Scholarship/Artistry

 
Examples of faculty research and artistry that explore diversity and inclusion themes and topics.

Faculty Research

Many faculty in the College of Liberal Arts have a particular commitment to and engagement with questions of diversity and inclusion in their research agendas. Of the 20 or so books that faculty produce each year, typically half place a major focus on these issues. Three examples are:

• The Heavens Might Crack: The Death and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., by Jason Sokol (Basic Books)
• Africana Jewish Journeys: Studies in African Judaism, edited by Marla Brettschneider, Edith Bruder and Magdel Le Roux (Cambridge Scholars Publishing)
• Slavery and the Making of Early American Libraries:  British Literature, Political Thought, and the Transatlantic Book Trade, 1731-1814, by Sean Moore (Oxford University Press)

Faculty Artistry

Faculty in the fine and performing arts disciplines tackle diversity and inclusion issues in their creative work, with performances devoted to works by diverse artists or thematically focused on issues of diversity and inclusion, and visual art grappling with these themes. Examples include:

• David Kaye, professor of theatre, founded and advises WildActs, a student theatre troupe exploring social justice issues that emerge in the university setting. Kaye also founded PowerPlay, which utilizes professional actors and applied theatre techniques to spark dialogue about institutional climate and culture and improve performance in the workplace. In addition, Kaye writes and performs about Israeli-Palestinian relations.
• Nathan Jorgensen organizes the annual Traditional Jazz series, which brings world-renowned artists to UNH to perform this quintessentially Black American art form.
• Jennifer Moses, professor emerita of art, created a series of paintings inspired by the common visual language felt and seen when large numbers of people mass and unite in protest. She began the series during the Global Protest Wave of 2019 and continued with renewed urgency in June 2020, responding to the energy and imagery of public dissent. She exhibited the series, called "Protest," at the Kingston Gallery in Boston, Mass.

Faculty Outreach

Faculty across the COLA disciplines use their scholarly expertise to engage in community outreach around issues of diversity/inclusion. Examples include:

• Faculty in anthropology, classics, English and other COLA departments partner with the The Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire in Portsmouth, N.H., which promotes awareness and appreciation of African American history and life in order to build more inclusive communities today. Faculty give talks, participate in panels, and arrange for student involvement in BHTNH activities.
• Casey Golomski, assistant professor of anthropology, is an Africanist, among other specialties. He used his expertise to help catalogue and curate an exhibit at the Seacoast African American Cultural Center in Portsmouth, N.H., called “Guinea To Great Bay: Afro-Atlantic Lives, Cultures and History,” an effort intended to celebrate diversity.

Center for the Humanities

The Center for the Humanities provides financial support for faculty working in the humanities broadly defined, and often provides crucial funding to faculty working on issues of diversity and inclusion. The Center has a commitment to enhancing New Hampshire public humanities and has undertaken two video projects: “Shadows Fall North,” a documentary about the history of African Americans in New Hampshire, and “Uprooted,” a documentary about refugees re-settled in New Hampshire.