{"id":4386,"date":"2024-07-11T16:34:55","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T20:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/?p=4386"},"modified":"2024-07-11T16:34:55","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T20:34:55","slug":"a-thriving-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/2024\/a-thriving-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"A Thriving Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Walt Hunter | Photo by Angelo Merendino<\/p><\/div>\n

It\u2019s common for <\/span>Walt Hunter<\/b>, PhD, to find his students immersed in classic works by Virginia Woolf or Toni Morrison\u2014even as they\u2019re diving into the complexities of quantum physics or experimenting with artificial intelligence.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a unique kind of interdisciplinary learning and experimentation that thrives here,\u201d said Hunter, chair of the Department of English since joining Case Western Reserve University in 2022. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the first things I noticed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Hunter and other humanities faculty are writing a new chapter on campus. They\u2019re championing their core disciplines while exploring ways to integrate STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields into the mix.<\/span><\/p>\n

And that\u2019s precisely what students want.<\/span><\/p>\n

Increasingly, undergraduates are pursuing humanities majors and minors while taking courses in STEM fields. They recognize that \u201cit\u2019s not a tradeoff between the expressive magic of creative writing and the analytical grace of computation,\u201d said Hunter, a poet and a contributing editor at The Atlantic<\/em> magazine. \u201cWe encourage you to do both. That\u2019s core to our vision of how humanities thrive.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Humanities Renaissance<\/h2>\n

For years, humanities enrollments and degrees declined nationally. But, more recently, universities have seen an uptick in arts and humanities majors as students realize the benefits of programs that help them make sense of the world and nurture their critical-thinking and communications skills.<\/span><\/p>\n

At CWRU, the College of Arts and Sciences is cultivating an energetic intellectual atmosphere\u2014exploring new areas of study and expanding paths for earning degrees and funding for student and faculty conducting interdisciplinary research and projects. The college has also launched several innovative \u201cpublic humanities\u201d programs to integrate disciplines from art history to philosophy into civic engagement projects that advance social justice through community collaborations.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are national trends, and there is what is happening here,\u201d said Interim Dean <\/span>Lee Thompson<\/b>, PhD. \u201cEvery day, we are getting creative to not only keep the humanities alive, but also to add to their value and role in a contemporary society and changing world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The effectiveness of the college\u2019s evolving focus and recent endeavors will also be gauged by metrics such as student enrollment, research outcomes, publications, grants\u2014and the career paths of graduates, Thompson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers tell us they need graduates with a strong humanities foundation\u2014intellectual curiosity, writing and communication, critical thinking, empathy and an appreciation of diverse perspectives,\u201d said Thompson, also a professor of psychological sciences. \u201cOur college is so well- tailored to meet that need.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Michele Tracy Berger | Photo by Roger Mastroianni<\/p><\/div>\n

A Community of Human Creativity<\/h2>\n

Hunter likes to say the humanities \u201care in the business of changing people\u2019s lives.\u201d And the university is doing precisely that, both on campus and off.<\/span><\/p>\n

Its Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, launched in 1996 through the leadership of the Nord family, is woven into the fabric of the community with an endowed speaker series, faculty and graduate-student talks on their works-in-progress and a broad range of events. Over the years, the Nord family has helped to advance the Baker-Nord Center\u2019s highly regarded work.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Baker-Nord Center is public-facing,\u201d said center Director <\/span>Michele Tracy Berger<\/b>, PhD, who joined the university last year and is the Eric and Jane Nord Family Professor in the Department of Religious Studies. \u201cWe are an intellectual and social hub for amplifying the arts and humanities at the university and broader community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u2019s now leading efforts to expand the reach of the annual Cleveland Humanities Festival, which the center organizes in collaboration with partners from diverse communities and organizations regionwide.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s festival, which began in March, is exploring the multifaceted concept of awe across cultures and time periods\u2014examining its role in art, belief systems, politics, biology and ecology, and questioning its universality and evolutionary significance. \u201cIt aligns so brilliantly, both with humanities and with the sciences,\u201d Berger said. \u201cThere\u2019s no better time for higher <\/span>education to be bold, engaged and courageous in how we show the value of the humanities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Humanities Experimentation<\/h2>\n

In the past year, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation has awarded $3.5 million in grants to the university to create a new area of study bringing together humanities and STEM fields.<\/span><\/p>\n

