The application deadline for the 2013 Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities has now passed.
Thanks to all those who applied.

See the 2013 Call for Applications to read about the 2013 theme

2013 Program Dates and Application Information

June 24th - August 23rd, 2013

About the 2013 Institute Theme: "OUTBREAK! Reimagining Death and Life, Disease and Health"

The 2013 Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities will explore how we understand, interpret and represent disease 'outbreaks.' Outbreak stories and their associated images, maps, and movies tend to have a predictable structure that make disease threats appear external and foreign, obscuring the more complex connections between populations. Specifically, figures like 'pestilent foreigners,' 'exotic animals' or 'heroic disease detectives' tend to obscure global food systems, economic ties, and ecological disruptions that either create vulnerability or actually breed new diseases. How then can we re-map such ties and re-tell disease stories in ways that also enable the re-imagination of global health?

Examples such as SARS, H1N1, H5N1, HIV/AIDS, and Colony Collapse Disorder provide examples of how the complex origins of various diseases get simplified in contemporary accounts. Restoring other contexts to these stories - by, for instance, considering the cultural relations between humans and animals, or what we eat and how we produce food - allows us to reimagine how outbreaks evolve and what they mean. How do such political, geographical, temporal, and cultural forces shape the course of outbreaks and how we understand them? How do outbreaks conjure dreams of control, management, and security, on the one hand, and how do these compute with diverse desires for flourishing, community, and care for self and others? As we seek other ways of accounting for outbreaks, we'll look to alternative stories of global diffusion and dissemination, like, for example, the spread of inventions.

Students will develop original research projects that re-depict or re-tell the story of a particular outbreak in ways that challenge traditional borders of life and death, health and disease, security and danger. Potential areas of inquiry include geographies of blame (e.g. "Bird Flu" from Asia, "Swine Flu" from Mexico), ethics controversies over animal research, popular film representations of outbreaks, the politics and economics of disease control, to name only a few possibilities. Students may develop their research through methods that include ethnography, digital humanities, textual and media analyses, critical readings of texts, geo-histories, and/or critical cartographies. Research products might take diverse forms, including essays, art, maps, multimedia exhibits, or a zine. But all these experiments in re-presentation will ultimately be evaluated in terms of how well they enable us to reimagine new possibilities for global health.

Please note that the online application will ask for the following:

Completed Student Application Form
A response to one essay prompt of no more than 500 words, and to one 250 word essay prompt
A letter of recommendation from a University of Washington faculty member familiar with your coursework and/or prior research experience.

And either:

A writing sample from one of your courses or personal work (8-10 double-spaced pages preferred, not including works cited/references).

OR

A work sample: portfolio of digital images, pdf files, and/or video/sound clips. Submission format should be the URL for your work samples such as your website. IMPORTANT: Include an image list and 3 page portfolio statement in printed form with submission URL.

Application Deadline

Friday, March 22, 2013

Award

All Summer Institute participants will be named Mary Gates Scholars and will receive a $4000 Mary Gates Research Scholarship award in two installments, one at the beginning of the Summer Institute (June 24) and again at the beginning of B-term (July 25).

Please note: Housing and tuition fees are the responsibility of the student participant and are not funded by the Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities.

Student Life

The Summer Institute will utilize instructional and studio space on the UW Seattle campus, as well as meeting space in the Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities.. The Summer Institute affords ample opportunity for interaction among students and faculty. Participants also enjoy an opening luncheon at the beginning of the Summer Institute and a final formal symposium to showcase and celebrate the accomplishments of the Summer Institute participants. A formal institute schedule will be determined by the faculty and announced the first day of the Summer Institute.

Academic Credit

All Summer Institute participants will register for 12 summer quarter credits in HUM 498. A-term will be taken as credit/no-credit (6 credits); B-term (6 credits) will receive a formal grade.

Eligibility

University of Washington (Seattle, Bothell, Tacoma) undergraduate students in good academic standing who are interested in an intensive experience in scholarly research in the arts and humanities may apply to participate in the Summer Institute.

Commitment

Summer Institute participants are expected to devote themselves to this intensive experience. The Summer Institute is a full-time commitment. Therefore, if selected you will not be able to take additional course work during summer quarter.

The Summer Institute in the Arts & Humanities

Information for Student Applicants

The application deadline for the 2013 Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities has now passed. Thanks to all those who applied.