2108 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20052

Thursday, April 16, 2026

View our Summer 2026 course offerings here! Registration is now open!
View our Fall 2026 course offerings here and here! Registration is now open!

1789 - George Washington begins his 220-mile journey to his first Presidential inauguration.

1964 - The Rolling Stones release their self-titled debut album.

2003 - Washington Wizards’ Michael Jordan plays his final NBA game, in Philadelphia, where he receives a 3 minute standing ovation. 

2018 - Kendrick Lamar is the first rapper and non-classical or jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for music with his album “Damn.”

GW to cover tuition for incoming students with household incomes under $100,000.
GW Hatchet.

Inside a Black Panther Family Album.
Hyperallergic.

On Places: An Ordinary 14th Street Storefront Once Hosted Hustlers, Performers, and Jazzheads.
Washington City Paper.

Image credit: Zaina Qureshi

This newsletter edition we spotlight Zaina Qureshi, a third-year undergraduate American Studies and Political Science student. 

Zaina’s academic interests center around white supremacy and its intersections with capitalism as a means of unfreedom in the United States. She intends to further explore these areas next year in her senior thesis. In her current coursework, Zaina is exploring themes of anti-imperialism and the Black freedom movement, as well as the relationship between economic power and freedom in America.

In addition to her scholarly work, Zaina has served as the head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Student Government Association. In this role, she championed stronger free speech protections for students. She also worked to provide greater transparency between administration and students in the re-evaluation of the code of conduct and fought to have student voices included in that process.

Outside of GW, Zaina has conducted research and published work on the intersection of religion and politics among Gen Z. Her work examines the shift away from institutional religion and explores how this trend relates to increased political engagement among young people.

Zaina has also previously interned for Massachusetts Senator Edward J. Markey and worked for a nonprofit that advocates for equitable access to early childhood education. This summer she will return to her home state of Massachusetts to intern at the State House!

On Enlivened Possessions: Uncovering the Racial Economy of Black Music's Animated Presence
2026 Mergen-Palmer Lecture Series, Part II

The lecture explores how the concept of aliveness—of a living presence inhabiting Black sound—emerged as the defining principle of Black musical value. It illustrates how the music’s seemingly enlivened character—variously identified as spirit, soul, groove, etc.—developed not simply from the act of performance but from Black music’s unique participation in capitalist market economies. Conceived during the slave era as an audible materialization of the laboring Black body, Black music took form as a structural refusal of White laws of ownership: in its embodied attachments to the enslaved worker, Black music arose as an animated property always partly under Black control, despite laws prohibiting slaves from possessing valuable things. White efforts to capture and reclaim this illicit possession heightened its value, all the more so once Black music began to circulate in commercial markets. In its modern iterations, Black music coalesces as something peculiarly double in form: an exchangeable commodity that simultaneously retains the inalienable presence of Black being. This double structure drives Black music’s distinctive counterhistorical motion, constantly shifting from commercial markets back into Black worlds. Slavery’s seminal contests of ownership underlie modern musical sensations of aliveness, which become the chief measure of value in popular music.  

When: Monday, April 20, 2026; 4:00 PM
Where: Hall of Government, Room 101

Register here!

Institute for Middle East Studies Annual Conference
Tech Futures: The Science of Life, Death, and Ecology in the Middle East

When: Friday, April 17, 2026; 9:00-4:00 PM
Where: 1957 E St NW, Room 602

RSVP here!

Common Grounds:
Brewing Ideas & Cultivating Change

We invite you to join us for the inaugural Common Grounds: Brewing Ideas & Cultivating Change. Common Grounds is a relaxed gathering where faculty, staff, students, and alumni come together to share ideas, reflect on important issues, and deepen connections across CCAS. The first conversation, presented in partnership with University Advancement, will feature Dr. Imani Cheers, assistant professor of digital storytelling in the School of Media and Public Affairs and author of Sacred Sisterhood: A Celebration of Black Women’s Friendships on Television and in Film. Her work explores how Black women use photography and visual storytelling to shape narratives, identity, and representation.

When: Monday, April 20, 2026; 12:00 PM
Where: University Student Center, Room 405

RSVP here!

2026 Distinguished Hart Lecture Series
GW Anthropology

The GW Department of Anthropology is pleased to present Dr. Rachel Watkins, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and this year's speaker for the 2026 Distinguished Hart Lecture Series. Her talk is titled "That Which Binds: Intellectual Lineage, Community Accountability, and Ethical Practice in Biological Anthropology." All are welcome! This is part of a two-day event: Friday, April 24, is the Anthropology Department's Integrated Spring Symposium. 

When: Thursday, April 23, 2026; 7:00 PM
Where: Duques Hall, Room 115

RSVP here!

Alum Alison Hoagland (MA ‘79) was recently interviewed by NPR about her legal fight against Trump’s ballroom project.

Call for Applications: Democracy House’s Young Leaders Summer Institute is currently accepting applications for Summer 2026. Click here to learn more // Deadline: Apr. 19, 2026.

Call for Attendees: The 2026 DC History Conference is now open for attendance registration! Click here to learn more // Deadline: Apr. 30, 2026.

Call for Applications: The George and May Shiers Memorial Fund Fellowship is currently accepting applications. Click here to learn more // Deadline: May 1, 2026.

Call for Applications: The Albert H. Small Center for National Capital Area Studies is currently hiring a part-time summer intern. Click here to learn more // Deadline: rolling.

Call for Applications: League of Filmmakers is currently inviting applications for the Industry Writing & Journalism Internship. Click here to learn more // Deadline: rolling.

Call for Applications: The Museum at Eldridge Street is seeking a Freelance Festival Coordinator for their upcoming street festival. Click here to learn more // Deadline: rolling.

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