SHPRS Annual Report 22-23

Director’s Letter

Earlier this year, The New Yorker touched off a furious debate among academics by asking whether the humanities – academic disciplines including history, philosophy and religious studies – are in decline. The article focused on the English major, but it extrapolated to broad and dispiriting conclusions. Bringing to bear its trademark diaeresis – the two dots over the second letter of adjacent vowel syllables – the magazine observed that “four-fifths of countries in the Organization for Economic Coöperation reported falling humanities enrollments in the past decade.”

At the risk of reigniting –reïgniting? – this debate, let me share some good news: enrollments in Arizona State University’s School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (SHPRS) are at record highs. The same is true of majors. And our student body is more diverse than ever.

But while there is much to celebrate, none of it is a reason for complacency. The humanities face challenges beyond simply attracting students. In a country as culturally divided as the United States, there is increasing external pressure on what and how students in these fields are taught. Our fall faculty retreat focused on academic freedom, the defense of which is critical to scholarship and teaching. A central function of universities is to carefully assess ideas: their role is not to mirror public opinion but to inform it. This means relying on expertise – on the work of historians, philosophers, scientists and other researchers. Expertise is cultivated within academic disciplines, time-tested traditions of research and analysis which are safe-guarded by quality controls like

Richard Amesbury Director

School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies Arizona State University

peer-review and tenure. Academic freedom thus comes with intellectual responsibilities. Far from a license to voice just any opinion, academic freedom protects the processes by which scholars distinguish what is warranted, credible and true from what is not.

Historians, for instance, play a critical role in combating propaganda and misinformation about the past and preserving memory in the present.

This year’s Genocide Awareness Week, sponsored by SHPRS and generously supported by many community partners, including the Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation and the Zoryan Institute, included a panel on genocide denialism, a particularly heinous example of the challenges scholars and teachers face – and a reminder of what is at stake.

SHPRS also hosted a faculty panel on teaching about difficult topics, to coincide with the publication of Associate Professor of History Education Lauren McArthur Harris’ co-edited volume, Teaching Difficult Histories in Difficult Times (Teachers College Press, 2022). According to Harris and her colleagues, certain historical events can be difficult to teach about by virtue both of their content – involving, for instance, dehumanization and suffering – and of the current context. Discomfort, while not necessarily the goal, is often an outcome of encountering such histories. Thoughtful, experienced teachers come to their teaching

pedagogically prepared to “approach difficult histories with care and skill despite the uncertainty.”

Higher education is a public good – a resource the value of which is undiminished by being made accessible to all – and the humanities are an indispensable part of this. Without a flourishing humanities, democracy will suffer, and without a flourishing democracy, the humanities will suffer. Each is necessary for the success of the other. Practiced democratically, the humanities renew democracy by contributing to the pursuit of the common good on which democracy depends.

An interesting feature of certain academic disciplines, including many of those that comprise the humanities, is that some training in them is vital to an appreciation of their value, and the deeper you venture into them, the more there is to appreciate. Some disciplines are means to ends beyond themselves: one does not ordinarily engage in dentistry, computer engineering or supply chain management “for its own sake.” The task of these disciplines is to enable us to meet goals specifiable independently, which function as standards by which to measure success. These disciplines are like tools, fitted to pre-existing purposes. But the humanities are different, in that they invite us to reflect not simply on means, but on the ends our means serve. They are of value not because they answer to an independently fixed set of demands, but because they provide standards of their own

in terms of which demands can be assessed and reimagined. They do not simply provide us with tools for the job; they ask us to reflect on what the job is.

So conceived, the humanities are necessary for the common good. They advance it not by bending their production toward independently determined political and economic objectives, but by supplying analytical and evaluative frameworks necessary for critical reflection on which purposes are worth pursuing. They are like windows through which one must look to appreciate the view they make possible. Imagining this good – reflecting on it, arguing about it, reconceiving of it – is an essential part of pursuing it.

This year’s annual report offers snapshots of some of the many vistas SHPRS faculty seek to make visible and accessible. I invite you to take a look and to let us know what you see.

Mission

The School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies produces innovative and distinguished research on subjects such as morality, rationality and ethics; race, citizenship and immigration; and the role of religion in public life. SHPRS faculty educate thousands of students every year and share knowledge with millions of people beyond the university through accessible media. SHPRS enables students and the public to make sense of complex issues that are of critical importance to Arizona, the United States and the world.

