Society of Scholars Cohort Archive

scholars discussing a topic around the main Simpson Center conference room table

The Society of Scholars is an intellectual community of humanists of diverse generations, academic ranks, and departmental affiliations who contribute to and learn from one another’s work. Each year, approximately eight faculty and three dissertation research fellowships support members of the Society of Scholars. Scholars in year-long residence at the University of Washington may be invited to participate as well. The group meets biweekly throughout the year to discuss their research in progress. 

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Cohort Archives

2024 - 2025 Society of Scholars

Josh Reid
Josh Reid
Associate Professor
American Indian Studies
Bianca Dang
Bianca Dang
Assistant Professor
History
Diana Flores Ruíz
Diana Flores Ruiz
Assistant Professor
Cinema & Media Studies
Kyle J. Trembley
Kyle J. Trembley
Doctoral Candidate
Anthropology
Randa Tawil
Randa Tawil
Assistant Professor
CHCI-ACLS Visiting Fellow
A portrait of Jasmine Mahmoud standing in front of a bookcase.
Jasmine Mahmoud
Assistant Professor
School of Drama
Oya Rose Aktaş
Oya Rose Aktas
Doctoral Candidate
History
Danya Al-Saleh
Danya Al-Saleh
Assistant Professor
Jackson School of International Studies
M. Aziz
M. Aziz
Assistant Professor
American Ethnic Studies
Jennifer Baez
Jennifer Baez
Assistant Professor
Art History / School of Art + Art History + Design
Jacob Beckert
Jacob Beckert
Doctoral Candidate
Department of History
Ungsan Kim
Ungsan Kim
Assistant Professor
Asian Languages and Culture
JohnMorgan Baker
JohnMorgan Baker
Doctoral Candidate
English
Andreas P. Bassett stands in front of a large shrubbery while wearing a dark jacket blue shirt and tie.
Andreas P. Bassett
Doctoral Candidate
English
Anne Duncan
Anne Duncan
Doctoral Candidate
English
Kathleen Escarcha
Kathleen Escarcha
Doctoral Candidate
English
medium close-up of Yandong. He is on the left of the frame in a black t-shirt looking at the camera. To the right is a light flare form the setting sun, while the background shows buildings and a park.
Yandong Li
Doctoral Candidate
Cinema & Media Studies
Eric Villiers
Eric Villiers
Doctoral Candidate
School of Drama

2023 - 2024 Society of Scholars

Portrait of Arbella Bet-Shlimon in front of a dark wall.
Arbella Bet-Shlimon
Associate Professor
Department of History
Picture of Christina Yuen Zi Chung wearing a black shirt while standing in front of foliage.
Christina Yuen Zi Chung
Doctoral Candidate
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
Aria Fani looks into the camera while wearing glasses and a grey collared shirt.
Aria Fani
Assistant Professor
Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures
P. Joshua Griffin sits in front of a gray wall wearing glasses, a blue shirt, and a dark jacket.
P. Joshua Griffin
Assistant Professor
American Indian Studies
Douglas S. Ishii stands in front of stairs while wearing a blazer, teal collared shirt, and a black tie.
Douglas S. Ishii
Assistant Professor
English
Ralina Joseph smiles in this headshot and wears a yellow flutter-sleeve blouse, a blue necklace, and long circle earrings.
Ralina L. Joseph
Professor
Communication
Picture of Sarah Levin-Richardson standing in front of a beige wall wearing glasses, a blazer, and a black shirt.
Sarah Levin-Richardson
Associate Professor
Classics
James Pierce stands in front of a white wall with his arms crossed while wearing a black collared shirt and black trousers.
James Pierce
Assistant Professor
School of Art + Art History + Design
Photograph of Reuven Pinnata from the chest up, wearing a black shirt and a red Nintendo jacket, against a green blur of foliage.
Reuven Pinnata
Doctoral Candidate
English
Headshot of Chandan Reddy
Chandan Reddy
Associate Professor
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies and Comparative History of Ideas
Smiling head shot of a woman with long dark brown hair wearing a long sleeved black turtleneck sweater.
Ananya Sikand
Doctoral Candidate
Art History / School of Art + Art History + Design
Portrait of Lynn Thomas wearing glasses and yellow dangle earrings.
Lynn Thomas
Professor
History
Image of Aaron Carpenter, male, sitting at a wooden table, holding a coffee cup. Magazines are displayed on shelves behind him.
Aaron Carpenter
Doctoral Candidate
German Studies
Close-up portrait of a white woman with pink and brown hair and blue eyes wearing a blue shirt
Alexandra Meany
Doctoral Candidate
English
Or Vallah looks at the camera, smiling while wearing a long-sleeved top and sitting in front of a wall with vines.
Or Vallah
Doctoral Candidate
Art History and the School of Art + Art History + Design
Maxine Savage stands in front of a large bush while wearing glasses and a grey jacket.
Maxine Savage
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Scandinavian Studies
A white butch person with glasses smiling in a light brown blazer and blue and white checkered button-up shirt.
Frances O'Shaughnessy
Doctoral Candidate
History
Andreas P. Bassett stands in front of a large shrubbery while wearing a dark jacket blue shirt and tie.
Andreas P. Bassett
Doctoral Candidate
English

