The English doctoral degree in the public humanities will be an interdisciplinary program with close ties to the successful master’s programs the department already has in place. For over a decade, English has been planning a PhD, and we are excited that the University of Wyoming has committed itself to bringing this program to fruition. Our vision is to develop a distinctive humanities doctorate focused on the public sphere: as the National Humanities Alliance notes, public humanities work seeks to extend the humanities beyond the ivory tower by engaging the public in conversations that inform contemporary debates, magnify community perspectives, preserve local cultures, and expand educational access.1 Such programs are the cutting edge of humanities education, because in addition to focusing on community engagement and thereby strengthening humanities programming statewide, they have the added benefit of preparing graduates for jobs beyond the academy.
The National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Public Programs defines public humanities projects as those that “bring the ideas of the humanities to life for general audiences through public programming.”2 This focus on public engagement signals a crucial and often unconsidered challenge of work within the academy. While housed at universities, the primary work of public humanities programs must be to engage those outside of campus—locally, state-wide, nationally, and globally. As we argue, this public-facing PhD will disrupt traditions associated with outdated doctoral education elsewhere, be an engine for progress across campus and the state and serve as a national exemplar from its inception. The English Department is looking ethically and inventively to the future of doctoral education with the proposed English PhD in the Public Humanities, and we are excited to welcome our first class of students beginning in the Fall Semester of 2024!
Our doctoral degree will bridge skills in research, rhetorical analysis, critical reading, and document design traditional to English studies, plus add a deep investment in public advocacy and community engagement. As markets change, humanities PhDs with interdisciplinary skills and real-world experience in engaging the community will stand out for employers. Through applied courses and internship placements as well as public-facing research deliverables, students will master communicating complex ideas to non-specialists, building partnerships with community, heritage, and tourism organizations, and developing programs to serve social and economic needs. Whether students are interested in public advocacy, arts programming, and non-profit work; in editing, grant writing, and the digital humanities; or in making complex research accessible to broad audiences, the English PhD will provide the skills and professional networks necessary for our graduates to realize their professional goals.
Interested applicants should apply to the following UW admission link. There, you will be prompted through UW’s application portal, which will require you to upload your cv, letter of application/interest, transcripts (a copy will suffice for now), and a writing sample of 15-20 pages. (This may be a single writing sample or multiple samples of various academic or public genres.) The system will also prompt you to solicit at least three letters of recommendation: these letters may be written by academics, employers, and/or other professional references. Your letter of interest should address your academic qualifications, your anticipated areas of study and potential dissertation project, and an explanation of how you see your scholarship and professional goals aligning with the public humanities.
Admitted full-time students will be fully funded (tuition and stipend) for up-to-four years and should indicate their interest in and qualifications for graduate teaching assistantships, graduate research assistantships, or both. Full- and part-time students qualify for specially funded research internships related to the public humanities, including our Mellon Foundation funded state-wide research project, “Re-Storying the West.” More information on these below.
Thanks to generous funding from the Mellon Foundation, three graduate research assistants will be part of a special team engaged in public humanities activities, including working with experts to deliver community-wide training in storywork, conducting story gathering sessions around the state, and creating a public-facing archive of contemporary Wyoming stories.
Who has the power and means to tell our stories? What stories count as valid and survive over time? Wyoming’s story is too-often told by visitors seeking fantasy through the “romance of the West,” “the dangerous adventure of the frontier,” and “the solace of wide-open spaces.” As some stories are amplified, more are lost. Wyoming is complex and multivocal, a fabric woven from lived experiences encompassing a wide range of communities.
In scholarly terms, "Re-Storying the West" sits at three overlapping knowledge-making traditions: Field Rhetorics, Oral History, and Indigenist Storywork Ethics. It supports gathering contemporary stories of everyday Wyomingites through collaborative conversational interviews produced into sharable stories for public consumption. Who counts as a “Wyomingite”? Anyone who feels a sense of belonging and investment in our state strong enough to claim the title. Deep inclusivity is the goal. We hope to gather stories from rural and city communities; from individuals of all stripes, backgrounds, and professions; and from voices we often don’t hear.
The grant supports development of a core team of people: Associate Professor Nancy Small serves as project leader and will work closely with graduate assistants beginning the fall semester of 2024. Our team then will expand through two new tenure-line hires who will onboard in fall 2025. Beyond this team, folks in the broader university and state community can get involved through student-centered activities at undergraduate and graduate levels, an annual program of sub-awards, professional development sessions, and/or volunteering their time.
