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

2023 - 2024 Society of Scholars

Portrait of Arbella Bet-Shlimon in front of a dark wall.
Associate Professor
Department of History
Picture of Christina Yuen Zi Chung wearing a black shirt while standing in front of foliage.
Doctoral Candidate
Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies
Aria Fani looks into the camera while wearing glasses and a grey collared shirt.
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.
Assistant Professor
School of Marine and Environmental Affairs; Department of American Indian Studies
Douglas S. Ishii stands in front of stairs while wearing a blazer, teal collared shirt, and a black tie.
Assistant Professor
English
Ralina Joseph smiles in this headshot and wears a yellow flutter-sleeve blouse, a blue necklace, and long circle earrings.
Professor
Communication
Picture of Sarah Levin-Richardson standing in front of a beige wall wearing glasses, a blazer, and a black shirt.
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.
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.
Doctoral Candidate
English
Headshot of 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.
Doctoral Candidate
Art History / School of Art + Art History + Design
Portrait of Lynn Thomas wearing glasses and yellow dangle earrings.
Professor
History
Andreas P. Bassett stands in front of a large shrubbery while wearing a dark jacket blue shirt and tie.
Doctoral Candidate
English
Image of Aaron Carpenter, male, sitting at a wooden table, holding a coffee cup. Magazines are displayed on shelves behind him.
Doctoral Candidate
German Studies
Close-up portrait of a white woman with pink and brown hair and blue eyes wearing a blue shirt
Doctoral Candidate
English
A white butch person with glasses smiling in a light brown blazer and blue and white checkered button-up shirt.
Doctoral Candidate
History
Maxine Savage stands in front of a large bush while wearing glasses and a grey jacket.
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Scandinavian Studies
Or Vallah looks at the camera, smiling while wearing a long-sleeved top and sitting in front of a wall with vines.
Doctoral Candidate
Art History and the School of Art + Art History + Design

2017 - 2018 Society of Scholars Fellow

A close-up image of Jesse Oak Taylor wearing a blue shirt and glasses.

Jesse Oak Taylor (he/him/his)

Director, Undergraduate Programs and Associate Professor

Becoming Species: Literature, Science, and the Emergence of the Anthropocene

This project examines Victorian debates around evolution, extinction, and the status of species in light of the emergence of the Anthropocene, a proposed geological epoch in which human beings have become a force of nature. No aspect of the Anthropocene has proven more provocative, or controversial, than the species question: the idea that the human species has become a geological actor is counterbalanced by the fact that global ecological crisis is also marked by extreme inequality. Those most vulnerable to climate change are also those least responsible for it. Returning to Victorian debates over a similar set of questions offers a useful historical vantage on these pressing issues.