By the numbers Scholarships and grants

$92,200 $1,920,689

Leadership

History Philosophy

Religious Studies

Faculty highlights

We say good-bye to faculty who retired this year: Professor Abdullahi Gallab, 17 years

We welcome a new colleague who will join us in the upcoming school year:

Assistant Professor in History, Sungik Yang

Richard Amesbury Director

Julian Lim Faculty Head

Jason Bruner Faculty Head

Christopher Jones Associate Director for Graduate Studies

Christopher Jones Associate Head for Graduate Studies

Joel Gereboff Associate Head for Graduate Studies

Andrew Barnes Personnel Committee Chair

Peter Kung Associate Head for Undergraduate Studies

Joan McGregor Interim Director (NovemberJanuary)

Anna CichopekGajraj Associate Head for Undergraduate Studies

Huaiyu Chen Associate Head for Undergraduate Studies

Matthew CaseyPariseault Associate Director of Program Innovation and Strategic Initiatives

Joan McGregor Faculty Head

Peter Van Cleave Director of Online Programs

Douglas Portmore Associate Head for Graduate Studies

SHPRS shelf life

Books (authored and edited)

University of Arizona Press 2023

Black Women and da ‘Rona: Community, Consciousness, and Ethics of Care’

Shamara Wylie

Alhassan

Assistant Professor of Religious Studies

Indiana University Press 2022

Climate Politics and the Power of Religion

Evan Berry

Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Anthem Press 2023

Animals and Plants in Chinese Religions and Science

Huaiyu Chen

Professor of Religious Studies

Ben Yehuda Press 2023

Torah, Service, Deeds: Jewish Ethics in Transdenominational Perspectives

Joel Gereboff

Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Mohr Siebeck 2023

Philosophy of Religion

After “Religion”

Richard Amesbury Director and Professor of Religious Studies and Philosophy

Rutgers University Press 2022

Global Visions of Violence: Agency and Persecution in World Christianity

Jason Bruner

Professor of Religious Studies

Colombia University Press 2023

In the Land of Tigers and Snakes: Living with Animals in Medieval Chinese Religons

Huaiyu Chen Professor of Religious Studies

Oxford University Press 2023

Why We Doubt

N. Ángel Pinillos

Associate Professor of Philosophy

De Gruyter Oldenbourg 2022

Handbook of Digital Public History

Mark Tebeau

Associate Professor of History

For a list of the numerous journal articles and book chapters published by SHPRS faculty last year, please see

shprs.asu.edu/faculty-publications

Purdue University Press 2022

Terrortimes, Terrorscapes: Continuities of Space, Time, and Memory in Twentieth-Century War and Genocide

Volker Benkert

Associate Professor of History

Palgrave Macmillan 2022

How to Study Global Christianity: A Short Guide for Students

Jason Bruner

Professor of Religious Studies

Texas Tech University Press 2023

Jewish Historical Societies: Navigating the Professional-Amatuer Divide

Joel Gereboff

Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Athabasca University Press 2022 On Othering: Processes and Politics of Unpeace

Yasmin Saikia

Professor of History

Chad Haines

Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Select media appearances and op-eds

Political Theology Network Feb 2023

Critical Race Theory

Shamara Wylie Alhassan

Assistant Professor of Religious Studies

The Conversation Feb 2023

Many Ukrainians are fleeing to the Greek Catholic Church in Lviv, which has a long and complex history in the Orthodox faith

Eugene Clay

Associate Professor of Religious Studies

The Conversation Sept 2022

Charles III faces challenges at home, abroad – and even in defining what it means to be king

Tobias Harper

Associate Professor of History

Nordic Sport Science Forum Feb 2023

What has Covid-19 meant for sports?

Too soon to tell

Shawn Klein

Assistant Teaching Professor of Philosophy

Scientific American Nov 2022

Persuasion Fatigue’ Is a Unique Form of Social Frustration

Nathan Ballantyne

Associate Professor of Philosophy

The Washington Post Feb 2023

Why the anti-Indigenous remarks of the L.A. City Council sparked protest

A. Shane Dillingham

Associate Professor of History

NPR All Things Considered Sept 2023 College football is back and players still aren’t getting paid

Victoria Jackson

Clinical Associate Professor of History

Voice of America July 2022

Are Webb Telescope Discovers a Marvel of Science, God, or Both?

