and then also to see how reading these books creates a stronger sense of community and interest in other Black girls around the world,” Thomas said.
March 1, 2021
Cultural Studies prepare diversity officers
Graduates of the Master of Arts in Cultural Studies (MACS) program lead cultural change — a skill more organizations are seeking after witnessing widespread protests against racial injustice. Many employers are now looking for diversity officers to lead that change, and hiring for such positions increased more than 90% since 2019, LinkedIn reported. “What’s strong about the Cultural Studies preparation is that it understands this is long term social and cultural change — changing the way people work and do things,” Bartha said. “The curriculum of the Cultural Studies program thinks about the dynamics of organizational change as well as community accountability and helps people know that ground.” Along with the position of diversity officer, MACS graduates carry out similar work as artists, educators and activists.
February 23, 2021