2022 - 2023 Society of Scholars

A portrait of Amalie Goul Dueholm standing in front of a wall.
Amalie Goul Dueholm
Doctoral Candidate
Cinema & Media Studies
Black and white portrait of Kewi Adeyemi
Kemi Adeyemi
Assistant Professor
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
Heekyoung Cho looks to the left while wearing glasses.
Heekyoung Cho
Associate Professor
Asian Languages & Literature
Portrait of Alina Méndez.
Alina Méndez
Assistant Professor
American Ethnic Studies
Portrait of Ariana Ochoa Camacho wearing glasses and standing in front of a bookcase.
Ariana Ochoa Camacho
Assistant Professor
School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington Tacoma
Portrait of Carole Lee standing outside.
Carole Lee
Associate Professor
Department of Philosophy
Portrait of Madeleine Dong wearing glasses, a scarf, and a dark jacket.
Madeleine Yue Dong
Professor
Jackson School of International Studies
Mal Ahern looks at a roll of film that has been unwound.
Mal Ahern
Assistant Professor
Cinema & Media Studies
profile of Maya Smith smiling at the camera, hair pulled back with some curls along the left side, wearing a red top under a blue blazer with a necklace
Maya Angela Eipe Smith
Associate Professor
French & Italian Studies
Portrait of Megan Ybarra
Megan Ybarra
Associate Professor
Department of Geography
A portrait of Raphaëlle Rabanes wearing a grey jacket.
Raphaëlle Rabanes
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
A portrait of Anna Nguyen wearing glasses.
Anna Nguyen
Doctoral Candidate
History
A portrait of Leah Rubinsky standing in front of a body of water.
Leah Rubinsky
Doctoral Candidate
Comparative Literature
Justin Randolph stands in front of a dark wall while wearing glasses and a white sweater.
Justin Randolph
CHCI/ACLS Visiting Scholar and Assistant Professor
History, Texas State University
Brendan McElmeel stands on a rooftop wearing a dark shirt.
Brendan McElmeel
Doctoral Candidate
History
Diana Molkova stands facing the right while looking into the camera and holds a huge fuzzy dog.
Diana Molkova
Doctoral Candidate
Classics
Portrait of Gust Burns.
Gust Burns
Doctoral Candidate
English
Jingsi Shen stands outside with mountains in the background.
Jingsi Shen
Doctoral Candidate
Comparative Literature
Matthew Childs sits outside on a hill overlooking a body of water.
Matthew Childs
Doctoral Candidate
German Studies
Maxine Savage stands in front of a large bush while wearing glasses and a grey jacket.
Maxine Savage
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Scandinavian Studies

2021 - 2022 Society of Scholars

Profile picture of Sarah Brucia Breitenfeld: a person with short brown hair in a blue button up sitting in front of a lake.
Sarah Brucia Breitenfeld
Doctoral Candidate
Classics
Portrait of Stephanie Clare; woman wearing glasses, red shirt and black blazer
Stephanie Clare
Assistant Professor
English
Portrait of Hajin Jun
Hajin Jun
Assistant Professor
History
Portrait of Louisa Mackenzie
Louisa Mackenzie
Associate Professor
French & Italian Studies
Portrait of Leigh Mercer wearing glasses and a dark jacket standing in front of a blue wall.
Leigh Mercer
Associate Professor
Spanish & Portuguese Studies
Portrait of Xin Peng standing by a golden Japanese Maple tree
Xin Peng
Doctoral Candidate
Cinema & Media Studies
Portrait of Rich Watts
Rich Watts
Associate Professor
French & Italian Studies
Mika Ahuvia in suit jacket smiling with bookcase in background
Mika Ahuvia
Associate Professor
Jackson School of International Studies
Portrait of José Alaniz in wintertime New York from 2018
José Alaniz
Professor
Slavic Languages and Literatures
Portrait of Dan Berger leaning against a brick wall
Dan Berger
Associate Professor
School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell
Justin Mohler looks at the camera while sitting in front of a river.
Justin Mohler
Doctoral Candidate
German Studies
Matthew Poland looks at the camera while wearing green glasses.
Matthew Poland
Part-time Lecturer
English
Profile of Katia smiling at the camera in a dark blazer and orange shirt
Katia Chaterji
Doctoral Candidate
History
Joe Concannon stands in front of a tree wearing a gray sweater.
Joe Concannon
Part-time Lecturer
English
Grace Funsten looks at the camera while standing in front of a white wall.
Grace Funsten
Doctoral Candidate
Classics
Erin Gilbert stands in front of a body of water.
Erin Gilbert
Doctoral Candidate
Cinema & Media Studies