Known as \u201cExperimental Humanities,\u201d the initiative comes in response to a rising need for a more seamless integration of these fields, Thompson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the past five years, students double majoring across the two areas increased by nearly 20%.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe can adapt to changing educational needs and trends to truly integrate fields, while preserving core values essential to the humanities,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cAs a major research <\/span>university, we\u2019re all too eager to explore new territory.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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CWRU Professor Timothy Beal (center) with, from left, Aidan Bugayong, Amber Tilling-Richards and Shreya Girish, students who are among the inaugural Mandeln Undergraduate Fellows in the university\u2019s Experimental Humanities program to integrate humanities and STEM fields. | Photo by Matt Shiffler<\/p><\/div>\n

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HUMAN-CENTERED AI<\/h2>\n

As <\/span>Catherine Merrill<\/b> navigates her first year at Case Western Reserve, she\u2019s considered how artificial intelligence (AI) may disrupt the careers she and fellow students will enter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crucial for young people to understand the inevitable integration of AI into almost everything, including medicine,\u201d said Merrill, who aspires to be a physician.<\/span><\/p>\n

This spring, the college introduced a new course\u2014\u201cResponsible AI: Cultivating a Just and Sustainable Socio-technical Future through Data Citizenship\u201d\u2014 and Merrill seized the opportunity to enroll.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to understand how to use it responsibly,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Created and co-taught by <\/span>Timothy Beal<\/b>, PhD, a Distinguished University Professor in the college and <\/span>Michael Hemenway<\/b>, PhD, a research fellow, the class was incubated over a two-year period as part of a project involving 14 colleges and universities led by the National Humanities Center and sponsored by Google.<\/span><\/p>\n

While each participating institution is offering its own unique course, the common goal is to help college students become literate in AI, machine- learning and coding to foster engagement with emerging technologies and their ethical implications.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTogether we\u2019re considering the bigger philosophical and ethical questions these students will help answer in their lives and careers.\u201d \u2014CWRU Professor Timothy Beal<\/i><\/b><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The CWRU course emphasizes concepts such as \u201cdata justice\u201d and \u201cresponsible AI,\u201d which address bias, discrimination and fairness issues inherent in datasets and models. The class has drawn students from across the university.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTogether we\u2019re considering the bigger philosophical and ethical questions these students will help answer in their lives and careers,\u201d said Beal, the Florence Harkness Professor of Religion.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Students Amber Smith and Jose Fontanez | Photo by Matt Shiffler<\/p><\/div>\n

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GATEWAY TO HUMANITIES<\/h2>\n

By his own account, <\/span>Jose Fontanez<\/b>\u2019s first attempt to secure an undergraduate degree was ill-fated. \u201cI struggled to engage because I was preoccupied with family issues that were beyond my control,\u201d said the 39-year-old native Clevelander.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Years later, he returned to his education as an adult with a stable home environment and \u201cfound out that not only was I not a poor student, but I was actually an excellent student,\u201d Fontanez said.<\/span><\/p>\n

What transformed his achievements and self-esteem as a learner was the Cleveland Humanities Collaborative (CHC). The often life-changing program provides a path for qualified students from Cleveland-area community colleges to transfer to Case Western Reserve to earn a bachelor\u2019s degree in a humanities discipline.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought a Case [Western Reserve] degree would be within my reach,\u201d said Fontanez, who earned an associate\u2019s degree at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) and is now a junior at CWRU pursuing a bachelor\u2019s degree in English and teaching licensure in Integrated Language Arts.<\/span><\/p>\n

He aims to be a high school English teacher and seek a graduate degree in educational administration. \u201cI hope my journey is an example to people who think going to college is impossible,\u201d Fontanez said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since CHC\u2019s establishment in 2014 with a grant from the Mellon Foundation, 47 students have enrolled at CWRU as part of the program. More than 70% have graduated or are earning their bachelor\u2019s degrees. The foundation recently approved a third round of funding, which will increase the emphasis on career pathways.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBy creating possibilities in the humanities, the opportunity has been transformative for our students,\u201d said <\/span>Kurt Koenigsberger<\/b>, PhD, an associate professor of English and co-director of the CHC with <\/span>Brian Clites<\/b>, PhD, an assistant professor and the Archbishop Hallinan Professor of Catholic Studies II, and associate director <\/span>Lisa Nielson<\/b>, PhD, an Anisfield-Wolf SAGES Fellow at the university. \u201cWhen we clearly show students how they can use their talents professionally, they\u2019re more willing to invest in the humanities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That vision drew <\/span>Amber Smith<\/b> to study French, first at Tri-C and then CWRU, while working closely with CHC\u2019s mentors and academic advisors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a non-traditional student, I know the program understands where I\u2019m coming from and what I need to succeed,\u201d said Smith, a senior in her mid-30s. \u201cThat\u2019s given me a greater sense of purpose and confidence to explore possibilities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As graduation approaches, Smith is leaning toward a career in education, attributing CHC\u2019s support network and peer community with providing \u201cthe college experience I missed out on, but richer and more productive. I feel a responsibility to make the most of this chance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Photo

