Walter Chapin Simpson Center for the Humanities

The Simpson Center is dedicated to fostering cross-disciplinary research and teaching in the humanities and to stimulating exchange and debate on cultural and intellectual issues among University of Washington scholars and the citizens of the greater Seattle community. The Simpson Center sponsors a diverse range of programs and research projects designed to inspire the cross-pollination of ideas, to encourage emerging knowledge and ways of knowing, and to spark meaningful campus-community engagement. These include public lectures and forums, scholarly conferences, collaborative research groups, interdisciplinary courses at all levels of higher education, public humanities programs, publications, and a fellowship program for University of Washington faculty and doctoral students.

• Latinos in U.S. Popular Music is aimed to generate ideas and resources for use both in the university curriculum and in a potential museum exhibit at the Experience Music Project. The project is sponsored by the University of Washington’s School of Music and American Ethnic Studies, the Simpson Center, and the Seattle Partnership for American Popular Music (a collaboration between the UW School of Music, KEXP radio, and the Experience Music Project, funded by the Allen Foundation.)

• Teachers as Scholars is a professional development program that joins K-12 teachers with university faculty in a climate designed to enrich the teaching and learning of both groups. The Puget Sound adaptation of this national program has forged links between schools, universities, and local cultural organizations. By participating in small seminars led by UW faculty in the humanities, K-12 teachers are reconnected to the world of scholarship. In turn, university faculty become more fully involved in the ongoing efforts to improve primary and secondary education.

• Recently, The Simpson Center, in collaboration with the Division of Spanish and Portuguese Studies, Western European Studies, Safeco Insurance, and the Embassy of Spain, sponsored a public series entitled, \"The Living Art of Miguel de Cervantes: A Public Celebration of the 400th Anniversary of Don Quixote.\" This three-day commemoration involved participation from those within and outside of the academic community and featured various forums, lectures, roundtables and performances for the public.

• The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project is a multi-media Web site developed through the collaboration between community groups and University of Washington faculty and students. The site brings the vital history of Seattle's civil rights movements to life with dozens of video oral histories, hundreds of rare photographs, documents, movement histories, and personal biographies.

• The September Project is a series of free civic events about freedom, democracy and citizenship. On or around September 11, 2006, people worldwide will attend activities of discussion, dialogue, and reflection in public, academic, and school libraries. Come together and learn from your community and from your world. The Simpson Center is one of more than 1,100 libraries and centers across the world that has hosted free and public September Project events.

• The Silk Road Lecture Series continues the initiative begun in 2002 with “Silk Road Seattle,” whose reach to a local, national, and international audience continues with its acclaimed website. The lecture series brings to campus specialists at the cutting edge of the study of Eurasian cultural history. Each offers a public lecture and a seminar presentation.

• Sponsored by Seattle Arts & Lectures, the Simpson Center, and the Henry Art Gallery, The Wednesday University is a program that provides Puget Sound residents with an intellectually stimulating way to continue their education in the humanities. Each year, the Wednesday University offers three courses taught by distinguished faculty at the University of Washington. These courses, which meet on Wednesday evenings, are open to anyone – from high school students to senior citizens.