2020 - 2021 Society of Scholars

A close-up portrait of Bettina Judd wearing glasses and a dark shirt.
Bettina Judd
Assistant Professor
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
Portrait of Devin Naar wearing a purple shirt and tie and wearing glasses.
Devin Naar
Associate Professor
Department of History
Portrait of Linh Thủy Nguyễn wearing an orange shirt.
Linh Thủy Nguyễn
Assistant Professor
American Ethnic Studies
Adair Rounthwaite sits on a blue chair wearing a pink sweater.
Adair Rounthwaite
Associate Professor and Chair
Art History
Portrait of Cleo Woelfle-Erskine in front of a body of water wearing a green shirt.
Cleo Wölfle Hazard
Assistant Professor
School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
Portrait of Robert Anderson wearing a dark grey sweater.
Robert Anderson
Graduate Student
Department of Geography
Yuta Kaminishi stands in front of a body of water wearing glasses and a grey shirt.
Yuta Kaminishi
Graduate Student
Cinema & Media Studies
Taylor Soja wears a black shirt and tan jacket.
Taylor Soja
Doctoral Candidate
Department of History
Close up of cherry blossoms.
Sebastián López Vergara
Graduate Student
Cinema & Media Studies
Portrait of Amanda Doxtater
Amanda Doxtater
Associate Professor
Department of Scandinavian Studies
Liora Halperin stands outside wearing glasses and a blue shirt.
Liora Halperin
Associate Professor
History
Portrait of Daniel Bessner in a blue shirt and glasses
Daniel Bessner
Associate Professor
Jackson School of International Studies
A close-up image of Danny Hoffman wearing a black shirt.
Danny Hoffman
Professor
Jackson School of International Studies
Portrait of Maryam Griffin wearing glasses.
Maryam Griffin
Assistant Professor
School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell

2019 - 2020 Society of Scholars

A black and white image of Rae Paris near a window.
Rae Paris
Assistant Professor
English
Davinder Bhowmik stands outside wearing a green scarf and patterned shirt.
Davinder Bhowmik
Associate Professor
Asian Languages & Literature
María Elena García stands outside wearing a red scarf and grey jacket.
María Elena García
Professor
Comparative History of Ideas
Jenna Grant stands outside in front of a brick wall wearing a patterned shirt.
Jenna Grant
Assistant Professor
Department of Anthropology
Belinda He stands in front of a bank of windows wearing a black shirt and gray jacket.
Belinda He
PhD Candidate
Jackson School of International Studies
Jang Wook Huh stands outside in front of a building wearing a blue shirt.
Jang Wook Huh
Assistant Professor
American Ethnic Studies
Joel Alden Schlosser sits in front of a wooden lattice wearing a collared shirt.
Joel Alden Schlosser
Associate Professor and Chair of Political Science
Bryn Mawr College
Ray Jonas wears glasses, a collared shirt, and a jacket.
Ray Jonas
Professor
Department of History
Adrian Kane wears glasses and a blue shirt with a bookcase in the background.
Adrian Kane-Galbraith
Doctoral Candidate
Department of History
Priti Ramamurthy stands outside wearing glasses and a floral shirt.
Priti Ramamurthy
Professor
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
La TaSha Levy wears glasses and a dark shirt with a multicolored background.
La TaSha Levy
Assistant Professor
American Ethnic Studies
Lily Shapiro stands in front of a bush wearing a blue shirt.
Lily Shapiro
PhD Candidate
Anthropology
Laurie Marhoefer stands in front of a white brick wall wearing a grey shirt.
Laurie Marhoefer
Associate Professor and Jon Bridgman Endowed Professor of History
Department of History
Christopher Teuton sits in front of a bookcase wearing a maroon shirt.
Christopher B. Teuton
Professor and Chair
American Indian Studies

