Undergraduate Programs

We kicked off the 2019-20 academic year with “Understand Our World,” a campus-wide campaign to engage undergraduate students and heighten the visibility of the institute and the humanities at Michigan. A series of visually striking banners, posters, social media posts, and a new video (watch at http://myumi.ch/er0Ex) and brochure highlighted all that the Institute for the Humanities has to offer undergraduate students. Thanks to the generous support of the Edna Balz Lacy, the Leonard and Eileen Newman, and the Winifred Polk funds, we continue to find innovative ways to connect with undergraduate students, building awareness of the creative and critical thinking that comes from work in the humanities.

HUMANITIES WEEK The Humanities Undergraduate Engagement Group initiated an ambitious project this year in organizing the institute’s first Humanities Week, aimed at engaging undergraduate students with the institute and humanities-related topics. Although the program was cut short due to COVID-19, it brought in hundreds of new students and set the foundation for future planning. • Daily Grab’n Go Breakfast • Humanities Course Fair for Non-Humanities Students • Career Panel: Life & Career with a Humanities Degree • Living Library: Unjudge Someone CLASS GALLERY VISITS Class visits to the gallery brought in dozens of classes, totaling over 700 undergraduate and area high school students, to engage with the art and subject matter, with a formal presentation by Arts Curator Amanda Krugliak and discussion tailored to their curriculum.

LOOK 101: SEEING ART IN AN INSTAGRAM WORLD A series of discussions hosted by Arts Curator Amanda Krugliak, offering a fresh take on the basics of looking at and evaluating art in the gallery.

“Understand Our World” street pole banner in front of the Institute for the Humanities.

FIRST MAN: SAMUEL CODES WATSON MURAL PAINTING Artist Tylonn J. Sawyer worked with Lauren Mills, Kevin Moore, Moteniola Ogundipe, Olivia Prado, and Amanda Taylor—students from Stamps in Color, a group of artists, designers, and creatives of color from the Stamps School of Art and Design—to create a mural on the first floor of the Modern Languages Building to honor the first African American student admitted to the University of Michigan.

HIGH STAKES CULTURE The High Stakes Culture series, presented by the Institute for the Humanities and the Humanities Collaboratory, brings humanities perspectives to bear on current debates. U-M humanities faculty explore the topics as a panel, followed by an extended Q & A with the audience.

MEDIA & MARKETING INTERNSHIPS Media and marketing interns participate in social media and other marketing initiatives throughout the year. They gain hands-on experience with social media analytics, event promotion, and institutional branding, among other skills. This year’s interns were Julia Margalit (BA, art history and communications and media, 2020) and Cameron Sackett (BA, communications and media, 2020). COURSE OFFERINGS • “The Unended Korean War in Korean/American Literature and Film,” taught by Daniel Y. Kim, associate professor of English and American studies at Brown University and 2019 Norman Freehling Visiting Professor • “Hip-Hop in Eastern Europe and Russia,” taught by Alena Aniskiewicz, 2019-20 Postdoctoral Research Fellow • “Saints and Sinners: Illicit Pregnancy in Medieval Europe (c 200-1500),” taught by Sara McDougall, associate professor of history at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York and 2020 Normal Freehling Visiting Professor • “Provocations and Other Acts: Arts and Humanities as Social Practice,” taught by Amanda Krugliak, Institute for the Humanities arts curator

UNDERGRADUATE ENGAGEMENT GROUP The Humanities Institute Undergraduate Engagement Group works to increase student awareness and understanding of the humanities on campus and connects students with faculty, visitors, and other students who share an interest in the humanities. Bi-weekly meetings feature an invited guest, including humanities faculty, visiting fellows, and artists, who discuss their scholarship and career paths with group members.

Stamps School of Art and Design student Moteniola Ogundipe working on Tylonn Sawyer’s mural First Man: Samuel Codes Watson.

GALLERY INTERNSHIP The undergraduate gallery intern assists gallery staff in all aspects of the program, including exhibition installation and daily maintenance of the space. This year’s intern was Robyn Han (BA, product design, 2019). 1000+ JILL S. HARRIS MEMORIAL LECTURE BAGELS The Jill S. Harris Memorial SERVED DURING Fund brings a distinguished visitor to campus who will HUMANITIES WEEK appeal to undergraduates interested in the humanities and the arts. Rachel Havrelock gave this year’s lecture, titled “Freshwater Stories: Optics, Governance, and Adaptation around the Great Lakes.”