Dr. Eddie S. Glaude Jr. spoke to a packed St. Clare Room for the inaugural Black Justice Collaborative event. L-R: Harry Odamtten (History, Director, Black Justice Studies Collaborative), Bryson White (Religious Studies), Shá Duncan-Smith (Vice President, Inclusive Excellence Division), Eddie S. Gaude Jr., Margaret Russell (School of Law), Maggie Hunter (Sociology, Strategic Advisor to the Dean for Faculty DEI Initiatives), Brett Solomon (Child Studies), Anthony Hazard (Ethnic Studies). Photo by Cari Hall Watch the video recording.

Dear Colleagues,

We find ourselves nearing the middle of Winter Quarter, which I view as the middle of the academic year. Middles are curious…they can be the unglamorous, hard part between the exciting beginnings and triumphant ends; the long, sometimes unknowable, hardworking slog. We talk about ‘getting through it’ but maybe we should take a moment to be in it and be present right where we are, right in the middle. I invite you to appreciate the middle of the academic year for what it is, and not focus on where we’ve been or where we’re going. Sit and enjoy just exactly where we are - a sunny January in Santa Clara.

That being said, I would like to look back and forward just slightly, while I have you here. I want to congratulate Professor Harry Odamtten and the Black Justice Studies Collaborative for the fabulous event they put on last week featuring Dr. Eddie Glaude. It was sitting-on-the-floor and standing-room only in the St. Clare room – Awesome! Dr. Glaude gave a fiery sermon, making an interesting contrast between the “two Americas” that came together on Monday—MLK Day celebrations and the presidential inauguration—and made a call to our best selves. People were fired up, energized and inspired by it. Bravo! 

Looking forward, we are deep in the TT and Teaching Professor hiring season. I’m happy to report we have already made five really great tenure track hires! We only have a dozen or so more to go. The Dean’s Office has had a steady stream of candidates coming and going, of late. It is so exciting, and also so much work – thank you to all who are involved in the process. 

Given that we have a new presidential administration, I thought the text from a great inauguration poem would be apt – so here is Maya Angelou’s effort, written for the Clinton inauguration in 1993.  It's a little long for College Notes, but I think it works beautifully even over 30 years later…and the middle part is well worth the read!

In reflection and solidarity,

Daniel

A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon,
The dinosaur, who left dried tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.

But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no hiding place down here.

You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spilling words

Armed for slaughter.
The Rock cries out to us today, you may stand upon me,
But do not hide your face.

Across the wall of the world,
A River sings a beautiful song. It says,
Come, rest here by my side.

Each of you, a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more. Come,
Clad in peace, and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I and the
Tree and the rock were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your
Brow and when you yet knew you still
Knew nothing.
The River sang and sings on.

There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing River and the wise Rock.
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew
The African, the Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheik,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the Teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the Tree.

They hear the first and last of every Tree
Speak to humankind today. Come to me, here beside the River.
Plant yourself beside the River.

Each of you, descendant of some passed
On traveller, has been paid for.
You, who gave me my first name, you,
Pawnee, Apache, Seneca, you
Cherokee Nation, who rested with me, then
Forced on bloody feet,
Left me to the employment of
Other seekers—desperate for gain,
Starving for gold.
You, the Turk, the Arab, the Swede, the German, the Eskimo, the Scot,
You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru, bought,
Sold, stolen, arriving on the nightmare
Praying for a dream.
Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am that Tree planted by the River,
Which will not be moved.
I, the Rock, I the River, I the Tree
I am yours—your passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.

Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.

Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands,
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts
Each new hour holds new chances
For a new beginning.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.

The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out and upon me, the
Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then.

Here, on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes, and into
Your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope—
Good morning.

Got IT Questions or Issues?

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Highlights

Andrea Pappas (Art and Art History) joined an international roster of scholars in December when she gave an invited paper at the symposium held in conjunction with the exhibition, "Norman Raeben, the Wandering Painter" (Jewish Museum Venice) sponsored by the Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia. Her paper elucidated Raeben's position in Jewish social and artist networks in the New York artworld in the 1930s. Raeben has been celebrated for his impact on Bob Dylan (as his art teacher) but the exhibition is the first to assess Raeben's career independent of his famous pupil. The exhibition catalogue features essays from the scholars at the symposium.