2018 - 2019 Society of Scholars

Portrait of Akanksha Misra
Akanksha Misra
Assistant Professor
Gender & Women's Studies
Portrait of José Francisco Robles
José Francisco Robles
Assistant Professor
Spanish & Portuguese Studies
Portrait of Xiaoshun Zeng
Xiaoshun Zeng
Doctoral Candidate
History
Black and white portrait of Kewi Adeyemi
Kemi Adeyemi
Assistant Professor
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
Portrait of Jennifer Bean
Jennifer Bean
Associate Professor
Cinema & Media Studies
Jean Dennison
Jean Dennison
Associate Professor
Anthropology
Portrait of Vanessa Freije
Vanessa Freije
Assistant Professor
Jackson School of International Studies
Portrait of Radhika Govindrajan
Radhika Govindrajan
Assistant Professor
Anthropology
Portrait of Jason Groves
Jason Groves
Associate Professor
German Studies
Ungsan Kim
Ungsan Kim
Assistant Professor
Asian Languages and Culture
Portrait of Dian Million
Dian Million
Associate Professor and Chair
American Indian Studies
Headshot of Naomi Macalalad Bragin
Naomi Macalalad Bragin
Assistant Professor
School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell

2017 - 2018 Society of Scholars

A black and white image of Darren Byler wearing glasses.
Darren Byler
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Anthropology
Shannon Cram stands outside wearing a black shirt.
Shannon Cram
Associate Professor
School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell
Susan Gaylard stands behind a red bicycle and in front of a bookcase wearing a light-green jacket and purple sweater.
Susan Gaylard
Associate Professor of Italian
French & Italian Studies
Headshot of Olivia Noble Gunn.
Olivia Noble Gunn
Assistant Professor
Department of Scandinavian Studies
Portrait of Ana M. Gómez-Bravo
Ana M. Gómez-Bravo
Professor of Spanish
Spanish & Portuguese Studies
Portrait of Elizabeth Janssen.
Elizabeth Janssen
Doctoral Candidate
English
Jeffrey Knight wears a plaid shirt and glasses.
Jeffrey Knight
Associate Professor
English
Christian Novetzke wears a black shirt and glasses.
Christian Novetzke
Professor
Jackson School of International Studies
A close-up image of Jesse Oak Taylor wearing a blue shirt and glasses.
Jesse Oak Taylor
Professor
English
Liina-Ly Roos wears glasses, a white shirt, and a black jacket.
Liina-Ly Roos
Assistant Professor
German, Nordic, and Slavic, College of Letters & Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sarah Ross sits on a beach looking toward the water.
Sarah Ross
Doctoral Candidate
Cinema & Media Studies
Jordanna Bailkin wears a striped shirt in front of a white wall.
Jordanna Bailkin
Jere L. Bacharach Endowed Professor in International Studies
Department of History
Yomi Braester wears a black jacket in front of a white wall.
Yomi Braester
Professor, Byron W. and Alice L. Lockwood Professor in the Humanities
Cinema & Media Studies

2016 - 2017 Society of Scholars

LaShawnDa Pittman
LaShawnDa Pittman
Associate Professor
American Ethnic Studies
Headshot of Chandan Reddy
Chandan Reddy
Associate Professor
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies and Comparative History of Ideas
Portrait of Ileana Rodriguez-Silva
Ileana Rodriguez-Silva
Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies
History
Close up color photo of Amanda Swarr with bookshelves behind her.
Amanda Swarr
Associate Professor
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
Portrait of Sasha Welland
Sasha Su-Ling Welland
Associate Professor
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
Portrait of Megan Ybarra
Megan Ybarra
Associate Professor
Department of Geography
Portrait of Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano
Oscar Aguirre-Mandujano
Assistant Professor
History
Portrait of Ruby Blondell
Ruby Blondell
Professor Emerita
Classics
Portrait of Adriana Vazquez
Adriana Vazquez
Assistant Professor
Classics
Portrait of Sarah Dowling
Sarah Dowling
Assistant Professor
Comparative Literature
Portrait of Jesse Meredith
Jesse Meredith
Visiting Assistant Professor
History
Stephen Groening looking at a computer monitor
Stephen Groening
Associate Professor
Cinema & Media Studies
Portrait of Michelle Habell-Pallán
Michelle Habell-Pallán
Professor
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
A portrait of Jasmine Mahmoud standing in front of a bookcase.
Jasmine Mahmoud
Assistant Professor
School of Drama

2021 - 2022 Society of Scholars Fellow

Portrait of Xin Peng standing by a golden Japanese Maple tree

Xin Peng (she/her/hers)

Doctoral Candidate

The Yellowface of Interwar American Cinema: Technology, Aesthetics, and Transnational Media Practice

My dissertation argues for the centrality of racial performance in American cinema and popular culture between the two world wars. It chronicles the Orientalism intrinsic to our history of media technologies and cinematic aesthetics in an era when yellowface performance was prevalent and conspicuous, an Orientalist Art Deco aesthetic reached its peak, and the U.S. consolidated its “informal empire” in the Far East.

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