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Global Humanities and Religions
Help Support Global Humanities and Religions Today!

About

The Department of Global Humanities and Religions (prior to Fall 2019: Department of Liberal Studies) is an interdisciplinary humanities department. The department’s mission is to support excellent interdisciplinary programs for teaching, learning, and scholarship in the humanities. The department meets this mission through a wide array of general education courses, six different minor programs (including a new one in African Studies!), and two B.A. programs, one in Humanities, the other in Religion and Culture.  It partners with other departments, programs, colleges, institutes, and centers across the university to serve its interdisciplinary mission.  See the latest department news here. 

Vision

Through the B.A. Humanities and B.A. Religion and Culture programs, the department offers globally engaged, interdisciplinary study of many different societies and cultures, and the ways they have interacted with one another over time. Students in all of the department's courses learn how to read many different kinds of written texts and images with a critical eye, explore their multiple layers of meaning, and understand the worlds from which they came. They practice critical reading, analysis, writing, research, and communication skills. Study of this kind provides students with new kinds of understanding of themselves and of the world around them, and the empathy, confidence, and communicative abilities to skillfully navigate many different environments and make positive contributions to them.

Impact

Gifts to the Department of Global Humanities and Religions are crucial in helping us fund guest speakers, including our annual distinguished speaker, a tradition now in its sixteenth year, in addition to student research opportunities and, most importantly, scholarships.


Meagan Elizabeth Smith Memorial Scholarship for Excellence in the Humanities

This scholarship honors the legacy of Meagan Elizabeth Smith (1993 - 2015). An outstanding student, Meagan was scheduled to graduate with departmental honors in December 2015, with a Humanities major, a concentration in Religion and Culture, and a German minor. She had developed a particular interest in non-Western societies, and especially in Nepal, which inspired the senior thesis she was researching on “Making Sense of Fierce Deities in Indian Religions.” Meagan was a member of the first Liberal Studies Leadership Team, a musician, and an athlete, dedicated to serving the many communities of which she was a cherished part. This is the first named scholarship in the more than fifty-year history of the Global Humanities and Religions, designed to recognize academic excellence in the humanities.

$500
500th Donor Challenge!
Congratulations to IfeOluwa Akinrinade, our 500th donor who unlocked an additional $500 to the Eunice Segilola Akinrinade Scholarship!!
Completed
$500
1500th Donor Challenge!
Congratulations to Felix Gonzalez, our 1500th donor who unlocked an additional $500 to WWU Racing (Formula SAE)!!
Completed
$1,000
10th WWU Give Day. 10 donors. 10:10 pm.
Our first 10 donors starting at 10:10 pm on our 10th Give Day unlocked $100 each towards the area they chose to support. OUR WINNERS ARE: 1. Rene Vasa -- unlocked $100 for The Rage Magazine 2. Kathryn Hemmen -- unlocked $100 for Alpha Kappa Psi 3. Mackenzie Gerlach -- unlocked $100 for Women's Varsity Crew 4. Elena Korch -- unlocked $100 for Women's Ultimate 5. Joel Reitz -- unlocked $100 for Men's Rowing 6. Anonymous -- unlocked $100 for Alpha Kappa Psi 7. Perry Olix -- unlocked $100 for Men's Rowing 8. Sarina Freudmann -- unlocked $100 for Alpha Kappa Psi 9. Alexis Clark -- unlocked $100 for Women's Varsity Crew 10. Anonymous - unlocked $100 for Men's Rowing
Completed
Leaderboard
CHSS Humanities Heroes Challenge!
Final results are in and Psychology pushed their way into 2nd place! The winners are Sociology, then Psychology, then Journalism! Congrats!
Rank Prize CHSS Humanities Heroes Challenge! Donors
1 $500 Sociology 63
2 $250 Journalism 39
3 $100 Psychology 26
4 History Department 25
5 Linguistics 15
Ended
Leaderboard
Lunchtime Crunchtime!
Thank you for participating! Final results are in! Congratulations to: Western Symphony Orchestra, Ice Hockey, and Men's Rowing!
Rank Prize Lunchtime Crunchtime Challenge! Donors
1 $1,000 Western Symphony Orchestra 51
2 $500 Ice Hockey 28
3 $250 Men's Rowing 26
4 AS Alpha Kappa Psi 9
5 Sailing Team 7
Ended
$500
1000th Donor Challenge!
Congratulations to Tami Bloom, our 1000th donor who unlocked an additional $500 to Men's Rowing!!
Completed
$1,000
10th WWU Give Day. 10 donors. 10:10 am.
Our first 10 donors starting at 10:10 am on our 10th Give Day unlocked $100 each towards the area they chose to support. OUR WINNERS ARE: 1. Ryan Mueller -- unlocked $100 for Men's Rowing 2. Shelley Jepson -- unlocked $100 for Men's Soccer 3. Anonymous - unlocked $100 for Marketing 4. Victoria Steed - unlocked $100 for Marketing 5. Faye Witulski - unlocked $100 for Water Skiing 6. Anonymous - unlocked $100 for Hockey 7. Jennifer Trainum - unlocked $100 for the Donnellan Scholarships 8. Stephanie Grimm - unlocked $100 for the Behavioral Neuroscience Program 9. Reagan Billingsley - unlocked $100 for Men’s Rowing 10. Anonymous - unlocked $100 for the Sailing Team!
10 / 10 Donors
Completed
Success!
It's Give O'Clock Somewhere
Our random winners have been drawn. OUR WINNERS ARE: 1. Zach King -- $1k prize to Men's Soccer Scholarships, 2. Uche Ugwoaba -- $1k prize to the Uche Ugwoaba Men's Soccer Scholarship, 3. Teena Gabrielson -- $1k prize to College of the Environment Annual Scholarships, 4. Dean Potter -- $1k prize to Women's Volleyball Scholarship, and 5. Denise Eyler -- $1k prize to the Art and Art History Department Scholarship. Thank you for supporting student scholarships!
Completed
Leaderboard
Breakfast of Champions!
Thank you for participating! Final results are in! Congratulations to: Marketing Concentration, Western Welcome Scholarship and Western Hub of Living Essentials (WHOLE) Food Pantry!
Rank Prize Breakfast of Champions! Donors
1 $1,000 Marketing Concentration 17
2 $500 Western Welcome Scholarship 12
3 $250 Western Hub of Living Essentials (WHOLE) Food Pantry 11
4 Student Emergency Fund 7
5 AS Alpha Kappa Psi 6
Ended
Leaderboard
Twilight Giving
Thank you for participating! Final results are in! Congratulations to: Ice Hockey, WWU Racing (Formula SAE) and Sociology!!
Rank Prize Twilight Giving Donors
1 $1,000 Ice Hockey 30
2 $500 WWU Racing (Formula SAE) 23
3 $250 Sociology Department 21
4 Men's Rowing 20
5 Western Hub of Living Essentials (WHOLE) Food Pantry 9
Ended
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Or you can contact us at forwestern@wwu.edu.