Humanities Division

Students in the course ”Fashion, Nation, and Culture” may never look at a three-piece suit the same way again. Or stilettos. Or any other article of clothing. The course explores Italian culture from the late medieval period through the present day through the study of clothing. 

How's this for a course assignment? Fall in love with a novel and three poems. The assignment hints at what's to come in Writers on Writing, a lecture course designed to remind students that "literature is a joy." 

H Stewart Parker ('79, '81) spent nearly two decades at the helm of Targeted Genetics. Now she brings her considerable talents to her role as chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Board. 

The Department of Scandinavian Studies celebrates its centennial on September 26 with a tree-planting ceremony, live performances, and lots and lots of meatballs.

With support from a major Challenge Grant, the UW Simpson Center for the Humanities is planning a Digital Humanities Commons to create and evaluate the next generation of digital humanities scholarship. 

Disappointed by the depiction of Helen of Troy in a recent film, Ruby Blondell was inspired to research Helen, whom she describes as “simultaneously the supreme object of men’s desire and the instrument, or agent, of their destruction.” 

The UW's field school at Tel Dor, Israel, took center stage recently when a student unearthed a very rare gemstone, carved with a portrait of Alexander the Great, that dates back to about 230 BCE. 

In a new book, Robert Heilman's life—including his years as chair of the Department of English—is presented through letters to and from colleagues and renowned writers from Theodore Roethke to Wallace Stegner. 

A bachelor of arts in Finnish has been approved, providing a new option for students without additional cost to the University. 

To visit the UW’s newest campus, you’ll have to book a plane ticket. And brushing up on your Spanish couldn’t hurt. 

Greed. Excess. Exploitation of natural resources. Sound familiar? In a new book, Money Matters, Professor Richard Gray explores how these issues played out in late 18th and early 19th century Germany.

In Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood, A&S alumna Mary Kollar ('65, '81) shares poetry with passersby through a poetry box outside her house.

The UW Department of Linguistics is offering American Sign Language, with a full-time lecturer teaching two sections of ASL each quarter.

The Husky men’s basketball team took a special five-credit course designed specifically for them and tied to an 11-day basketball tournament trip to Greece. 

Chris Hamm, professor of Asian Language and Literature, recently completed a book about martial arts fiction from China.