Image: Andrea Pappas on one of Venice's many bridges.

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The Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) awarded a fellowship to Heather Clydesdale (Art and Art History) for her project “Building Public Character,” which focuses on buildings and environments designed by Taiwanese architects since the turn of the twenty-first century. Heather will investigate design processes, aesthetic principles, and how people activate sites as they move through and use them. She expects her findings will illuminate how Taiwan’s tangled cultural legacies, commitment to sustainability, and political system that promotes public engagement are foundational to the emergence of architecture that preserves local heritage, connects people to natural environments, and promotes civic engagement.

The MOFA Taiwan Fellowship is an internationally-competitive grant open to scholars of all disciplines conducting research on Taiwan, cross-strait relations, the Asia-Pacific region, and Sinology. The fellowship will support Heather’s travel to Asia and three months of research in Taiwan during the summer of 2025. Heather will be based in Taipei and hosted by Taipei National University’s Graduate Institute of Building and Planning but will traverse the island to visit sites, architectural firms, university programs, and public archives.

Image: View from bridge to visitor center at Cherry Orchard Cemetery 櫻花陵園, designed by FieldOffice Architects 田中央工作群. Photo by H. Clydesdale

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Sakina M. Hughes' (Ethnic Studies) new monograph, Music, Muscle, and Masterful Arts: Black and Indigenous Performers of the Circus Age, was released on January 7, published by North Carolina Press. "Sakina M. Hughes provides a conceptually rich work revealing memorable individuals—laborers, artists, and entrepreneurs—who, faced with danger and discrimination, created surprising opportunities to showcase their talents and gain fame, wealth, and mobility."

Sakina will read from her monograph at an event on February 4, 5:30 pm in St. Joseph Hall.

 

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Daniel B. Summerhill's (English) poem, “bop: the journalist asks Jimmy what it was like when Martin died" was published in the Winter 2024-25 volume of Ploughshares Journal. It is a part of a suite of poems in the form of “bops,” a form invented by Academy of American Poets' Chancellor Afaa M. Weaver. Each bop in the suite is a persona poem in the voice of James Baldwin, chronicling his relationship with civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X and Medgar Evers. The suite is based on James Baldwin’s unfinished manuscript, "Re/member This House,” which would later become the 2016 film, I Am Not Your Negro.

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Christine Wieseler's (Philosophy) co-authored article with Elisa Chávez, DDS (University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry) and Janet Yellowitz, DDS (University of Maryland School of Dentistry), "Ageism and Ableism in Individuals Aging with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities" was published in Dental Clinics of North America. The article draws on concepts from Disability Studies and Aging Studies to examine barriers to oral health that people with intellectual impairments face as they age as well as to suggest ways that dentists can change their practices in order to make dental care more accessible for them. Social policies such as whether Medicaid covers dental care have a significant impact as well. In addition to focusing on ways that ableism and ageism converge, this piece draws on empirical research on health issues people with specific intellectual impairments may face as they age as well as implications for oral health.

The article appears in a special issue entitled "Inclusivity in Dentistry: Environments of Belonging and Equity," which came out this month (January 2025).

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Hsin-hung (Sean) Yeh (Modern Languages and Literatures) presented at the 13th Annual New England Chinese Language Teachers Association International Conference on Learning and Teaching Chinese Language and Culture at Tufts University on October 5, 2024. His presentation, titled "Exploring Possible Ways to Increase Enrollment in Chinese Programs — A Case Study of a Medium-Sized Private University in California," addressed the pressing issue of declining enrollment in L2 Chinese programs in the U.S. Sean shared strategies implemented at his institution, highlighting how flexible academic environments and innovative approaches can overcome resource and structural limitations. He also discussed the preparation for establishing a Chinese minor, offering valuable insights for language educators navigating similar challenges.

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Kimberly Mohne Hill (Theatre and Dance) is performing in Noises Off at Palo Alto Players through February 2. This is her first onstage role in 12 years and she is happy to be back treading the boards once again.  Read the Mercury News article about that experience and watch a trailer of the show. Kristin Hill '25 (Theatre Arts) was the dialect coach for the production. Tickets available at https://paplayers.org/event/noises-off/. Photos by Scott Lasky.

