Newsletters

THE DIRECTOR OF THE CHA, JENNIFER HO, IS NOT AN OFFICER OF THE UNIVERSITY; THEREFORE, ALL COMMENTS BY DR. HO ARE NOT TO BE CONFUSED AS COMMENSURATE WITH OR REFLECTIVE OF COMMENTS BY THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO BOULDER OR THE CENTER FOR HUMANITIES & THE ARTS.

March 2026

Dear CU Boulder Community & Supporters of the CHA,

As I was doing research for my second book, I started a blog called “Mixed Race America.” I’m not sure what propelled me to write that first post in May 2007, but I kept it going for 7 years, and it was instrumental not only for the writing I was doing but in the friendships I cultivated with other bloggers, like The Tenured Radical aka Dr. Claire Potter. I was first introduced to her by a mutual friend when I was in distress for coming under attack because I had blogged about the Duke Lacrosse rape case (my first experience of what would come to be many of finding myself under scrutiny and receiving hate messages for my public writing). Dr. Potter, as I’m sure you can surmise, is a brilliant scholar, but what she was, for me when I was under attack, was a stranger showing me immense kindness and thoughtfulness. Kindness is not a word we often associate with those in academia, but her modeling of kindness to me when I was in distress is one I have tried to embody ever since – it is the trait I most admire in scholars I’ve grown close to.

Neither of us have kept up our blogs but we have continued to do public facing work, in Dr. Potter’s case through her substack and podcast, which are both called “Political Junkies,” which is also the name of her 2020 book, Political Junkies: From Talk Radio to Twitter, How Alternative Media Hooked Us on Politics and Broke Democracy (Basic Books 2020). Political Junkies (the book) is a timely read – though written in 2020 the significance of Potter’s observations and questions are vital in the polarized world we’re living in, as she writes:

Although we consume news all day on our digital devices, the vast majority of Americans are more alienated from each other and from a political system that requires citizen participation to function, than they have ever been. From talk radio to Twitter, right and left stay in their red and blue lanes, mainlining ideology, shouting insults across the political divide, and seeing conspiracies everywhere. How has political talk become so extreme and political engagement so anemic? How has a partisan alternative media that is in many cases just as profitable and entrenched come to be perceived by many as equally, or more, reliable than an establishment media that invests billions of dollars a year on reporting, writing, and broadcasting the news? (5)

I’m so pleased that Claire Potter will be coming to CU Boulder to deliver the 2026 Cox Family Process Speaker talk on Political Junkies—sharing with us the origins of the book, what it was like for her to write it, its reception, and the afterlives of the book, which I think we can see in her substack and podcast. I hope you can join us for this free talk on Wednesday, March 25, 4:00-5:30pm in the foyer of Macky Auditorium – we will have a free copy of Potter’s book for the first 25 people who arrive and there will be a reception with light refreshments following her talk. You can register here—and I hope you will share this link with anyone in Boulder county who wants to hear an expert share her research about how alternative media has contributed to the political polarization we now find ourselves in.

Finally, looking ahead to April, which is national poetry month, we will be hosting a poetry writing workshop on Wednesday, April 8 in the CHA conference room for 12 people who want to process what is happening in the world and turn their thoughts into art. A former student who lives in Maine shared that she had participated in such a workshop at her public library and shared the poem that another woman in her group had written following Renee Good’s murder in Minneapolis. I’ve appreciated the poets who have come out in homage to Good, who was herself an award winning poet, winning a coveted prize in 2020 from the Academy of American Poets for her work “On Learning to Dissect Fetal Pigs.” And I’ve appreciated the various ways that artists have responded to the times we’re living in, such as this dance performance in front of the Lincoln Memorial. If you’re free from 12-1:15pm on Wednesday, April 8, please fill out this google form where we will talk about what is in our hearts and create poetry together. In times of crises and trauma, it’s poetry I’ve turned to, such as this one from one of my favorite poets, Maya Angelou, “Still I Rise.”

Sincerely, 
 

Jennifer Ho

Director, Center for Humanities & the Arts 

PS. I’m a humanist to my core, which means I believe in the power of arts and humanities to give meaning to our lives. And I have real reservations about Artificial Intelligence in the realm of arts and humanities. I keep hearing people say that AI is inevitable. Maybe. But I want to share a letter that researchers and teachers who study AI have authored sharing their concerns about Chat GPT EDU. Whether you are all in or skeptical, I think the letter is worth reading to understand their dissent: https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vRcp_9sojkgEs6Em9uloKvnK-2QbuVdgI3u6-zl0YQuZVe-r45sGPWiexoGuUx8wp78TF7jRZ3dRhgt/pub.

CHA Upcoming Opportunities

CHA Summer Fellowships are now open! ☀️📚

The CHA Summer Stipend provides $6,000 to support CU Boulder graduate students in the arts and humanities who do not have other summer funding.

