Humanities Washington
The Foley Institute in collaboration with Humanities Washington is proud to announce its partnership in providing a Speakers Bureau—a collection of presenters on a variety of topics who are dedicated to nurturing thoughtful and engaged communities across Washington state.
Read more about Humanities Washington.
If you are interested in hosting speakers associated with Humanities Washington, go to humanities.org/programs/host/ or contact Hannah Schwendeman at hannah@humanities.org or call 206-682-1770, ext. 101
2024-25 Humanities Washington/Foley Speakers
Trevor Bond
Trevor Bond is the director of the David G. Pollart Center for Arts and Humanities and the associate dean for digital initiatives and special collections at the Washington State University Libraries. He is the author of Coming Home to Nez Perce Country: The Niimiipuu Campaign to Repatriate Their Exploited Heritage, a finalist for the 2022 Washington State Book Award for non-fiction.
His talk: Coming Home: How the Nez Perce Tribe Regained Their Cultural Heritage
Michael Goldsby
Michael Goldsby is a beer enthusiast and associate professor of philosophy in the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs at Washington State University. He earned his PhD in the philosophy of science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a part of the Columbia FEW Storage Project, a team of researchers testing innovations to ensure food, energy, and water security in the Columbia River Basin throughout the 21st century and beyond.
His talk: How Beer Might Save Democracy
Bill Kabasenche
Bill Kabasenche is a professor of philosophy in Washington State University’s School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs and the Ethics Thread Director for WSU’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. His research and teaching focus on ethical issues in the healthcare professions, biomedical research, and biotechnology. He is passionate about nurturing respectful and productive conversations about complicated ethical issues.
His talk: Morality and Medicine: How Philosophy Can Help with Healthcare Decisions
Carolyn Long
Carolyn Long is an associate professor at Washington State University Vancouver’s School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs. Her research focuses on American politics, policy, and law. She is the author of Mapp v. Ohio: Guarding Against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures, and Religious Freedom and Indian Rights: The Case of Oregon v. Smith, and the recipient of two Fulbright Scholar Awards. She was the Democratic nominee for the Third Congressional District in 2018 and 2020.
Her talk: Have You No Sense of Decency? Shame in American Politics
Jennifer Sherman
is professor of sociology at Washington State University, and currently serves as president of the Rural Sociological Society. Her qualitative research focuses on poverty and inequality, mainly in the rural Northwest. She is the author of two books, 2009’s Those Who Work, Those Who Don’t: Poverty, Morality, and Family in Rural America, and 2021’s Dividing Paradise: Rural Inequality and the Diminishing American Dream (2021). She also co-edited the 2017 volume, Rural Poverty in the United States.
Her talk: Bad People and Good Ol’ Boys: The Criminalization of Rural Disadvantage
2021-2023 Humanities Washington/Foley Speakers
Michael Goldsby
Michael Goldsby is an associate professor of philosophy in the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs at WSU. He earned his PhD in the philosophy of science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is also a part of the Columbia FEW Storage Project, a team of researchers testing innovations to ensure food, energy, and water security in the Columbia River Basin throughout the 21st century and beyond.
Bill Kabasenche
Bill Kabasenche is a professor of philosophy at WSU’s School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs. He is also the ethics thread director for the WSU College of Medicine and a fellow in the Center for Reproductive Biology. He has written about the use of pharmaceutical and genetic interventions to enhance human capacities for memory, moral behavior, and athletic performance.
Jennifer Sherman
Jennifer Sherman is a professor of sociology at WSU. Her qualitative research focuses on poverty and inequality, mainly in the rural Northwest. She is the author of two books, Dividing Paradise: Rural Inequality and the Diminishing American Dream (2021) and Those Who Work, Those Who Don’t: Poverty, Morality, and Family in Rural America (2009). She is also coeditor of the 2017 volume, Rural Poverty in the United States.
Steven Stehr
Steven Stehr is the Sam Reed Distinguished Professor in Civic Education and Public Civility at WSU and former director of the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, and the National Academy of Science.
Professor Stehr presents the roots and consequences of the post-truth era with a focus on politics and science. He discusses the rise of conspiracy theories and echo chambers in social media and how to find truth in an era of misinformation.
Matthew Sutton
Matthew Sutton is the Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor of History at and chair of the history department at WSU. His book American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism discusses how charismatic Protestant preachers, anticipating the end of the world, paradoxically transformed it. He has been featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and MSNBC’s The Last Word and his articles have appeared in numerous media outlets.
Professor Sutton lectures on religious voting in America and how that voter block has come to hold so much power. He traces the history of the religious right and what their rise means for the current political system.
2019-2020 Foley Fellows
Rebecca Craft
Rebecca Craft is the Herbert L. Eastlick Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences in the Department of Psychology at WSU. Her focus is on research in understanding how drugs affect both our bodies and minds so that individuals can make well-informed choices regarding both medical and recreational drug use.
Professor Craft discusses the history of marijuana use and U.S. policy as well as recent research about both the potential health and harm of marijuana.
Travis Ridout
Travis Ridout is the Thomas S. Foley Distinguished Professor of Government and Public Policy at WSU and director of the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs. His research focuses on political campaigns and has been published in the American Journal of Political Science; British Journal of Political Science; and Journal of Politics.
Professor Ridout lectures on the use of social media platforms and their increasing role in political elections and what this means for the American voter. He compares the pros and the cons of this phenomenon and what it means for future elections.
Steven Stehr
Steven Stehr is the Sam Reed Distinguished Professor in Civic Education and Public Civility at WSU and former director of the School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, and the National Academy of Science.
Professor Stehr presents the roots and consequences of the post-truth era with a focus on politics and science. He discusses the rise of conspiracy theories and echo chambers in social media and how to find truth in an era of misinformation.
Matthew Sutton
Matthew Sutton is the Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor of History at Washington State University. His book American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism discusses how charismatic Protestant preachers, anticipating the end of the world, paradoxically transformed it. He has been featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and MSNBC’s The Last Word and his articles have appeared in numerous media outlets.
Professor Sutton lectures on religious voting in America and how that voter block has come to hold so much power. He traces the history of the religious right and what their rise means for the current political system.