You’re writing a book about television and philosophy. Where do they intersect? 

The short answer is: “no television, no postmodern theory.” Television’s ability to instantaneously transmit images and sounds from distant places changed how we thought of reality and led to the rise of such concepts like simulation. Rather than rehearse debates about mass media and its influence, the book explores television as something that has ontological and epistemological implications that haven’t really been grappled with in the field.

Professor Shawn Wong was featured in Sound Bite, a podcast network from The Daily of the UW.  You can listen to the "How Do I Get Your Job" segment featuring Professor Wong from autumn quarter 2020 here: Screenwriting with Shawn Wong (Americanese) 

What do you Love about your major?

I love the tight-knit community in the Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures Department and the mentorship I’ve received from my peers and faculty. There are so many opportunities in MELC for support and networking, as well as fellow passionate language students with a range of interests and areas of research!

What do you Love about your major?

I love that I get to learn about trauma care and human development as inextricably linked with the way we go about education. Education is about caring for the whole person. As for Arabic, my minor, I love it because it helps me to challenge my brain to think in a new way. It's important to be able to communicate with people in their own language. I am reminded that the world is bigger than my bubble of culture and there is beauty in this journey to try to know and understand it.

What do you love about your major?

I love how my media literacy has developed. To decipher the constant flow of information from the screens that surround us gives me a sense of agency and liberty. My major has shown me the power of an image, how what is portrayed has such potency, creating opportunity and responsibility for filmmakers.

What do you Love about your major?

I love how the English major offers opportunities to engage creatively with a wide variety of materials, ranging from novels to songs, poems, pastiches, short stories, essays, and more. This variety, openness of interpretation, and the possibilities for discussion with my peers make my major exciting and fulfilling.