The History of CAAS
CAAS began on September 9, 2004, with an initial planning meeting. Five members of the department of English met to discuss the creation of a cross-disciplinary "contemporary arts" faculty working group that would support a vital, exciting learning and research environment for contemporary studies at the University of Tennessee. The intention was always to create a true interdisciplinary group of faculty from departments across campus, and to insure that when fully developed, CAAS could
- provide opportunities for collaborative research and grant initiatives among faculty from different disciplines or programs but with similar period and subject interests;
- provide a forum for sharing information about courses offered each term across campus by faculty in contemporary studies;
- help faculty to meet and identify useful "outside readers" for dissertations about contemporary arts and culture;
- sponsor faculty reading groups about texts of interest to faculty working in/on contemporary arts and culture;
- sponsor lectures, symposia, and other events that would raise the public profile of, and generate interest in, contemporary studies at UT;
- help to organize a much-needed international conference for contemporary studies;
- work with planning groups on initiatives for contemporary studies for any proposed UT humanities center, or work eventually to create a university program in contemporary studies that may in time grow into an institute of its own