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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.

April 2026

Dear ���ӽ紫ý Community & Supporters of the CHA,

I love my job. Let me be specific: I love being a professor who teaches Asian American literature and culture and Critical Race Theory, and I love directing a humanities center that promotes, supports, and celebrates arts and humanities. Being CHA Director is the best job I’ve ever, and likely, will ever have. One of the perks of the job is being surrounded by intellectually curious people and getting to hear from really smart people: our guest speakers, graduate students, and my scholarly peers. Due to staffing shortages we are late in asking for submissions of major works that faculty have produced in the year 2025, but we hope that if you have produced a work of art or humanities in 2025 (anything major that you listed on your FERPA) that you will share your good news with the CHA so we can highlight your achievement in our , which will be released in Fall 2026. You can send your submission here:

Speaking of smart people, as part of the Mellon Sawyer Seminar grant “” that the CHA is co-sponsoring, we are looking for a group of 4 PhD Sawyer Seminar fellows. We’ve extended the deadline (April 19—Sunday) and changed the requirement to make it easier for graduate students to apply for this 2-year opportunity to join the Sawyer Seminar cohort of faculty and academic leaders: students only need to be post-comprehensive exam by June 1, 2026. Details, including the summer stipends and how to apply, can be found here:

Looking ahead to the Fall, we have chosen Daisy Hernandez’s (Random House 2026) as the CHA Book Club pick. You can hear about her book, and you can pick up a copy of Citizenship in the month of April when the CHA offices are open—more details about the book club and signing up to get your copy can be found on this , which we would appreciate you filling out if you want a free copy of the book and to participate in the . But please feel free to stop by the CHA Offices on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in April (9:00-3:00pm) to get your free copy of Citizenship.

In honor of national poetry month, we will be hosting in the CHA conference room for 12 people who want to process what is happening in the world and turn their thoughts into art—we still have 6 spots open. Let me close with for the Boulder International Film Festival (BIFF) that features about acclaimed poet and that has a veritable who’s who of talking heads, which includes a previous CHA Cox Family Process speaker, . I just bought and I hope you’ll buy one too—they’re going fast! To close, let me quote from one of Oliver’s most famous poems, “,”—a quote you’ve likely read or heard before because the last lines of Oliver’s poem is both question and incitement:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Sincerely,
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Jennifer Ho

Director, Center for Humanities & the Arts��

PS. I was recently told that effective June 30, 2026, I will complete my second term as CHA Director and will not be reviewed or reappointed for a third term, as I had hoped to be. Since the CHA has moved from the Graduate School to the division of Arts and Humanities (AHUM) in the College of Arts and Sciences, the leadership of the university and college see an opportunity to re-think the role of the CHA on campus and within its new home and to ensure that the CHA Director’s position is in alignment with the mission and values of AHUM. A search for an interim director is currently underway, and the interim director will work with the leadership of the college in crafting a new position for a new CHA Director, which will then be announced in an open call for faculty to apply to. I was invited to also apply when this new position is rolled out in a few months and was told by university and college leadership that my own leadership as CHA Director was strong and unquestioned by them. This is merely a unique opportunity, given the timing of the end of my term and my upcoming year-long sabbatical, to re-imagine the role of the CHA Director and to make sure that both the center and its director are aligned with the values of the division of Arts and Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences.

CHA Upcoming Opportunities

📢 Mellon Grant — Call for PhD Applications

The Mellon Foundation Sawyer Seminar on “.” 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 studentFellowships 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 Sunday, April 19.

📚

Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth by Daisy Hernández (Random House, Feb. 2026)

Blending memoir, history, and cultural criticism, Hernández explores what citizenship really means—and who it has never fully included. Drawing on her family’s experiences of migration and political exile, this timely book challenges myths of belonging and nationhood.

✨

We’re also seeking discussion facilitators and meeting hosts—indicate interest on the same form.

📖 Book Pickup
Beginning the week of April 7, CHA offices will be open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m., through the end of April. Alternate pickup options—or sourcing your own copy—are available on the form.

