Breadcrumb
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
The College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS) is an artistic, creative, and intellectual community. It is an equitable partnership of staff, faculty, and students who are devoted to teaching, learning, and collaboration. The many fields within CAHSS provide the greatest breadth for service-learning, creative engagement, and professional opportunity within a diverse and changing society.
Hands-on Experience
Our programs and majors offer many unique opportunities to extend learning beyond the classroom including student performances, studios, laboratories, newsrooms, internships, and more. Hands-on learning enriches the student, the university, and the community, tying academic study to real-world experiences.
Study Abroad
Studying abroad is an exciting way to enhance an undergraduate experience through exposure to different cultures, languages, and communities. Travel, explore, embrace new environments, all while making progress toward graduation.
Personal Attention
It’s the difference between sitting through a lesson and playing a role in creating it. Feel challenged by faculty who expand students’ worldview and supported by departments that pride themselves on personalized attention.
Place-Based Learning Communities
Learning goes beyond the classroom at Humboldt—we learn from the environment we are in. Our Place-Based Learning Communities provide you with a tight-knit community of like minded peers before classes even start.
We start right away—you’ll be immersed in major-related fieldwork, seminars, and classes with students like you before the semester even begins. These connections will help you navigate college life, gain confidence, succeed academically, and gain a sense of belonging within the Humboldt community.
Achievements
Josh Meisel
Sociology
Professor Josh Meisel (Sociology) gave a poster presentation on "Gender and Global Cannabis Cultivation" at the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy in Montreal in June with co-authors Julie E. Brummer and Thomas Friis Søgaard (Aarhus University), Gary Potter (Lancaster University Law School), and Jodie Grigg (Curtin University). The research draws on data collected as part of the 2020 International Cannabis Cultivation Questionnaire administered to small-scale growers in 18 countries.
Janelle Adsit
English
Janelle Adsit was accepted to the Global Arts in Medicine Fellowship, founded in Nigeria in 2018. As part of the 2024 cohort, she will collaborate with colleagues from 36 countries to pilot new programs that utilize the arts to support health justice and community wellbeing. Projects will be presented at the upcoming Global Arts in Health Festival. https://artsinmedicinefellowship.org/
Dr. Armeda Reitzel
Communication
Armeda Reitzel delivered an invited presentation on her "Success Story" in open pedagogy through her use of LibreTexts open educational resources. Her talk was a featured presentation at LibreFest 2024 in July 2024.
Sarah Lasley
Art + Film
Sarah Lasley's short film "Welcome to the Enclave" received a glowing review from critic Collin Souter in the Features section for RogerEbert.com. Souter writes that the film has "one of the strangest and funniest closers to a short film I’ve seen in a long, long time" and notes "when [he] programmed this film for the Chicago Critics Film Festival (where it won the Audience Award), [he] knew it had to close the block. Every film had to, in some way, lead up to this one."
https://www.rogerebert.com/features/short-films-in-focus-welcome-to-the…
Alison Holmes
Politics
Professor Alison Holmes (Politics) spent the 4th of July leading an Election Night Watch 'seminar' for the international colleagues attending her course at Oxford University. Having run two national campaigns for the Liberal Democrats and having worked at the BBC, Holmes offered context and guided the audience through results throughout an exciting night. The Conservatives were voted out, the Labour Party took control, and the Liberal Democrats became the third-largest party in Parliament. Holmes will be going to the LibDem party conference in September to cover the event for a London magazine.
Kaitlin Reed
Native American Studies
Native American Studies faculty member, Dr. Kaitlin Reed's first book, Settler Cannabis: From Gold Rush to Green Rush in Indigenous Northern California was chosen as the winner of the 16th Annual Labriola National American Indian Data Center National Book Award.
Hunter Circe, Sean Stippick, Sarah Lasley
Environmental Studies
A film made by Environmental Studies majors Hunter Circe and Sean Stippick in Professor Sarah Lasley's "Social Change Filmmaking" class last spring was accepted into the Earth Connection Film Festival. Their film, Troglodyte, follows a man paralyzed by anxiety over a looming climate disaster. His mental turmoil and isolation, brought on by an obsessive consumption of climate doom media, manifests as a physical sea cave, which he ultimately escapes when his television breaks. Hunter and Sean will receive $300 for being accepted and have their film premiered on July 20 at the Buskirk Chumley Theatre in Bloomington, IN.
Kaitlin Reed and Cutcha Risling Baldy
Native American Studies
Drs. Kaitlin Reed and Cutcha Risling Baldy received a grant to design and implement professional development opportunities for faculty and staff in the humanities that will provide a pathway for ethical integration of Indigenous knowledge into their teaching, research, and service. These opportunities will include faculty book circles, speaker series, and intensive syllabus workshops, and will lay the groundwork for Cal Poly Humboldt to become a place for faculty from other universities and institutions to look to for models on integrating Indigenous knowledge systems at a university-wide level. Funding comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Alison Ruth Holmes
Politics
In May, Professor Alison Holmes (Politics) graduated Phi Kappa Phi from Montana State University's Native American Studies Graduate Certificate program. Intended as a way to inform her work with the Karuk Education Department, they honored her with a necklace created by a young person taking part in a cultural mentoring program (funded by a grant Holmes helped to write) which she wore with pride at the Humboldt commencement.
Sarah Jaquette Ray
Environmental Studies
In her new book that came out on May 13, "The Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators: How to Teach in a Burning World," Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray draws on a decade of learning from Humboldt students about how to be an educator in times of climate disruption. Given CPH's ongoing and pivotal legacy of student activism, it is clear that college students need a pedagogy that supports them in meeting the polycrisis. Bringing emotions research, neuroscience, and liberatory pedagogy to the center, the book helps climate educators in particular be more embodied and trauma-informed.
