How did you become interested in the CAH project you are working on this year?
I began working with Professor Leuner on her project, The Stainforth Library of Women's Writing, which catalogs women writers of the 18th and 19th century. I thought I could take the core structure of the project, digital humanities mixed with recovery work, and create a project focused on the Modernist literary era, of which many of my favorite works come from. Exploring lesser known and marginalized authors has become a passion of mine, and I love learning about so many different writers. Now in this phase of the project, I am really getting to dig my heals in with three writers, reading, analyzing, and comparing their work in a more intimate way.
Tell us about a transformative or eye-opening experience you have had in a humanities or arts course at SCU. What did you learn or take away from it? How did it change you?
It is so hard to choose one experience in the humanities here at SCU, as I am engaged in so many wonderful opportunities every single day. I will say, getting to write and direct two one act plays was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had at SCU. Getting to see your words and ideas actualized on stage was both terrifying and exhilarating. Reading the play is one thing, but getting to experience it is another. You learn so much from hearing it out loud. Going back to edit after is not so much about "fixing" as it is about sculpting and smoothing. It's changed my perspective on my writing, I see my plays as living, breathing works that expand and change over time.
What does (re) imagining futures mean to you?
It means telling stories that have not been told before. Reimagining the future looks like creating a world where we approach with curiosity and not judgement. It means taking the time to listen, to absorb the stories of others. Through my project, I have learned the importance of exploration into what I do not know, how to dive head first into the unknown with open arms. That is what reimagining the future looks like to me.