Hava Tirosh-Samuelson

Regents Professor of History

For list of public facing scholarship, please see shprs.asu.edu/faculty-media

ASU graduate digs deep into the dark history of mining in Arizona

Rachel Welshans grew up in Bisbee, a small town in southern Arizona with a long history of mining. Although she has lived in Tucson for nearly two decades, she still considers Bisbee to be her hometown and the place she has many connections to. When Welshans decided to pursue her bachelor’s degree, she decided she wanted to learn about something she was passionate about. She decided to pursue history and had enrolled in a traditional capstone course for her final semester when an email came through that told her of a new opportunity.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences had recently launched its Online Undergraduate Research Scholars (OURS) program. The program offers in-person research experiences for online students in natural sciences, social sciences and humanities disciplines. The program allowed online history students the opportunity to come to the ASU’s Tempe campus for a research seminar inside the archives at the Arizona Historical Society and at Hayden Library. She took the opportunity and visited Tempe in August 2022. In addition to participating in the OURS program, Welshans was also named the fall semester’s Dean’s Medalist. Read more.

ASU philosophy graduate awarded Dean’s Medal: ‘It’s

learning’

While earning her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Akron, Anna Gutmann took three introductory philosophy courses as electives and knew that she would return to school one day to get a degree in philosophy. She enrolled as an online student at ASU and graduated this spring with her bachelor’s degree in philosophy with a concentration in morality, politics and law. Not only did she graduate with the degree she said she would come back for, but the SHPRS’ award committee unanimously awarded her the Dean’s Medal. Read more.

never too late to start

Killam Fellow studies abroad in Canada

Anusha Natarajan earned in bachelor’s degrees in sociology, history, political science and applied quantitative science, as well as minors in geography and Spanish, and certificates in international studies, political economy and social science research methods. She was busy. She was also a Killam Fellow and studied abroad at Carleton University in Canada, where she spent five months taking classes in Canadian geography, politics and history. Read more.

History PhD candidate turns 46-day walk into a love letter to Arizona

Tom Zoellner was born in Colorado but he’s an Arizonan through and through. The history PhD candidate recently released his book Rim To River: Looking into the Heart of Arizona, which explores his relationship with the Grand Canyon state. The impetus for the book came from a 46-day walk he took in 2019 from Utah to Mexico. Read more.

ASU PhD candidate researches the creation, trade of marble Buddhist images into China

It’s one thing to study the materials used in religious or ritual practices, but it’s another thing to study the material that makes up those items. That’s exactly what ASU religious studies PhD candidate Beiyin Deng is researching for her dissertation.

Deng is studying the circulation, transportation and trade of marble from Myanmar used to create Buddhist images. She focuses on the trade from Myanmar to China from the 1890s to the present day. Read more.

"You get unique ways of how people relate to one another coming out of what was called the Phoenix Model of Development, which is a combination of shopping centers, detached single family ranch homes, far-flung arterial streets and airport connections over rail connections.

Tom Zoellner

The year’s top stories

SHPRS in the news

First cross-humanities degree program to launch at ASU

Past meets future: Humanities students engage with WWI history through virtual reality

Victoria Thompson’s course, HST 130: The Historian’s Craft, was the first application of virtual reality (VR) technology in a humanities course at ASU. While students were transported to World War I’s No Man’s Land via Huddle, a new instructional tool developed by ASU students at Learning Futures, Thompson guided them through a lesson by reading a fact-filled narrative script. Thompson emphasized the success of the experiment, saying, “The VR experience seemed to accomplish [historical empathy] in a very different and memorable way.” Read more.

The Bachelor of Arts in culture, technology and environment is a new degree in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that will launch in fall 2023, combining courses from the three humanities schools: Department of English, the School of International Letters and Cultures (SILC) and SHPRS. The program encourages students to challenge the notion that technology and environmental subjects are only scientific and political problems and argues that they are ultimately human issues with ethical and moral concerns. Graduates of the program will be prepared for professional careers in law, journalism, nature and science writing, nonprofit leadership and environmental analysis and activism. Read more.