From left: Dance Lecturer Dani Dowler (CWR \u201812; GRS \u201814, contemporary dance) and Katherine Averill, a graduate student, in Joel Linebach\u2019s Kinetic Echoes. | Photo by Brad Petot<\/p><\/div>\n

CREATING A HUB OF INTELLECTUAL INQUIRY<\/h2>\n

In her first year as director of the Baker-Nord Center,<\/span> Michele Tracy Berger<\/b> has prioritized nurturing the campus academic community, collaborations and public programming, and securing more funding to make faculty and student projects possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cScholars have historically been trained to hyper- specialize, leading to disciplinary silos,\u201d Berger said. \u201cWe\u2019re aiming to unlock the possibilities of scholars and students\u2014that\u2019s when academic renewal happens.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The center recently awarded a \u201cflash grant\u201d to <\/span>Jue Liang<\/b>, PhD, an assistant professor of religious studies, to create a course for the Fall 2024 semester: \u201cGhosts, Zombies and Monsters: What We Fear and Loathe in Religions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Flash grants represent a new funding mechanism to create synergy with Baker-Nord Center themed programming and the Cleveland Humanities Festival.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Liang, the grant provides the chance to collaborate with a master\u2019s degree student to creatively explore and develop the course.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGhosts, zombies and monsters are known by different names but are a part of many religious traditions and life,\u201d said Liang, who studies Buddhism, gender and vernacular religion. \u201cYet they\u2019re underexplored, especially in academic studies.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Joel K. Linebach<\/b> used a Graduate Student Research Grant he received from the center to choreograph \u201cKinetic Echoes,\u201d a contemporary dance piece exploring the interplay of movement and sound with wearable technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

Linebach (CWR \u201921; GRS \u201922, macromolecular science) has long pursued a dual arts and engineering path and is now earning a Master of Fine Arts degree in contemporary dance and a PhD in macromolecular science and engineering.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to show that dance can be enhanced by modern tools while preserving the integrity of the artform,\u201d he said. \u201cThis grant opened the door.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Programs that Celebrate the Humanities<\/h2>\n

Many programs at the College of Arts and Sciences are designed to support humanities scholars and scholarship. Here are just a few:<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cleveland Humanities Festival<\/b> is coordinated by the university\u2019s Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities and is a collaboration of Northeast Ohio area arts, cultural and educational organizations. AWE is the theme of the spring 2024 festival.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Experimental Humanities<\/b> is a new CWRU program established with funding from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation. It will include a new major that integrates humanities and STEM fields.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Humanities@Work<\/b> provides humanities students the opportunity to learn new skills through paid short-term internships, many of them donor funded. Students have held internships at many public, private and nonprofit organizations including Cleveland City Council, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and KeyBank.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Humanities in Leadership Learning Series (HILLS)<\/b>, funded by the Mellon Foundation, develops academic leadership potential among arts and humanities scholars through seminars, discussions and administrative experiences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

h.lab<\/b>, short for humanities lab, offers students and scholars access to leading-edge computational tools for experimentation and research. The initiative aims to drive tech innovation in the humanities while investigating ethical implications.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Public Humanities and Civic Engagement<\/b> certificate creates more humanities-focused civic engagement that combines scholarship, teaching and projects with community organizations.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s common for Walt Hunter<\/b>, PhD, to find his students immersed in classic works by Virginia Woolf or Toni Morrison\u2014even as they\u2019re diving into the complexities of quantum physics or experimenting with artificial intelligence. …Read more.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":481,"featured_media":4389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artscimedia.case.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/147\/2024\/06\/26212302\/P21_240229_Walt-Hunter-17-Credit_Angelo_Merendino_PRINT.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/481"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4386"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4501,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386\/revisions\/4501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsci.case.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}