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Kristin Kusanovich (Theatre and Dance) attended a special pre-conference event for the American Academy of Religion's annual conference in San Diego in November that featured University of San Diego's (USD) newly formed Center for Food Systems Transformation (CFST) and two tUrn partners from USD. The center supports scholarship that advances food systems change that responds to climate change and other issues of justice related to food. The pre-conference theme was "Eating as an Act of Justice: From Religious Food Ethics to Climate Action" and Kristin was invited to chair a session entitled "Pragmatic Guidance from Nonprofit Community Partners." In her framing remarks, she engaged with the phenomena of universities, like SCU and USD, potentially becoming plant-based, climate-forward, and "default vegetarian" in their menu and catering options. Plant-based diets are in most people's power to enact, and can serve as a major lever for promoting climate justice, seeking ecological balance, advancing public health, saving clean water and soil, fighting pollution/toxicity, supporting Indigenous and Rainforest protectors' land, cultures, and sovereignty, and drawing down global warming for future generations.

Image: USD CFST photo of plant-based meal & people.

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Cara Chiaraluce's (Sociology) book Becoming an Expert Caregiver: How Structural Flaws Shape Autism Carework & Community was published by Rutgers University Press a part of a special book series "Carework in a Changing World," which provides a dedicated space for feminist carework scholarship. This book features compelling qualitative research with primary caregivers of autistic and neurodivergent children who illuminate the process through which laywomen become experts in response to cumulative frustrations in U.S. care systems, particularly in education and healthcare, and constraining flaws in entrenched cultural ideals of gender, family, health, and ability. Throughout the chapters in this book, the expert caregiver is one person who faces unbelievably daunting tasks of filling or reforming persistent institutional gaps and subverting ableist cultural norms. The process of becoming an expert caregiver spotlights several interesting paradoxes in sociological literature, particularly regarding gender, family, and medicalization. This book has been featured on the Carework Network, an international organization of researchers, policymakers, and advocates involved in various domains of carework.

 

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Barbara Burns (Child Studies) and Yasmin Senturias MD (Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics of the Carolinas Charlotte) will be presenting a paper called “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: A pilot study exploring parent experiences and a FASD Education Program” at the 9th International Research Conference on FASD Research, Results and Relevance Conference on March 23, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. The paper reviews and updates the research-validated caregiver-focused parenting intervention we initiated, more than ten years ago at the University of Louisville, to promote more nurturing caregiving behaviors and family resilience.

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Tyler van Wulven's (Philosophy) paper, "Deweyan Democracy, Secular Religion, and Hegelian Selfhood" was published in the Winter issue of the journal Telos. The issue, entitled "Democracy Today?," discusses the questionable possibilities and capacities of democracy in our current world. In the paper, Tyler argues for a Deweyan conception of democracy, one that must be radically atheistic but not irreligious. Democracy, that is, requires a religious commitment for the purposes of addressing ongoing, foreseeable, and indeed unforeseeable challenges through practices of open communication for the production of a better world—but it can have no gods. His central claim, however, is that this religious commitment requires a certain form of self-understanding, one that is radically distinct from our current Kantian or liberal assumptions about the nature of selfhood. While the paper is thus a firm defense of democracy and a corresponding challenge to the impoverished form of selfhood that liberalism engenders and exalts, the bulk of his argument defends a Hegelian understanding of selfhood, one in which recognition plays a central role, and thus offers a more adequate and responsible description of our undeniable and inescapable dependence. While it is precisely this form of self-understanding that is lacking in contemporary American politics, it is equally this form of self-understanding that can underpin a religious-yet-secular commitment to what Dewey called "democracy as a way of life."

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Desirée Forsythe (Biology), Christelle Sabatier (Biology) and Hannah Nelson ’26 (Biology) attended the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research West conference on January 18-19, 2025. Hannah and Christelle presented a poster titled "Developing an open-access, humanizing introductory biology ebook." Desirée facilitated a workshop titled "The BioGraphI Curriculum: Valuing diverse identities and fostering data literacy in biology" and presented research on "Exploring variations in STEM instructors’ approaches to office hours."

Read more about Desirée’s work on "Exploring Variations in STEM Instructors' Approached to Office Hours," co-authored with Rebecca M. Green and Jeremy L. Hsu, in CBE Life Sciences Education.

Image: Hannah Nelson, Desirée Forsythe, and Christelle Sabatier smiling in a selfie taken at the conference.

College of Arts and Sciences Calendar