Director Letter: Fall 2026 Updates
The new academic year is upon us. As the DHI enters its first full year back in operation, I am looking forward to building on last year’s successes, and to living out our motto: connections happen here.
One of this year’s key priorities will be to reach broader audiences with the DHI’s public programming. I’m particularly excited about new partnerships with community venues such as Sudwerk Brewery, where, on October 22, you can learn about monsters, both ancient and modern, from two UCD faculty experts—just in time for Halloween!
We have a full slate of intellectually stimulating and timely programming planned throughout the year. In the winter quarter, experience a voyage to Antarctica with one of the nation’s leading science fiction writers, Davis’s own Kim Stanley Robinson, as your guide. In the spring, delve into the cultures of Artificial Intelligence and learn about the connections between Homer’s The Odyssey and bluegrass music via the Coen Brothers’ filmic adaptation, to the accompaniment of UCD’s bluegrass ensemble. Dancing encouraged.
You can find an overview of our upcoming fall events in our Fall Update Brochure. Check back on our website for regular event announcements.
To mark the start of the new academic year, I hope you will join us for our kickoff event, War & Disability: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Iran and Ukraine, on Tuesday, September 29, at 4:30 pm, at International House.
This event brings together leading scholars of disability and war for a public conversation on two of the world’s most significant, ongoing conflict zones. It features Professors Sarah Phillips (Anthropology, University of Indiana Bloomington) and Sona Kazemi (Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, University of Wisconsin La Crosse) and marks the culmination of our event series spotlighting disability studies. I hope that you will participate in this important dialogue, which will be followed by a complimentary reception.
I look forward to seeing you at a future DHI event. With gratitude for your support and very best wishes for the start of the new academic year,
Jenny Kaminer
DHI Faculty Director & Professor of Russian
Recent DHI Updates
The summer was busy at the DHI! Please see below for some updates on our recent activities.
New or Renewed Funding Streams
- The DHI’s newest funding stream, Humanities Labs, launched in July. It will support two interdisciplinary research teams whose work center the arts and humanities. The call closes on October 30, 2026. More information available here. Questions? Humanities Labs Open Hours are held from 1-3pm every Tuesday on Zoom.
- Graduate Working Group Awards are reinstated. They provide funding of up to $600 for five groups, to support activities related to reading or writing group meetings or workshops. The call closes on October 30, 2026. More information here.
The DHI will also continue to award Faculty Research Fellowships, with the call opening later this fall. For now, you can read and learn about this year’s Fellows–who hail from Anthropology, Sociology, Spanish & Portuguese, Asian American Studies, and Music–on our website.
Updated Website
The DHI’s website contains the following new features:
- For faculty: information about internal and external awards and ways to request co-sponsorship or add to the DHI’s newsletter
- For graduate and undergraduate students: links to funding, internship, and professional development resources
- For everyone, including community members: information about arts and humanities events on campus and beyond.
We welcome and appreciate your feedback on the new and evolving website. As always, you can find us at [email protected].