HUM 101 is a 150-student (capped) lecture course taught by a team of three instructors from three different departments in the humanities or Humanistic Social Sciences. While the class meets as a group in Weeks 1 and 11, in Weeks 2 - 10 students are broken into 50-person cohorts (HUM 101 A, B, C) and the instructors cycle through these cohorts in three-week rotations. Each instructor is responsible for a series of six lectures from their general research or content area—or even a new field of interest—that connect to the annual topic, which they will teach three times: in Weeks 2-4, 5-7, and 8-10.

Humanities First is no longer accepting individual applications for HUM 101 instructors for the Autumn 2024 quarter. The theme for 2024-2025 will be "Journeys." The theme for 2025-26 has not been determined. Watch for a call for proposals in Autumn, 2024!

Humanities First instructors receive one course release for the class (this is not an overload).

Student work in HUM 101 includes 3 brief topic-specific response papers, team-built and public-facing Instagram feeds and / or digital Zines, and a final self-build professional website in which students reflect on their work from the quarter and curate the remainder of their educational journey at the UW.  The response papers are graded by the instructors; the digital projects are graded by the TAs.  Templates and rubrics for all assignments are included in the program, and the construction and maintenance of the Canvas pages is overseen by the Program Director and Coordinator.

If you have any further questions, please email the Program Director, Sarah Stroup (scstroup@uw.edu)

If you are ready to submit an instructor application, please email the following to the Program Coordinator, Sam Hushagen (samhus85@uw.edu)
 

  •  A 300-600 word statement on how your research, teaching, and/or scholarly interests dovetail with the topic for 2025-26. Why does this topic particularly interest you, and what texts, objects, and places could you imagine bringing to the course? Please be as specific as you can, though understand that we are not expecting writing in stone.
  • A current CV.
  • NOTE: Your application must be approved by your department chair.

 

FAQS
 

I’m not so sure about team teaching with people I don’t know!
One of the goals of Humanities First is to encourage communication and collaboration across Humanities Division departments. We hope that students and faculty alike will take this program as an opportunity to learn more about research areas and approaches across the humanities.


I already have a team in mind. May we submit team applications?
Because one goal of HUM 101 is to foster new faculty connections across the Division, only individual applications are accepted. However, if you have a team in mind, you may indicate in your letter up to two other applicants with whom you would like to be matched, and explain why.


How much “team” is in this “team teaching?”
Teams will be put into contact with each other immediately. The program will provide structure and support throughout the “lead-up” year as you get to know each other and—hopefully—meet now and then to share your thoughts on the Topic. While we ask that you make your “texts” (be they literary texts, objects, films, etc.) available to your team as soon as you have decided on them, and while we urge approximate consistency in the length of reading assignments per week, your chosen texts and lecture content are wholly your own.


I taught HUM 101 last year. May I submit an application for this next year, too?
Yes, but because we want wide representation across the Division, priority will be given to applicants who have not taught HUM 101 in the prior year.


I would like to suggest an alternate topic for the coming year. May I do this?
No. Topics are chosen in advance by the Program Committee and have been approved by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Topic selection occurs early in the program timeline because the topic is an important element of our outreach and recruitment.


I like the sound of student Instagram, digital Zines, and e-portfolios but I don’t know the first thing about them!
Don’t worry! Humanities First will provide social media support for instructors and students.