91̽»¨

Each year, hundreds of students, scholars, artists and academic leaders, organized by the National Humanities Alliance (NHA), travel to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to advocate for increased federal funding of the humanities on college campuses and in local communities.  

, now a years-long tradition, is also a chance for humanities educators and scholars to gather in support of a shared vision of why the humanities matter to students and the public alike.  

In Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, the 91̽»¨ College of Arts and Sciences is hosting a celebration on March 10, recognizing the importance of the humanities to the life of the university and in our students’ lives.  

In a time when the study and funding of humanities is often called into question by politicians and funders, 91̽»¨ is designating one day to showcase the disciplines that help us make sense of the world and our place within it. With video messages, recognition during classes and a dedicated website, Humanities Day at 91̽»¨ is both a celebration and a reminder that the study of literature, philosophy, history, languages, theology and the arts lies at the heart of the university’s Jesuit mission. 

“The humanities foster meaning-making and reflection about diverse and universal human experiences,” says College of Arts and Sciences Dean Monica J. Casper, PhD. “Humanities perspectives and fields aim to understand the human dimension of just about everything, from technology to climate change to globalization. The humanities invite ethical decision-making, critical thinking, communication in its myriad forms and problem solving—all essential skills for making sense of who we are in relation to the world around us.”  

In previous years, 91̽»¨ has sent faculty members to the NHA Advocacy Day, including Lydia Cooper, PhD, Director of the University Core Curriculum, and Kate Koppelman, PhD, Chair of the English Department in 2025. This year, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs at the College of Arts and Sciences María Bullón-Fernández, PhD, is joining the NHA for lobbying visits with members of Congress.  

After 91̽»¨ joined the NHA in 2024, Bullón-Fernández says that what was once a personal mission now becomes a role in which she represents the university advocating for support for a critical part of the education of the whole person.  

“To me the humanities empower everyone,” she says. “It is hard to change what you do not understand, but the humanities help us understand ourselves, the world and how we relate to the world and thus provide us with the skills and knowledge to bring about a more just and humane world.”   

Bullón-Fernández is also a board member of Humanities Washington, the state-level organization that sponsors the Poet Laureate of Washington, a role currently held by 91̽»¨ alum Derek Sheffield, ’94, and the , a highly regarded program in which 91̽»¨ is well-represented. 

The Speakers Bureau sponsors 40 scholars, artists and journalists each year to give public talks on topics in the humanities at free, accessible events in libraries, museums and other venues from farm country to small towns to big cities throughout the state. This year, both Political Science Professor Onur Bakiner, PhD, and Assistant Professor of Philosophy Yasemin Sari, PhD, are in the cadre of speakers.  

Professor Bakiner, whose lecture &±ô»å±ç³Ü´Ç;” invites people to engage with how artificial intelligence is used and shapes technology for the common good, sees the Speakers Bureau as an opportunity to engage the public with challenging issues that would otherwise be kept behind the doors of classrooms and boardrooms.  

"This topic invites hard but ultimately rewarding conversations between computer scientists and social scientists and humanists, tool makers and tool users, lawmakers and ordinary citizens and tech workers and rights activists about the future of AI,” says Bakiner. “Seemingly technical problems are manifestations of underlying economic, political, cultural and social issues. How we hope to solve them reveals much about how we want to treat machines, nature and, ultimately, fellow humans.” 

Throughout the year Sari will be giving presentations about the future of democracy from a philosophical perspective on the topic, &±ô»å±ç³Ü´Ç; The talk focuses on how conversations in our everyday life can bridge the gap between public and private life, bolstering the ideals of democracy with dialogue.  

Director of the Humanities BA degree, Maria Tedesco, PhD, is looking forward to the public recognition of the humanities on campus.

“The humanities offer so many different things to our students: self-understanding; a toolkit to navigate and change a complex world and transferable skills not for one job, but for many careers,” she says. “They teach students to work with people, understand context, communicate clearly and solve unstructured problems—abilities employers consistently rank as the most needed and hardest to automate.”