Being Human in STEM

HSTEM Logo

The Being Human in STEM (HSTEM) Initiative aims to foster a more inclusive, supportive STEM community by helping students, faculty, and staff collaboratively develop a framework to understand and navigate diverse identities in the classroom, lab, and beyond. We read and discuss research literature from education, sociology, psychology fields to better understand how to enhance success and inclusion in learning STEM at Amherst. One result has been a handbook on inclusive practices for STEM (and all!) faculty. Another has been a project-based course empowers students to investigate issues of diversity in STEM through combining academic inquiry with lasting community engagement, a model that has been copied at other institutions. The seminar is dedicated to help participants learn about how STEM is strenghthened by humanities-based inquiry.

Chair: Sheila Jaswal (Chemistry)

Digital Humanities

Smartphone

Have you heard of digital humanities, but don’t know what it is, exactly? Do your students want to undertake projects involving big data or social media, but you don’t know how to help them succeed? Are you starting a new project and interested in learning how computational or digital tools might provide a different perspective on your research questions? Do you just want to be able to follow conversations at conferences when DH comes up? This seminar is a no-tech introduction to digital humanities skills and tools for faculty and staff at Amherst College. Each session is organized around a particular tool or skill, and covers topics such as: what kinds of research questions can be answered with that skill; things to avoid when beginning a digital humanities project; how a tool or skill has been taken up in established research or pedagogical projects; and more as necessary. This seminar is particularly intended for those who would like to learn more about when to use digital tools in their teaching or research, but have no prior experience. Those with experience in one tool who wish to learn more about the field will also benefit.

Chair: Amanda Henrichs (English).

The Premodern

Graphic of the Colliseum in Rome

The impetus for this group was a sense of the dearth of premodern Humanities at Amherst: faculty across all departments who base their work on ancient, classical, or medieval traditions or civilizations. As colleagues became aware of this and the shallow presentism it indicates and portends for students and the broader culture, they began to gather to discuss this situation. Efforts developed organically and emerged over time from a sense of intellectual chemistry and shared sense of purpose in the group. Meeting about once a month for the last two years, participants have read work in the Humanities that bridges their interests, and have read one another's work. This past year, the group formed a Mellon-funded First-year Seminar (FYSE) cluster which is rolling out its course, "Beginnings," in Fall 2019. At the same time, it has drawn on CHI funding for its intellectual and scholarly meetings, retaining its scholarly community apart, and as adjunct to, its work on the course.

Chair: Ingrid Nelson (English).

Participants: Maria Heim, Sanam Nader-Esfahani, Michael Kunichika, George Qaio, Yael Rice, Sergey Glebov, and Tom Zanker. Affiliates: Catherine Infante, Tariq Jaffer, and Chris van den Berg.