We hope you’ll read alongside us.
Questions? Contact the CHA team at cu-cha@colorado.edu

Call for submissions (2026 edition)

Submissions Now Open:

The CHA is now accepting submissions of new, original works completed in 2025 by ���ӽ紫ý faculty in the arts and humanities. We invite you to share your accomplishments and be featured in next year’s annual Faculty Celebration of Major Works Magazine.

🔗 Submit your work:��

Deadline: April 15

Arts & Humanities Opportunities Across Campus

🚆 Conducting Our Own Destiny

Railroads, Colonialism & Resistance in Native America
Join historian Alessandra La Rocca Link and award‑winning artist Dallin Maybee (Seneca / Northern Arapaho) for a powerful conversation exploring the impact of railroads in Indian Country.
📅 Wednesday, April 8
⏰ 5:00–6:30 PM
📍 Center for Global British & Irish Studies
Norlin Library, 5th Floor (elevator access via west entrance)
University of Colorado Boulder
Through art and history, Link and Maybee challenge traditional railroad narratives by centering Indigenous perspectives—examining colonial devastation alongside the creativity, resistance, and resilience of Native communities.
🎨 Pop‑up art exhibit & book sales following the talk
✅ Free and open to the public

Sponsored by the Center of the American West, with support from the Center for Humanities & the Arts, ���ӽ紫ý.

🎻 Visiting Artist: Violinist Stella Chen 🎻
American Music Research Center

The American Music Research Center (AMRC), in collaboration with the CU Strings Department and the AA&PI Staff and Faculty Group, is delighted to welcome violinist Stella Chen—winner of the Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition and Gramophone Young Artist of the Year—to ���ӽ紫ý this April.

🎶 Public Events (Free & Open to All):

📍 Violin Masterclass
Thursday, April 9 | 5:00–6:30�賾
Imig Music Building, Room S303

📍 Q&A / Talk with Stella Chen
Friday, April 10 | 11:00����–12:00�賾
📍 Macky Auditorium, Room 213
🥪 Lunch to follow: 12:00–1:00�賾

This visit offers a unique opportunity to engage with one of today’s most celebrated young violinists through performance, conversation, and community.

🎼 All are welcome—students, faculty, staff, and community members!

�֡ Summer 2026 Film Studies Courses — Open for Enrollment! �֡

Looking to dive into global cinema, iconic filmmakers, or feminist film history this summer? Check out these three exciting CINE courses offered in Summer 2026—open to a wide range of majors!

🎥 CINE 2002: Recent International Cinema
Instructor: Dr. Kalpana Subramanian
🗓 May 26 – June 26, 2026 (Session A)
🌐 Asynchronous | Online | 3 credits

Explore contemporary global cinema beyond a Western lens, featuring acclaimed filmmakers such as Wong Kar-Wai, Claire Denis, Naomi Kawase, and more. Students will examine films within social, political, and cultural contexts through critical reflection and discussion.
📩 Recommended prerequisite: CINE 1502 or 6 hours of humanities coursework
�§ kalpana.subramanian@colorado.edu

⚔️ CINE 3003.201: The Samurai Films of Akira Kurosawa
Instructor: Prof. Suranjan Ganguly
🗓 June 30 – July 30, 2026 (Summer Term B)
📍 T/Th, 1–5pm | ATLAS 1B29

A deep dive into Kurosawa’s legendary samurai films—including Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Ran, and more. Topics include honor, loyalty, violence, and the existential struggles of the masterless samurai.
�ʦ Non-film majors welcome—contact instructor to enroll
�§ suranjan.ganguly@colorado.edu

🎞️ CINE 3013: Women and Film
Instructor: Prof. Melinda Barlow
🗓 May 4 – May 21, 2026 (Maymester)
📍 Mon–Fri, 1–5pm | ATLAS 102
✅ Open to all majors

This course examines women in cinema—as creators, subjects, critics, and scholars—across 130 years of film history. Featuring works from Alice Guy-Blaché to Céline Sciamma, with films like Coraline, Girlhood, and Women Talking. A celebration of feminist creativity, resistance, and voice in film.