Alumni Updates
Victor Hernandez
Art, 2007
Victor Hugo Hernandez ('07), inventor of the ErgoFlex Desk, is excited to announce the upcoming launch of his Kickstarter campaign for the first AI-powered ergonomic desk. The ErgoFlex Desk, designed to sit, stand, tilt, and glide, was inspired by Victor’s passion for innovative design, which began during his time at Cal Poly Humboldt. After moving back to Southern California to care for his mother, Victor returned to school to refine his idea, leading to a patented design that enhances health and productivity. Recently featured on How I Built This, Victor’s journey showcases the impact of Cal Poly’s hands-on learning approach.
Bradley Sabelli
Theatre, 1970
Sabelli recently was elected President of the Arts Council of York County SC. The second largest in the state. Along with this position Sabelli is a Lead Advocate in the South Carolina Alliance government program. He also is the immediate past president of the Catawba River Art Guild in York County. Sabelli serves as a theatre consultant at George Washington University where he holds the position of Professor Emeritus. Brad is still active in designing productions for National touring companies and regional theatre companies. In addition, his studio artworks are on exhibition in several east coast galleries.
Heather Sundblad-Rhoade
Journalism, 2003
Heather Sundblad-Rhoade moved away from journalism and public relations and entered the world of business ownership. She purchased a retail business in August 2022 and has now been the owner and operator of a gift shop - Willow & Ash - in Forest Grove, Oregon, for two years. 2024 has been a year of milestones: She celebrated her 20-year anniversary with her husband and watched her daughter graduate from high school and move on to college to work on completing a degree in welding technology.
Jerry Von Dohlen
Geography, 1998
Jerry helped design, map, and, build the first nationwide wireless internet with Metricom INC. in San Jose, California. Moved back to Humboldt County in 2003 and worked with Center Arts Entertainment (CalPolyHumboldtEvents), the Mateel Community Center on Reggae on the River, and, the Black Oak Ranch coordinating parking and traffic at Pignic, Earthdance, The Kate Wolf Memorial Music Festival, and currently Ten Mile Creek Revival. Currently serving as GIS Coordinator for the County of Humboldt, http://gis.co.humboldt.ca.us, providing data and internships to students with the Geospatial Certificate Program. Coordinator of the North Coast GIS Users Group. e-mail ncgisug@googlegroups.com to join.
Kenneth Norris
Journalism, 1989
With his beautiful wife of 30 years, TJ, Ken is spending his "gap years" between a 40-year career in journalism and retirement serving in the Peace Corps in Thailand. At a rural South Thailand community, Trang Province, he teaches English to the grade equivalents of American Kindergarten to junior high. Additionally, he is helping train Thai teachers to be better English speakers and teachers, to promote a better understanding of Americans in Thailand, and to promote a better understanding of Thailand to Americans, specifically family, friends, and social media followers.
Ira Goldstein
Geography, 1991
Ira has been a watchmaker for 30 years in Idaho and loves his career although he says he will always be a Geographer at heart. He resides in Boise, ID. with his wife Barbara (whom he met at Humboldt). He owns Timekeeper Watch Repair & Sales in Eagle, ID.
Harris Fogel
Art Master of Arts, 1982, 1984
Harris Fogel is a staff writer and photographer for Copper Magazine in Boulder, CO. Fogel has authored a monograph called "The Wonder Years 1988–1991, Photographs by Harris Fogel," published in 2017 and revised in 2024, and "Helmut Remiorz, Color 1969–1974, Photographs by Helmut Remiorz,” released January 2023. He presented a lecture on the exhibition "About Who? Andy Warhol" at the Passagen Linköping Art Gallery in Sweden in March 2024. Additionally, he is the publisher of Mac Edition Radio and participated in "Plutonium & Silver - The Atomic Photographers Guild (APG)/Imaging The Nuclear Condition" in Vancouver, Canada, in April 2024.
Harry "Corky" Bartley
History, 1966
Corky always says it's never too late to have fun. After a career of teaching high school drafting classes, then computer-aided design training for engineers, and then computer-aided Engineering training and support (28 years at Tektronix), Corky retired. Now, after 10 years of retirement and at 80 years of age, he will be acting in his first play. He has a small role, George Sillers, in "Inherit the Wind" at Mask&Mirror in Tigard, OR, March 1-17. If you are in the area, stop by. His only previous acting experience was as a drill sergeant in the U.S. Army 1968-70.
Craig Sides
CommunicationSpeech Communication, 1980
Craig was invited to be a guest on the "Bold Leadership Stories Show," Among all the guests, he, by far, has had the most views! Putting HSU on the map as the owner of Temecula Valley Solar. He thanked Humboldt State on his Facebook page.
Tara Darlene Smith
English, 2010
Taraa's memoir essay collection, Sunflowers in Iraq: True Stories of Surviving & Thriving, was published last month. Further information is available on her website: https://www.taradarlenesmith.com, and she's happy to provide a press release and photos from the book's launch.
CAHSS News
- Exciting Lineup for Lumberjack Weekend 2024
- CSU Trustees Scholar Empowers Communities Through Education and Advocacy
- Grad Student Awarded $25,000 Fellowship for Cannabis Genetics Research
- Local Ghost Town Added to National Register of Historic Places
- Mural by Alum to Grace Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center
- Professional-Grade Flight Simulator Arrives on Campus