Six ASU professors selected as Institute for Humanities Research Fellows

Three SHPRS faculty were selected as IHR Fellows for 2023-2024: Katherine Bynum, Volker Benkert and Marcello Di Bello. Each fellow submitted a proposal for a viable writing project to be completed within the academic year. The goal of the program is to support faculty as they advance their careers toward tenure and promotion. Read more.

History professor does a 360, comes home to teach

Maurice Crandall joined SHPRS and ASU in fall 2022 from Dartmouth College, though he grew up in Arizona and New Mexico as a citizen of the Yavapai-Apache Nation of Camp Verde, where he learned to skateboard and continues to this day. A historian of the Indigenous peoples of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, Crandall is currently working on a book under contract with Liveright/W.W. Norton about the Yavapai and Dilzhe’e Apaches who served as U.S. Army Indian Scouts during the “Indian Wars” of the late 19th century. Read more.

New ASU center aims to showcase Muslim contributions, accomplishments in US

The recent launch of the Center of Muslim Experience in the United States (CME-US), initiated by SHPRS faculty Yasmin Saika and Chad Haines, will work to develop a faculty- and student-led project on the history of Muslims in Arizona. The CME-US aims to spotlight the creativity of Muslim Americans by hosting arts events from poetry readings to exhibits. The Center will also develop workshops, public lectures and more to educate ASU faculty and graduate students on the dynamic contributions of Muslim women and their contributions to the American community. Read more.

Want

shprs.asu.

Signature events

Humanities Week

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences division of humanities hosted the second annual Humanities Week, a weeklong celebration of the human adventure across time, history, culture and place. Students, faculty, staff and community members discovered how studying the humanities can lead to a fulfilling life and a more just world.

SHPRS events throughout the week included an open house, book collection at Hayden Library celebrating unsung heroes, a lecture and performance about the Civil Rights movement, a lecture about the Mexican drug trade and a humanities alumni panel titled "So what are you going to do with that?"

April

Genocide Awareness Week

Genocide Awareness Week, presented by the Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation, was held April 17-21, 2023. The series of lectures, exhibits and storytelling by distinguished survivors, scholars, politicians, activists, artists, humanitarians addressed how we confront violent actions and current and ongoing threats of genocide throughout the world, while also looking to the past for guidance and to honor those affected by genocide.

World War II Studies graduation

In the U.S. Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center at The National WWII Museum, the Victory Belles, a 1940s vocal trio, performed the national anthem as the U.S. Navy presented the colors, and Arizona State University graduates and their guests stood among ground-level tanks, trucks and WWII airplanes. It was the start of a ceremony that honored their dedication to preserving WWII history.

Graduates of the World War II Studies MA program, hailing from across the United States, walked across the stage as their names and home states were called out. For some, this was the first time they had the opportunity to do so. For all, it marked the culmination of an experience that shaped their perspective on the historical global conflict.

A recording of the Celebration of Graduates can be viewed here.

Philosophy high school summer camp

After a successful inaugural year, the camp came together as a combined effort between philosophy graduate students and philosophy faculty to get young students interested in philosophy and to understand what it entails.

The high school students showed up to the camp with many questions and a curiosity to learn. Over the week, they learned how technology affects their daily lives and the pros and cons of technology in society.

Learn more here: shprs.asu.edu/PHIsummercamp

Mark

ASU Humanities Week:

October 16-20, 2023

Genocide Awareness Week: April 15-19, 2024

Philosophy high school summer camp: June 2024

Over the summer, SHPRS hosted the second philosophy summer camp for high school students.

Donors know the impact they are going to make, but it can really go a long way for students who come from a low-income background. It’s so important to give students opportunities to grow their education, especially when they are passionate students.”

Courtney Czochara

Christine Sato Memorial Scholarship in Philosophy Recipient

Thank you to donors who supported SHPRS and its centers during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Together, we were able to raise more $111,695 to fund student scholarships, research and academic programming.

