On March 29-30, an extraordinary opportunity for graduate students from across the humanities to share their research, learn from peers, engage with leading scholars, and network took place in our backyard. Supported by the Simpson Center for the Humanities, the Hanauer Seminar, and the Yoshino cherry trees who graciously reached peak bloom over that weekend, the Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference was coordinated and produced exclusively by UW grad students, including enthusiastic co-organization by German Studies’ own Jeff Jarzomb and Matthew Childs, along with Kexin Song (English) and Inji Kim (Art History).
After elaborating a theme (Culture and Conflict) that would create space for discourse among many disciplines, writing and widely disseminating a CFP, and subsequently reading through dozens of submitted abstracts, conference organizers ultimately selected twelve graduate student papers for the conference. Preparatory work done, in-person participants descended on the UW campus from up and down the West Coast–from BC to LA, and from as far afield as Toronto. They left richer in ideas and collegial connections and with a uniformly positive impression of the conference and of our university.
With unreasonably glorious weather streaming into the Simpson Center’s handsome seminar room, the conference opened Friday afternoon with keynotes given by Prof. Juliet Shields (Department of English) and Prof. Amanda Lock Swarr (Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies), who addressed Black American engagement with the novels of Sir Walter Scott, and problems of scholarship and intersex representation in Southern Africa, respectively. Over catered dinner and drinks afterwards, conference participants, keynote speakers, and guests had an opportunity to speak informally over good food and wine, and to find connections among their areas of scholarship. Professors Shields and Swarr generously participated in nearly all sessions over both days, contributing their expertise and support.
Dealing with topics as disparate as the politics of online farming games (Alexandra Petrus, University of Southern California) and the anthropology and pedagogy of Muslim home-schoolers in the San Francisco Bay Area (Lauren Eastland, UC Davis), Saturday’s papers were placed in panels that enabled unexpected interdisciplinary dialogue and through-lines. Following the first panel, in the much-coveted 8 a.m. Saturday slot, with presentations from Chelsea Kopp (WSU-Vancouver) and myself, a lively debate on Zionism and Holocaust memory wiped any residual sleep from our eyes. Passionate dialogue (and copious amounts of coffee) kept us energized throughout the day. German Studies grad student Aline Franzus notes that, for her, “one of the common threads unconsciously or consciously woven into multiple papers, comments, and thoughts during the conference was the notion of commodified resistance. These included the fight against book banning [Aline’s contribution, on book bans in the US - MS], to urban spaces [Emeer Hassanpour, USC], to farming [Alexandra Petrus], and the subsequent question of how we can resist this constant commodification.” After some goodbyes and collaborative cleanup, the conference adjourned, in deference to tradition, to the College Inn Pub for final reflections and a toast to a job well done.
In addition to Jeff and Matthew’s coordinating roles, our department was strongly represented throughout the weekend: faculty and students attended sessions and receptions, and Aline and the undersigned delivered papers on March 30. Says Jeff: “Interdisciplinary conferences like this are always a great opportunity for students to share their research to a broader audience and to hone their skills as presenters. Having a space dedicated to graduate student speakers, where they can engage with each other as scholars and get feedback on their work, is really meaningful and important.” Hear, hear!
Photo credit: Aline Franzus
-- Martin Schwartz