International Q&A with FSI-Humanities Center 2011 Visitor Monica Quijada

By Marie-Pierre Ulloa

Why did you become a historian?

Monica Quijada

Since I was very young I have been interested in History as a means to understand society and as a place from which to participate actively in society’s concerns.

What is the focus of your current research?

I generally work on more than one topic, which I find interrelated. At this time I am working on interethnic relations (particularly the interaction of Indians and citizenship in 19th Century Latin America), popular sovereignty in the Spanish world along the centuries, and the management of diversity in Anthropological Museums.

What are the three or four seminal books in a historian's library?

History is a very wide subject both in regards to time and space. There are many books that may be considered as seminal for me. However, to name a few: Lucien Febvre, Le problème de l’incroyance au 16eme siècle; Eric Hobsbawm: The Invention of Tradition; José Antonio Maravall: Las comunidades de Castilla; Ernest Gellner: Nations and Nationalism.

Who are your models and mentors, if any?

I have not really had models and mentors. However, should I have to inscribe myself in the track of great Historians I would name José María Maravall and François-Xavier Guerra.

Which are the most critical skills in order to become a good historian?

Curiosity, willingness to learn, social sensibility, capacity to stand in your neighbor’s shoes.

What is the mission of the Humanities and how do the Humanities and Social Sciences complement each other?

Humanities are the basic understanding of humankind and society. Most importantly, Humanities provide the means for a kind of knowledge and understanding based on criticism or, as Descartes would say, “methodical doubt”. That is also why Humanities are often seen as a suspicious discipline and as a dangerous tool in the hands of society.

The Social Sciences are a kind of Humanities that have developed a more formalized language and have a more obvious applicability. In my opinion History is clearly a Social Science, same as Anthropology and Sociology.

International Q&A with FSI-Humanities Center 2012 Visitor Catherine Gousseff

Catherine Gousseff

By Marie-Pierre Ulloa

Why did you become a historian?

Maybe by chance since I wanted to be a philosopher. I think that my origins played a huge role in my choice. My grandparents came from Russia as refugees after the Revolution and I dedicated my work as historian to the history of refugees and displaced persons in the 20th century, having started with a PhD on the Russian Exile.

What is the focus of your current research?

I am working on the history of population exchange between Ukraine and Poland in order to adjust the new politic borders with the ethnographic ones (1944-1947)

What are the three or four seminal books in a historian's library?

Eugen Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen; the modernization of rural France, 1880-1914 
 Marc Bloch, The Medieval Society 
George Ostrogorsky, History of Byzantine State

Who are your models and mentors, if any?

I’m thinking of Daniel Mendelsohn (author of The Lost), not as a mentor, but in a way as a model in dealing with history and memory, with familial story and political history of the 20th century.

Which are the most critical skills in order to become a good historian?

Endless intellectual curiosity, imagination, and less ideological conviction than critical view of the present time.

What is the mission of the Humanities and how do the Humanities and Social Sciences complement each other?

It is a huge question, but I would summarize my answer to one point. My conviction is that the humanities concentrate the knowledge of human expression, of human inventions, and human traces. As such, they act as critical mass in society and give to it the capacity to continue the human story.

International Q&A with FSI-Humanities Center Visitor Adams Bodomo

by Marie-Pierre Ulloa


Why did you become a linguist?

I studied linguistics and became a linguist for two reasons. First, I wanted to be a top diplomat for my country, Ghana, which would involve being posted around the world to represent my country. I figured that if I studied linguistics and foreign languages at the University of Ghana that would increase my chances, so I read Linguistics, French, and Swahili. Second, I wanted to help document and preserve my mother-tongue, Dagaare, a small language in northern Ghana. I succeeded in writing the first grammar sketch of the language, published here at Stanford University titled The Structure of Dagaare.

Adams Bodomo

What are the three or four seminal books in a linguist's library?

It’s hard to pin down four seminal books as linguistics has many branches. But if the criterion is to select those books that have revolutionized aspects of linguistics I am familiar with, I would select A Course in General Linguistics by Ferdinand Saussure. This book revolutionized structural and descriptive linguistics, and I am a structuralist. Chomsky’s book, Syntactic Structures, revolutionized generative linguistics. Every linguist should have two reference books, one on languages of the world and the other a dictionary of linguistics. I would select David Crystal’s A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics and Garry and Rubino’s Facts about the World’s Languages: Encyclopedia of the World’s Major Languages – Past and Present, which I helped edit.

Who are your models and mentors, if any?

I have no models because my journey is too unique to model after someone. I do have many mentors back home in Ghana, in Norway where I did graduate studies, here in the US where I have worked, and in Hong Kong where I now live and work. I am a lucky man; I am where I am today because of many men and women–great linguists and academics–who mentored me, but I don’t want to mention names as some would be disappointed since I don’t have space to list all of them.

Which are the most critical skills in order to become a good linguist?