We appreciate the support of:

Itty Abraham

Karen Adams

Cathleen and John Akers

Richard Amesbury

The Armenian Apostolic Church of Arizona Saribekyan

Gwen Arner and Lynn Moffat

John and Cheryl Arner

Mark Barrios

Volker Benkert and Anne Jones

Cynthia Bolton and Frank Curtis

Linda Brady

Claudia Brown and Richard Stevenson

Jason Bruner

Shannon Burke

Diana and Kevin Burns

Cheshire Calhoun

Justin Cappuccilli

Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix

CharityVest Inc.

Huaiyu Chen

Lisa Chung Ja Park Moore

John Clay and Agnes Kefeli Clay

Jacklyn Collens

John and Anne Cook

Aaron and Erin Craft

Michael Currey

Yvonne Delgado

Chouki El Hamel

Kevin Dalton and Mary Fessenden

Kevin Dooley and Mary Ellen Page

Richard and Mary Fincher

Thomas and Betty Fournier

Roderick Gainer

Richard Gohl and Kathleen Schanus-Gohl

Gilbert Gonzales and Karen Schmidt

Manish Goswami and Nandita Punj

Brian Gratton and Catherine O’Donnell

Thomas Guerin

Solomone Halaufia

Daren Harris and Lauren

McArthur Harris

Kenja Hassan

Amalia Herrmann and John Kim

Steven Hilton

Barbara and William Horrigan

Teri Houston

William and Judith Hughes

Amanda Hutchison and Logan Rhind

Victoria Jackson

Pranav Jani

Christopher Jones

Nida Khoutakoun

Yong Kim and Steve Moore

Shawn Klein

Sayuko and Bernard Kobes

Talia Kolluri

Peter Kung

James Lawson

Marnie Leist

Theodore and Carolyn Lesnett

Julian Lim and Peter Schmelz

John and Jane Loll

Bo Lwin and Nwe Sein

Chan Lwin

Stephanie Mabee and Eric McLeod

Jennifer and John Marsteen

Erica and Garrett May

Joan McGregor

Linda and Adam McMillan

Miles McNerney

Elizabeth Michalak and Peter Ocko

Thireindar Min

Mulberry Street Fund

Zin Myint and Thida Tun

Ahmad Nassar

Michelle Nguyen and Mark Wilson

Katherine and Michael O’Malley

Sinmyung Park

Zachary Pirtle

Denise and John Rodriguez

Rosenbluth Family Charitable Foundation

Robert Sato and Astrid Eichner-Sato

Juliane Schober

Nikolas and Taylor Schweitzer

Warren Shaw

David Shuman

Nancy and Frederick Simonie

Steven J. Hilton Family Donor

Advised Fund

Grant Strang and Becky Tsang

Shahla Talebi

Gary Thomas

Marissa Timmerman

Mary Trengove

Liane Voss

Andrew Wenker and Jennifer Wenker

Jeffrey and Johanna Watson

Workplace Conflict Resolution

Whether you’re donating a couple dollars or a large sum, your gift is greatly appreciated. Any amount makes a difference for our students, faculty, staff, research and programs. Your charitable contributions enable our school to fuel our commitment to providing relevant education; developing new knowledge, better ideas and workable solutions to a range of challenges; transforming individuals, environments and communities; and putting limitless dreams within reach.

shprs.asu.edu/give

School

of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies

975 S. Myrtle Ave

P.O. Box 874302

Tempe, AZ 85287-4302

480-965-5778

shprs@asu.edu

shprs.asu.edu

SHPRS Indigenous Land Acknowledgment

The School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies acknowledges that is located on the ancestral lands of Indigenous nations . We thank the Native communities of the Salt River Valley, including the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and the Pee Posh (Maricopa) nations who have inhabited this place for centuries, and whose stewardship of the land and waterways allows us to be here today. Recognizing that land acknowledgments alone are not enough, SHPRS is committed to supporting our Native students and community by promoting the learning of Indigenous history, philosophy and religion; creating a learning environment where Native students can succeed and thrive; and collaborating with Indigenous nations in the region to protect Native sovereignty, governance and jurisdiction over their territories.

Students in associate teaching professor Terry Shoemaker’s REL 394: Spirituality in America course, which is a part of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict’s Spirituality and Public Life Initiative, took an experiential learning trip to Sedona during the spring 2023 semester. For more on the initiative, visit csrc.asu.edu/spirituality

Photo credit: Meghan Finnerty/The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences