Society of Scholars

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

Oya Rose Aktaş
Doctoral Candidate
History
Danya Al-Saleh
Assistant Professor
Jackson School of International Studies
M. Aziz
Assistant Professor
American Ethnic Studies
Jennifer Baez
Assistant Professor
Art History / School of Art + Art History + Design
Jacob Beckert
Doctoral Candidate
Department of History
Bianca Dang
Assistant Professor
History
Diana Flores Ruíz
Assistant Professor
Cinema & Media Studies
Ungsan Kim
Assistant Professor
Asian Languages and Culture
A portrait of Jasmine Mahmoud standing in front of a bookcase.
Assistant Professor
School of Drama
Josh Reid
Associate Professor
American Indian Studies
Randa Tawil
Assistant Professor
CHCI-ACLS Visiting Fellow
Kyle J. Trembley
Doctoral Candidate
Anthropology
JohnMorgan Baker
Doctoral Candidate
English
Andreas P. Bassett stands in front of a large shrubbery while wearing a dark jacket blue shirt and tie.
Doctoral Candidate
English
Anne Duncan
Doctoral Candidate
English
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.
Doctoral Candidate
Cinema & Media Studies
Eric Villiers
Doctoral Candidate
School of Drama

2022 - 2023 Society of Scholars Fellow

A portrait of Anna Nguyen wearing glasses.

Anna Nguyen (she/her/hers)

Doctoral Candidate

Refugee Narratives and Resistance Nationalisms: The Development of Vietnamese Political Identity in the United States from the 1960s to 2000s

Anna Nguyen's project explores the varied priorities of Vietnamese refugee nationalists in the United States from the 1960s to 2000s. For Vietnamese in the United States, being a refugee is more than just a legal classification; rather the refugee is a racial formation that is central to the US understanding of non-communist Vietnamese as helpless and grateful subjects of the US empire. Her dissertation argues that US-based Vietnamese nationalists across the political spectrum were aware of this dynamic and sought to exploit their status as refugees to advance their own political agendas, while simultaneously contesting established narratives of race, war, and empire in both the United States and Vietnam.