One, a critical, enquiring mind, two, attention to detail for discovering the intricacies of human mental processes through the use of linguistic structure, and three, the creativity to grasp the nuances of other people’s languages and cultures.

What is the mission of the Humanities and how do the Humanities and Social Sciences complement each other?

The mission of the Humanities is to discover the inner nature of the human creature, including the intricacies of language, thought, and culture, and how this creature relates to its environment, leading, hopefully, to an appreciation and celebration of its inner beauty. The Social Sciences also study how humans relate to their environment. Humanities and the Social Sciences have intertwined missions but different methods of inquiry, so these groups of scholars can learn from each other about deep, introspective methods of inquiry in the Humanities to empirical, experimental and quantitative methods in the Social Sciences.

Humanities Center Holds 19th Annual Celebration of Publications

On March 6, 2012, the Humanities Center hosted the 19th Annual Celebration of Publications in honor of humanists across the university. 62 authors were honored with 78 print, digital, video, and audio publications displayed for all to enjoy.

Click here to view the full list of authors and publications.

Humanities Circle Visits Library Special Collections

By Chris Williams

What do a poster from the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, a “pirated” edition of the Nuremburg Chronicles from 1496, and a 1591 copy of Metamorphosis have in common? They are all available at the Special Collections at Green Library, and all undergraduates can see and touch them.

An image from the Nuremburg Chronicles.
(Source: Wikipedia; {{PD1923}}) 

In January, Robert Barrick took the Humanities Circle, an undergraduate group sponsored by the Stanford Humanities Center, on a trip to Special Collections to see what the fuss is all about. “We wanted students to know what is available and how to access it,” Barrick says.

To prepare for the visit, Barrick worked extensively with John Mustain, Curator of Rare Books. Barrick says, “While the students could access these items on their own, it was wonderful to have [John Mustain] provide his expertise on a special guided tour.” Mustain actively encourages a hands-on approach to the items in the Collection–touch the pages, smell the vellum–helping students get a full sensory experience of the richness and depth of the history involved.

During their visit, the group got a sampling of items hand-picked by Mustain representing some of his favorite pieces in the Collection: students could examine a leaf of the Gutenberg Bible, a student text with marginalia from the 16th century, and an 18th-century map of Japan. One music major was particularly excited to see an original hand-written composition by Mozart.

All students can access the Special Collections through a request from the library’s website. “The difficulty is that you have to know what you are looking for before you request it,” Barrick says. “That’s why we wanted to visit in person–so students would start thinking about the ways they could use the Collection.”

Books and documents are not the only things available in Special Collections. The group is planning another visit to the Collections on March 12 to see the variety of realia–real life objects–in house. “One of the more surprising things in the collection is a pair of Allen Ginsburg’s sneakers. We’re hoping we can see some artifacts like these and many more rare books and documents when we visit in March,” explains Barrick.

The Humanities Circle is open to all undergraduates, regardless of major. If you are interested in joining the Circle’s trip to the Special Collections in March, or any of the other talks, film screenings, or lunches the group sponsors, email Robert Barrick at rbarrick@stanford.edu.

Undergraduate Communications Assistant Needed

The Stanford Humanities Center is seeking a student communications assistant for winter and spring 2012. The Humanities Center, located behind Tresidder Student Union, sponsors advanced research into the historical, philosophical, and cultural dimensions of human experience. During the academic year, the Center brings together scholars and students for public lectures, collaborative research workshops, and residential research fellowships.

The student assistant will be assigned a variety of communications tasks, including researching content ideas, conducting interviews with fellows and visitors, and writing features and profiles for the web. Other tasks may include covering Center events, videotaping interviews, and editing video transcripts. Prior experience writing for the web or a print publication is essential.

Hours Per Week: 10
Schedule: Flexible (within Monday-Friday, 8AM – 5PM time frame)
Hourly Pay: $13
Required Commitment: winter and spring quarters, 2012

Main Responsibilities:

• Research content ideas to publicize work of Humanities Center fellows and visitors
• Conduct written and video interviews with fellows and visiting scholars
• Write and edit content for the web: short news items, longer features, research sidebars
• Preparation of other communications materials (photos, flyers, transcripts, video)
• Other projects as assigned

Qualifications:

• Excellent writer with experience producing articles for web and/or print
• Solid research, editing, and organizational skills
• Experience shooting videos
• Creative thinker with interest in the humanities and arts
• Comfortable in an office setting
• Reliable in attendance and commitment to the job
• Willingness to help out with other tasks as they arise

To apply, visit Cardinal Careers and search for job #757814.

Workshop Applications Now Open

The Humanities Center invites proposals for 2012-13 Workshops. The workshops bring together groups of Stanford faculty and advanced graduate students, as well as visiting scholars and those at other local institutions, to present their current research and otherwise explore topics of common intellectual concern. Workshops meet at least 3 times a quarter.

Accepted proposals will be awarded up to $8500 for the academic year.

Apply online now.