Whether you’re deep in dissertation research or developing a new creative project, this fellowship is designed to give you the time and support you need.

📅 Deadline: March 15, 2026
💵 Award: $6,000 (paid end of May & June)

Eligibility Highlights:
• Must be enrolled in a CU Boulder MA or PhD program (and enrolled Fall 2026)
• Must work in arts/humanities or clearly engage humanities methods
• Must not receive any summer funding (including TA, RA, GPTI, Lecturer, or other stipends)
• No late or incomplete applications accepted

Full details & sample applications available on our website.
Questions? Email chagrants@colorado.edu.

Apply now and invest in your summer research! ✨

📢 Mellon Grant — Call for PhD Applications

The Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar on “Restoring Trust: Humanistic Perspectives on Academic Freedom, US American Democracy, and Higher Education Leadership.” The seminar explores how humanities scholars and administrators can collaboratively address challenges that arise when universities seek to promote free and open conversations about controversial social justice topics and how this collaboration can help rebuild trust within universities and contribute to the future of higher education in a polarized US American democracy. This program is hosted by the Center for Humanities & the Arts in partnership with the Office of Faculty Affairs, Office for Public and Community-Engaged Scholarship, and Strategic Relations and Communications.

As part of the seminar, we are pleased to announce a call for PhD applications for graduate student Fellowships in the Humanities, Democracy, and Higher Education. Click on the hyperlink in the previous sentence to find details about the two-year PhD fellowship and the application portal. Applications will be accepted through Monday, April 6.

How did America’s media ecosystem become so polarized — and what does that mean for our democracy in 2026? 

Join us for a compelling discussion of Political Junkies: From Talk Radio to Twitter, How Alternative Media Hooked Us on Politics and Broke Our Democracy by Claire Bond Potter. As we enter a year defined by AI-generated misinformation, collapsing trust in digital content, and politicians increasingly turning to influencers and alternative platforms to shape public opinion, Potter’s work feels more urgent than ever. Recent analyses warn that deepfakes around breaking political events are accelerating public confusion and eroding trust online, while journalism experts note that social media’s “mid-life crisis” and the rise of personality-driven news continue to sideline traditional reporting.  

This event will explore how we arrived at this moment — and where we go from here. All are welcome. 

📅 Wednesday, March 25, 2026 | 4:00–5:30 PM 

🎟️ Free & open to all 

Registration: https://cvent.me/lqOd9N 

📍 at Macky Auditorium 

🌟 Announcing the New CHA Faculty Fellows!

We are thrilled to introduce our newest Center for Humanities & the Arts Faculty Fellowsfor Fall 2026 and Spring 2027. These scholars represent exceptional creativity, research, and commitment to the arts and humanities at CU Boulder.

🍂 Fall 2026 Faculty Fellows

• Suzanne Magnanini — French & Italian
• Crystal Nelson — Art & Art History
• Thorsten Trimpop — Critical Media Practices
• Megan O’Grady — Art & Art History

🌱 Spring 2027 Faculty Fellows

• Jane Garrity — English
• Thomas Pegelow Kaplan — History & Jewish Studies
• Jaquetta Shade‑Johnson — Program for Writing & Rhetoric
• Nisha Shanmugaraj — Program for Writing & Rhetoric
• Jianmin Shao — Women & Gender Studies

Please join us in celebrating these outstanding faculty members and their important contributions to the humanities and arts at CU Boulder!

Arts & Humanities Opportunities Across Campus

🕊️ 2026 Celia M. Fountain Lecture
How Plato Wrecked Syracuse: A Story of Philosophy Gone Wrong

Join the CU Boulder Department of Classics for a fascinating deep dive into one of history’s most dramatic political‑philosophical misadventures. Explore how Plato’s ambitious political theories collided with the realities of power in ancient Syracuse—and what this story reveals about the risks of idealism gone awry.

📅 Date: Tuesday, March 5
📍 Location: CBIS Room, CU Boulder
🔗 Full details: https://www.colorado.edu/classics/2026/02/16/2026-celia-m-fountain-lecture-how-plato-wrecked-syracuse-story-philosophy-gone-wrong

Come learn how a bold experiment in political philosophy turned into a cautionary tale still relevant today.

Let’s work together toward a more just and transparent future through visual evidence.

🎓 Graduate Students & Postdocs: Spring Career Events Are Here!

The Graduate Student Career Services Team is offering a full slate of career programming this spring to support your job search in industry and nonprofit sectors.

💼 Spring 2026 Career Fairs

• All Industries Virtual Career & Internship Fair — Mar 10 | 3–7pm
• All Industries Just-In-Time Career & Internship Fair — Apr 2 | 11am–4pm

🔍 For details and registration, visit Handshake.