Faculty Working Groups
Sponsored by the Center for Humanities
The Center for Humanities is proud to sponsor a new Faculty Working Group Program. Working groups address a topic of compelling interest to one or more humanities disciplines. They are led by multiple faculty members and meet frequently throughout the academic year for discussions, events, and working sessions.
The goal of this program is to foster collaborations that enrich scholarship, teaching, and outreach in the humanities, with the potential to lead toward future grant applications. The Center supports these working groups by providing up to $2,000 in funding, assisting with room bookings, event promotion, and grant applications.
Presenting the Faculty Working Groups of 2026-2027:
Future of Religion
Humanities Working Group
With the dissolution of the Dept. of Religion and Culture, the academic study of religion at Virginia Tech lies at a crossroads. This restructuring comes at a time in which religion, as it manifests across all aspects of 21st-century American life, seems at an all-time high – from politics to foreign policy to pop culture, and everything in-between. This working group therefore aims to bring together scholars from across the college and university, united in their interest in the academic study of religion. Together, our conversations will seek to map the future of the academic study of religion at Virginia Tech specifically, including consideration of future grant-getting opportunities.
Led by: Matthew Gabriele, Dept. of History and Brian Britt, Dept. of English
AI in Humanities
Working Group
Generative AI, whether we welcome it or not, has already entered the landscape of higher education and the humanities. For scholars and educators whose work centers interpretation, authorship, and the construction of knowledge, this moment raises pressing questions that cannot be ignored. If we do not actively explore and shape how these technologies are taken up in our fields, others—often with less disciplinary grounding—will do so in ways that may not align with the values of the humanities. This working group takes a technocurious approach, creating space for faculty to play with, test, and critically examine the affordances and limits of generative AI across humanities disciplines. Through ongoing collaboration, the group aims to document emerging practices, develop shared frameworks, and potentially produce a collaborative grant application, publication or open educational resource (e.g., through Virginia Tech Publishing) that highlights responsible, discipline-specific uses of AI in the humanities.
Led by: Amy Allen, School of Education and David Hicks, School of Education
EsTiEs: Knowledge and Experiences from the South Working Group
(Latinx Science, Technology and Society Group)
The Latinx STS Group creates inclusive spaces for dialogue between faculty, students, and professionals to explore how science and technology are understood, developed, and deployed within Latin American contexts. We center Latin American experiences—including colonial legacies, indigenous knowledge systems, environmental challenges, and social struggles—as critical frameworks for reimagining science and technology beyond Global North paradigms. This group welcomes all scholars and practitioners committed to decolonial thinking and Latin American-centered STS research. Our main goal is to foster potential collaborations by identifying shared research interests and potential co-authors/collaborators. We want to explore possibilities for joint grant proposals, publications, or community partnerships and establish connections with Latin American scholars, practitioners, and institutions. Also, we would like to plan a workshop or symposium on decolonial STS methodology for the Spring 2027.
Led by: Rebecca Hester, Dept. of Science, Technology, and Society and Fabian Prieto-Nañez, Dept of Science, Technology, and Society
