2108 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

Thursday, February 16, 2023

1923 - Howard Carter opens the inner burial chamber of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb and finds the sarcophagus

1968 - Elvis Presley receives a gold record for "How Great Thou Art"

1968 - US 1st 911 phone system goes into service in Haleyville, Alabama

1991 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Tonya Harding

Higher Bills Are Leading Americans to Delay Medical Care. The New York Times.

A New Age of UFO Mania. The Atlantic.

Nikole Hannah-Jones Reviews Two Picture Books About Black History. The New York Times.

Image credit: Noah Shelanski

We are thrilled to spotlight Noah Shelanski, a third-year GW undergraduate student studying History and Political Science. Noah took Professor McAlister’s “United States in the World” course and later had the opportunity to be her research assistant. Noah was ecstatic to work alongside one of his favorite professors and “be exposed to American Studies in a different capacity.” Noah delved into two interconnected topics: the Nigerian artist Fela Kuti, who pioneered Afro-Beat, and FESTAC ‘77, a festival celebrating African culture in Lagos in 1977. Noah studied closely Kuti’s personal history including his marriage to 27 women from his band on the same day, and his invitation to Paul McCartney to smoke some of the strongest marijuana ever. However, what Noah found particularly interesting was how “music could act as a form of protest” in authoritarian countries. Kuti was one of the most popular artists and used his platform to frequently criticize the Nigerian government. Noah shared that Kuti’s songs “called for African populations to shed their ‘colonial mentality.’” The two topics came full circle for Noah when Kuti's critiques made several headlines at the same time that the Nigerian government aimed to celebrate the country’s leadership and artistic excellence at FESTAC ‘77. 

Noah is currently studying abroad at SciencesPo in Grenoble, France. He continues to strengthen his political science coursework at this “grand école” [great school]. On top of skiing and hiking, Noah has witnessed numerous protests and demonstrations against the French government. He was impressed by “the widespread participation of university students and the overall organization of the protests.” Protests remain essential in the collective participation of politics and the study of historical protests makes Noah all the more appreciative of these contemporary movements because it reminds him of the importance of the art of solidarity.

Alumni Panel with Mark Kates, BA ’82

When: Friday, February 17; 12:30 – 2:00pm
Where: Hammer Auditorium in the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design (500 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20006)

RSVP Online

Join WRGW radio station in a conversation about the music industry with Mark Kates, BA ’82, founder of Fenway Recordings and a music manager historically synonymous with alternative music. The conversation will include Professor of American Studies, Gayle Wald, and Professor of Music and Director of Corcoran, Lauren Onkey.

2023 Mergen-Palmer Distinguished Lecture Series:

"Queer Love on Barbary Lane: The Serial Experience of Coming Out of the Closet with Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City"

Professor Ramzi Fawaz
Romnes Professor of English
University of Wisconsin, Madison

When: Wednesday April 5, 2023; 4:00-5:30 PM
Where: 805 21st Street NW, Washington, DC
SMPA Building, Room B07

Register to attend!

GW Department of Philosophy

"Crafting Character: East and West"
Professor Philip Ivanhoe, Georgetown University

When: Wednesday February 22, 2023; 11:00 AM
Where: GW/Textile Museum, Myer's Room (1st Floor)

RSVP Here

In Honor of Black History Month, GSEHD Presents:
Queer as Black


When: Wednesday, February 22, 2023; 12:00-1:15pm
Where: Zoom


Featuring:
Leslie Hall; Director of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program; Human Rights Campaign

Jose E. Cadiz; Director of Intercultural Affairs and LGBTQ Resource Center; Howard University

A.J. King; Assistant Director of the Multicultural Student Services Center/LGBTQIA+ Resource Center; GWU

Moderated by:
Dr. Dwayne Kwaysee Wright; Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives; Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration, GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development

GW Philosophy 2023 Thacher Lecture:
“The Phenomenal Public" 
Professor Susanna Siegel, Harvard University

When: Friday, March 3rd @ 4:00 pm
Where:  Duques Hall, 151

No RSVP required.

Is it possible to perceive the public, or is it only possible to imagine it? The standard view is that you have to imagine it. I argue against this position, and make the case that the modes of mentality we use to get our minds around the public can make a difference to democratic political culture.

Professor Melani McAlister was recently awarded a year-long fellowship at the Harvard-Radcliffe Institute for 2023-2024.

Current PhD candidate, GJ Sevillano, was recently accepted as a Bulosan Center Affiliate at UC Davis's Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies.

Current PhD candidate, Kwabena Slaughter, was recently awarded an Arts & Humanities Fellowship Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.

Andy Johnson (BA ‘14, MA ‘15), our current Senior Admin for American Studies, was recently awarded a Humanities Fellowship Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, as well as a Wherewithal Research Grant from Washington Project for the Arts (WPA), as part of the Andy Warhol Foundation’s Regional Regranting Program.

Call for Papers: "Feminist Methodologies in Research on Violence, Displacement, and Power" // GWI's Research Scientist Alina Potts is seeking papers for a special journal issue. Contributions of original research, reflection articles, and case studies, with the central theme of using feminist methodologies to explore issues of violence, displacement, and/or power are welcome // Deadline: March 1, 2023.

Call for Applications: The Massachusetts Historical Society will offer  more than 15 short-term fellowships to support research using our extensive collections. Most grants will provide a stipend of $3,000 for four weeks of research at the MHS between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024. More information and application here // Deadline: March 1, 2023.

Call for Submissions: CCAS will be running a Research Showcase event for students from all CCAS undergraduate and graduate programs on April 11th 2023. The CCAS Research Showcase is an opportunity for all graduate and undergraduate students in CCAS programs to present their work to the broader CCAS community in a poster session. The abstract submission portal is here, and more information and abstract templates are linked on the event webpage // Deadline: March 3, 2023 by 5 PM EST.

Call for Applications: Advancing Justice | AAJC seeks a Research Manager to contribute their scholarly training to their research team, which supports the organization’s Policy and Programs Department through rigorous, fact-based research. The position is offered through the ACLS Leading Edge Fellowship Program // Deadline: March 15, 2023.

Call for Papers: The Society for US Intellectual History Conference has opened their call for papers for their upcoming annual conference being held in Denver, Colorado from November 9-11, 2023. View more about their submission guidelines here // Deadline: April 15, 2023.

Call for Submissions: The Center for Communal Studies at the University of Southern Indiana annually invites submissions for its Prize Competition for the best undergraduate and graduate student papers on historic or contemporary communal groups, intentional communities, and utopias. Learn more about the submission process here // Deadline: April 1, 2023.

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What are some budget-friendly places to eat around campus? 

If you’re a student using the GW dining plan, check out this resource here. For students without a GW dining plan, check out these budget-friendly options here. Check out District House’s $8 meal deals too!

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