WELCOME!
Welcome to the Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere! One year ago I stepped into the role of Rothman Chair and Director with the desire to open new conversations that build awareness about the humanities, while supporting the Center’s core constituents in research, teaching and learning, and the wider public. I am proud to report that this past year, the Center took steps to extend its programming in multiple spaces, made two strategic hires, relocated in order to grow in size, and continued to support high quality humanities scholarship and community events throughout the year.
ALEXANDER GRASS SCHOLARS UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH PROGRAM
The Center’s biggest new initiative has been to institute the Alexander Grass Scholars Program. This innovative program provides a funded, project-based learning experience in humanities research for undergraduates from a range of disciplines and experience-levels. We are proud of how this program brings together our commitment to undergraduate education in the humanities with public engagement. A Fall Research Symposium on November 4th will showcase the work of our first student cohort—so save the date and stay tuned for announcements!
DIGITAL HUMANITIES INITIATIVES
The Center’s next big programming initiative is to step into the world of the Digital Humanities: an area of scholarship at the intersection of digital technologies and humanistic methods and questions. With a generous Strategic Funding grant from the UF President’s Office, this year the Center will be building an interactive Digital Humanities Lab to foster multidisciplinary collaborations, offer trainings, courses, and consultations.
SPEAKER SERIES: PAGE UNBOUND: HUMANITIES IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Our Speaker Series this year, Page Unbound: Humanities in the Digital Age, explores the evolving relationship between the Humanities and Technological Innovation. Alex Gil (Yale), Marisa Parham (University of Maryland, College Park), and Lyneise Williams (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) will engage multi-disciplinary audiences through a combination of public lectures, reading groups, and workshops. These conversations aim to raise questions about how to use emergent technologies to engage in new forms of humanistic research, as well as give space to humanistic perspectives on the ways technology currently affects individuals, culture, and society.
NEW HIRES AND RELOCATION
Over the summer the Center welcomed Kristina Forman in a newly created Communications Manager position. And this Fall, Silvia Stoyanova joined us as Assistant Director of Digital Humanities and Undergraduate Learning, to oversee our program building in the Digital Humanities. Our core staff has worked through this year of transition to maintain the Center’s energy, creativity, and collaborative spirit. Thanks are due to Sara Agnelli (PhD Classics), who was promoted to Associate Director in the spring of 2024, Rhonda Black our Office Manager, Noah Mullens (graduate student, English) our Program Coordinator for Graduate Engagement, and Alison Walsh (graduate student, English), our Program Coordinator for Undergraduate Engagement.
I look forward to another year in which the Center invests in established partnerships, engages new audiences, and advocates for the humanities in our quickly evolving social worlds. Please stop by to see our new space in Keene-Flint Hall and don’t hesitate to stay connected!
Warmly,
Jaime Ahlberg
Rothman Chair and Director
Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere
University of Florida
9 October 2024
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