Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to announce the launch of the Silicon Valley Studies Initiative. This initiative, seeks to bring a critical perspective to the history and development of Silicon Valley, both as an idea and a place. With the History Department leading the charge, this interdisciplinary Initiative will bring Jesuit humanist and social justice values into a University-wide conversation about the nature and history of this region: what does it mean to be human in our ever-evolving but now more technologically-driven world? It will also explore how the humanities are essential to approaching the development of technology, including artificial intelligence, in an ethical, responsible, and just manner.  

We envision that the Initiative will highlight the impact and development of the region’s technology-based industries but also amplify the contributions of the diverse population of people indigenous to our region as well as migrants and immigrants who have made Silicon Valley their home over the past 250 years. The program invites our campus community, visiting scholars, and local experts to have enlightening, challenging, and new conversations that will drive our research of the region.

To understand Silicon Valley is a crucial part of understanding our modern condition. With our location at the heart of Silicon Valley, our Mission history, and our commitment to social justice, Santa Clara University is uniquely situated to lead this charge. 

Dr. Meg Eppel Gudgeirsson, Assistant Teaching Professor of History, has been appointed Director of the new Silicon Valley Studies Initiative. She received her Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Santa Cruz and has been a faculty member at Santa Clara University since winter 2016. She has been teaching the history of California at SCU since 2018. In Fall 2023, CSPAN aired one of her lectures from this class for their Lectures in History series. In 2020, she introduced a new course: Public and Digital History, which focuses on how new technology shapes our understanding of the past. She recently joined the Write a History of the University Task Force at SCU. For the past three years, she has served as Associate Coordinator for the SCU Digital Humanities Initiative. In the 2023-24 academic year, she was a recipient of the AI Curricular Development Grant. Her research considers race, childhood, and religion in the 19th century. Her most recent publication was “‘We Do Not Have any Prejudice… But’: Racism in the Interracial Berea Literary Institute, 1866-1904.” She continues to look at this community but is also beginning research on similar topics in 19th-century California.  

If you are interested in getting involved with the Silicon Valley Studies Initiative, please reach out to Professor Meg Eppel Gudgeirsson at mgudgeirsson@scu.edu.

 

Daniel Press
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences