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Vantage Points: Insights from the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities

Vantage Points offers student and alumni stories, research and creative activities, and topics of public discourse from UWF's College of Arts, Social Science and Humanities.




A person is speaking to a class.

CASSH Welcomes Criminology, Criminal Justice and Legal Studies

August 16, 2023 | Brandy Gottlieb

The UWF College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities is proud to welcome the Department of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Legal Studies. The new department will house three undergraduate programs, four undergraduate minors, two undergraduate certificates and a graduate program. These will include Criminal Justice, B.A.; Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, B.A. in Child & Society; Legal Studies, B.A.; Minor in Criminal Justice; Minor in Juvenile Justice; Minor in Forensic Studies; Minor in







“Wishful Thinking”: A Student Production

March 13, 2023 | Hailey Castrence

A young fairy named Ollie Petal was just awarded her first human wish to grant. However, her rival, July Evergreen stole the human’s wish. Now, Ollie and her best friend Bumble Willow must search through the land to find it before time runs out. “Wishful Thinking,” an original theatre production by English major Deja Gamble, teaches us that only we can forge our own destinies and not let others define who we are.




Dr. Leonid Yanovskiy's performance at premier event for “The U.S. and the Holocaust”

September 16, 2022 | Dr. Brian Hood, Interim Chair, UWF Dr. Grier Williams School of Music

When WSRE, the local PBS member television station, invited Dr. Leonid Yanovskiy to participate at a public presentation of the new documentary film, “The U.S. and the Holocaust” at the WSRE Amos Performance Studio at Pensacola State College on Thursday, September 8th, 2022, he readily volunteered to perform at the event.


















Grant-funded cooperative will feature UWF faculty Taney research 

January 30, 2020 | Brandy Gottlieb

Roger Brooke Taney (1777 - 1864) played a significant role in shaping American politics for more than three decades. Thanks to a large grant, faculty research on Taney’s contributions will be made available on an open-source digital platform. Drs. David Ramsey and Kelly Carr offer insight into the significance of Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney's role in shaping the American political landscape.






“Makers” unite for inaugural, creative experience

November 6, 2019 | By Brandy Gottlieb, with contributions by Thomas Asmuth 

Thomas Asmuth, UWF associate professor of art, has worked to inspire his students to create innovatively and collaborate artistically across disciplines. On November 16, Asmuth’s initial encounter with the Maker Faire will come full circle with the launch of the inaugural Pensacola Mini Maker Faire. Asmuth and Dr. Joe Piacenza, UWF assistant professor of mechanical engineering, along with a strategic planning team and more than 90 ‘makers,’ will bring the Pensacola Mini Maker Faire to life.





Bringing Ireland home - UWF students exhibit "The Irish Experience Exhibition"

September 24, 2019 | Nicholas Croghan, UWF Art Instructor and Pensacola Museum of Art Director

"I aspire to capture moments of wonder and beauty so they felt, at least a little, through a still photograph in time," said participant Rachel Oliver. The Art Gallery at the University of West Florida is pleased to present "The Irish Experience Exhibition," which is on display at The Art Gallery at UWF through September 28.


"Banned and Forbidden - Prohibited Musical Masterpieces" and Prohibited Speech

September 10, 2019 | Brandy Gottlieb

"Today, we customarily take freedom of artistic expression for granted, but there were periods in recent European history when such freedom was denied," Dr. Leonid Yanovskiy. "Banned and Forbidden - Prohibited Musical Masterpieces" features music and poetry banned from performance and publication by oppressive regimes: Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Join for the performance Thursday, Sept. 12, noon at Old Christ Church, Pensacola.












Arts and Sciences Gather for "Daily Life in Ancient Rome"

April 9, 2019 | Hannah Gainer

"Daily Life in Ancient Rome" was a student-produced, two-day multidisciplinary event that was supported by the University of West Florida’s Department of History. The event welcomed student involvement from disciplines within the arts, sciences and humanities, making it a STEAM-inclusive event. Some of the represented disciplines included marine biology, art, mechanical engineering, history, digital art and bioarchaeology.















two students digging on deluna site

Looking for Clues: Archaeology students contributed to Luna Settlement research during summer field school

| By: Jordan Ardoin

In 1559, Tristán de Luna y Arellano led 1,500 Spanish colonizers to settle in Pensacola on their way to South Carolina. Spread across a rectangular stretch of flat land measuring 300 by 250 meters, the settlement included soldiers and a few of their families. This summer, a Division of Anthropology and Archaeology field school gave graduate and undergraduate students the opportunity to get their hands dirty—literally and figuratively—at the Luna site.


students and faculty pose in germany during study abroad program

Study abroad students experienced history and culture firsthand during trip to Germany

| By: Jordan Ardoin, Photo Credit Dr. Derek Zumbro

When International Studies student Gabriella Valenti saw the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany with her own eyes, she felt the visceral reality of history in a way she never had before. Valenti said, “You can hear about the Holocaust all you want from lectures, and you can see the graphic pictures that send a message, but you won’t get the gut-dropping feeling that you get when you're actually stepping on the grounds of a concentration camp.”




The UWF Singers with Eric Whitacre conducting, performed two selections during the gala.

UWF Summer Festival Chorus brings students, alumni and community members together

June 25, 2018 | By: Jordan Ardoin

Jennifer Adkins is a UWF alumna who graduated in 2008 with an M.A. in Public History and spent a few years as an adjunct professor in the UWF Department of History. She also loves to sing. This year, Adkins is one of many participants, including students, alumni and community members, of UWF’s Summer Festival Chorus, which will hold “Hayden Lord Nelson Mass,” its final performance, June 30 at 7:30 PM at UWF.


UWF students take part in Cubed Mural Exhibition in Downtown Pensacola.

2017-18 Experience UWF Downtown Lecture Series stimulated critical thought on art’s role in society

June 18, 2018 | By: Jordan Ardoin

From October 2017 to June 2018, the University of West Florida’s College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities presented seven installments of the Experience UWF Downtown Lecture Series. The series, made possible by generous donors and the PACE funding promotes the value of liberal arts in building and sustaining contemporary culture. The 2017-18 installments did so by opening thought-provoking dialogues about how public art operates in the current social and political moment.





Communications students working in the department on assignments

Editing suite opens for University of West Florida Department of Communication

May 1, 2018 | By: Mary Stucko

The UWF Department of Communication has taken a step toward growth with the addition of a new editing suite. The suite is specialized toward video editing for TV production classes and UWF Argo News. Erica Dukes, a communication major focusing on telecommunications stated, “The new editing bay is an excellent way to get to know, help, and learn from your peers. I can see with this editing bay that the major will be able to grow more.”







Two students viewing artworks in TAG at UWF CFPA

The Art Gallery at UWF moves from foundations to faculty exhibitions

February 7, 2018 | By: Mary Stucko

On Jan. 1, The Art Gallery (TAG) at the University of West Florida, held its closing reception for the “Points of Departure, a Foundation-level Student Art Exhibition.” The exhibition ran from January 8 – January 25 and featured over 168 pieces of student artwork ranging from drawing, ceramics, painting, photography, digital art and graphic design. On Feb. 8 TAG reopens a new exhibit with the artwork of New Orleans based artist Michael J. Deas and UWF faculty member Gregory B. Saunders.