Recent News

by Phillip Thurtle This last year challenged CHID unlike any year I’ve ever experienced. Together, we navigated a global pandemic, exacerbated social inequities, an economic slump, and the loss of human contact. Due to the care, hard work, and daily sacrifices of those within the department, CHID has remained the dynamic center for interdisciplinary thought that drew me to the program 20 years ago. In a future “Letter from the Chair,” I will return to talk about the department… Read more
Arriving from the depths of Southern California, Lenan Choto waltzes into the Emerald City as a soft ray of sunshine (or so they’ve been told). With a background in TV & Radio, they wish to use their new media expertise to continue promoting a sense of community within CHID. Lenan Choto was born and raised in Los Angeles, California (a fact they can’t stop mentioning). In retrospect, growing up in Koreatown near Rampart Village was key to Lenan’s early childhood development, especially… Read more
Introducing our first CHID podcast: Convos in the Office!Every few weeks, Chair of CHID Phillip Thurtle & Outreach Coordinator Lenan Choto discuss various topics leading to philosophical insights, thought revelations and catharsis. This is an exciting time for CHID and we hope everyone enjoys the future of our content. Links can be found below: Spotify Read more
Check out this College of Arts & Sciences Perspectives magazine feature on CHID alumnus David Ryder (BA, CHID, 2006; MA, Cultural Studies, 2011): https://artsci.washington.edu/news/2025-01/award-winning-photojournalist-focus. Ryder "credits both CHID and Cultural Studies with shaping his approach to photojournalism. CHID’s interdisciplinary focus helped him become a nimble problem… Read more
In Indian languages from Sanskrit to Marathi, yoga has an enormous range of meanings, though most often it refers to philosophy or methods to control the mind and body. In their co-authored book, The Yoga of Power: Yoga as Political Thought and Practice in India (2024, Columbia University Press), Sunila S. Kalé and Christian Lee Novetzke argue for a wider understanding, demonstrating that yoga has long expressed political thought and practice. The political idea of yoga names the tools of… Read more
Welcome back Chiddies! Come through the CHID office (Padelford B-102) starting at 9am on Wednesday, September 25th, for complementary coffee and donuts ☕🍩
CHID Professor Anu Taranath's powerful essay "Finding New Horizons" is featured in the June 2024 issue of University of Washington Magazine. Based on her work as a study abroad faculty program director, Dr. Taranath writes, "Traveling gives us a framework for connecting with others." Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Professor Taranath!
Congratulations to Landrie Einardt who has won a Chester William Fritz Scholarship for the 2024-25 academic year. This award supports highly deserving students in the Humanities departments of the College of Arts and Sciences. In his letter of nomination, CHID chair Tony Lucero praises Landrie’s engagement with critical theory and philosophy “as a means of understanding systemic issues and envisioning transformative change.” Landrie's commitment to social justice extends beyond the classroom.… Read more
Recent CHID graduate Markus Teuton was just recognized in ArtSci's June newsletter via his own featured story, "Celebrating Contemporary Indigenous Music". Congrats Markus, we're all very proud 💜 (And CHID's been getting a lot of love lately, woo!) Check out the feature… Read more
As a learning community committed to students’ inquiry and the many ways they engage the world around them, we are moved by our students’ request that CHID faculty and staff make a public statement in support of the student-led call to “end UW's involvement in the ongoing genocide in Palestine.”  In reply, and after departmental deliberations, we write here to express our unequivocal solidarity with our students’ efforts to denounce genocide and our University’s complicity. Many of us… Read more