Staudinger earns $22,000 NEH grant for new course on ‘why we work’

Congratulations to Assistant Prof. Alison Staudinger of Democracy and Justice Studies, who this week learned she has been awarded a $22,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities through the NEH Enduring Question program. Staudinger, who joined the UW-Green Bay faculty in 2012, will devote parts of the next two summers to developing a course on the enduring topic of why people work and what it means to the individual and to society. Staudinger’s proposal, “Why Work?” considers the role of labor in human life as a core political and existential issue, which students will explore through readings in political philosophy, history and literature, and by developing a community-based oral history project modeled on Studs Terkel’s Working. An NEH reviewer, knowledgeable of previous scholarship on the philosophy of work, wrote that Staudinger’s proposal was “simply outstanding, strong from top to bottom,” adding, “The pedagogical framing is sound; the idea to read and then continue Terkel’s project is brilliant.” The intent is to offer the resulting course as a freshman seminar open to all majors, likely in the 2015-16 academic year.

There’s more! Staudinger selected for NEH ‘Summer Scholar’ program
More great news for Assistant Prof. Alison Staudinger, Democracy and Justice Studies: She was recently chosen as a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Scholar. Staudinger was selected from a national applicant pool and will attend one of 30 NEH seminars and institutes taking place this summer. She will participate in an institute titled “Reconsidering Flannery O’Connor,” a four-week program held at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Ga. An NEH stipend will cover her travel, study and living expenses. Staudinger is one of approximately 437 summer scholars, and NEH estimates those individuals will teach nearly 114,000 American students next year.