Reimagining the PhD Cohort
In July 2015, the Simpson Center launched Reimagining the Humanities PhD and Reaching New Publics with the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The conviction animating this initiative was that doctoral education, especially at a public university, must be guided by a capacious vision of its fundamental purpose: to contribute to the public good. From 2015-2021, the program prepared UW doctoral students in the humanities for this task by meaningfully connecting them to the diverse, access-oriented institutions of higher education in the Seattle District community colleges, and by supporting the development of both doctoral students’ public projects and publicly engaged graduate seminars taught by UW faculty in the humanities. Find out more about our programming below.
2021 - 2022 Scholars
2021 - 2022 Reimagining the Humanities PhD Scholar
Paul Tubig (he/him/his)
2021 Mellon Collaborative Summer Fellowship for Public Projects in the Humanities
Fostering Respect across Publics: A Documentary on the Community of Philosophical Inquiry at the Washington Correctional Center for Women
Anna Bates and Paul Tubig’s project seeks to explore the question: what is the meaning of respect in a diverse community of philosophical inquiry and how can it be fostered across publics? This exploration will build on previous work of creating open, critical spaces for philosophical engagement between incarcerated students and non-incarcerated students.
The project aims to produce three artifacts: (1) a documentary of incarcerated students’ experiences in the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl as well as a mixed enrollment summer seminar course; (2) a workshop on the meaning and practice of respect in a mixed community of critical inquiry; and (3) a multimedia report on student perspectives.
2020 Mellon Collaborative Summer Fellowship for Public Projects in the Humanities
Philosophy Behind/Beyond Bars: Exploring the Intersection between Philosophy and Prisons
Paul Tubig and Anna Bates’s project seeks to engage the relationship between philosophy and prisons. Prisons have a significant role in the history of philosophy—both as a context from which philosophers, as incarcerated subjects, have critically examined important philosophical questions, and as an object of philosophical inquiry. This project aims to design and facilitate a collaborative seminar series and culminating symposium that critically engages with philosophical work related to carceral systems and incarcerated persons. The participants will include both students at Washington Correctional Center for Women and students at the University of Washington. The project aims to trouble the traditional understanding of a humanities classroom, while destigmatizing incarcerated persons by recognizing them as equal contributors to philosophical discourse. It also aims to expand the study of philosophy to marginalized communities who are uniquely positioned to contribute to philosophical discourse.
2018 Mellon Community College Fellowship for Reaching New Publics in the Humanities
Advisor: Sara Goering (Philosophy)
Mentor: Anthony Ferrucci (Philosophy, South Seattle College)
Paul and Anthony investigated responsive curriculum design that might reach diverse student demographics with varying levels of preparedness. Whether they were exploring how to teach reading skills or create engaging lectures, their interests centered on supporting and retaining students through effective pedagogy.