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- Title:
- Claudia Gorbman interview
- Interviewee:
- Gorbman, Claudia
- Interviewer:
- Williams, Charles Thomas
- Date Created:
- 2018-04-05
- Role:
- Faculty
- Department:
- Liberal Studies; School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Science
- Subjects:
- Global Honors interdisciplinary interdisciplinary education Judy Stevens-Long Deborah Stansbury Sunday Debra Friedman Pat Spakes nontraditional students the whole U tri-campus Tacoma Film Society Tacoma Film Festival film studies comparative literature gender Jack Keating Indiana University Bloomington Nathan Hale High School water rights Puyallup Tribe Puget Sound Energy LNG curriculum planning
- Biography:
- Claudia Gorbman (b. 1948) is professor emerita of film studies at the University of Washington Tacoma. She retired in 2015 after teaching for 24 years at UW Tacoma. Gorbman received her bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees all from University of Washington. After earning her PhD in Romance Languages and Literature in 1978, she became a tenured professor of comparative literature at Indiana University Bloomington and taught there for a total of 15 years. Intrigued by the opportunity to return to the Pacific Northwest and to build a university from the ground up, she joined the founding faculty of UW Tacoma in 1990. At UW Tacoma, she has directed the Global Honors Program and co-founded the Tacoma Film Society, which held monthly film screenings. She is the 2009 recipient of UW Tacoma's Distinguished Research Award. Her book, Unheard Melodies: Narrative Film Music (1987), is a seminal title in the literature on film and media music. Gorbman and her partner, Pam Keeley, were one of the first same-sex couples to wed in Seattle when Washington state legalized gay marriage in December 2012. She is the daughter of UW professor and renowned zoologist Aubrey Gorbman.
- Description:
- In this interview, Claudia Gorbman reflects on the transformations at University of Washington Tacoma since its establishment, comparing the earlier, more idealistic years focused on interdisciplinary education to the more recent growth in size and bureaucratic procedures. She describes the adventurous spirit of a new frontier that marked the beginning years. The session begins with her explaining her professional trajectory and the difficult decision to choose UW Tacoma over the tenured position she had held at Indiana University Bloomington for 15 years. On the subject of gender imbalance among the founding faculty, Gorbman remarks on the respectful treatment she has received from her peers and the force of her only female colleague on the faculty, Judy Stevens-Long. Speaking about her own scholarship, Gorbman regrets taking an "elitist" approach, stating that her views have shifted toward the end of her tenure at UW Tacoma--from focusing on global recognition to becoming more community-oriented. The conversation then turns to the Global Honors Program, which Gorbman directed, and she recognizes the work of her successor, Divya McMillin. She praises her students in the early years, who were typically older, professional students, noting their diligence and insight. She then talks about starting the Tacoma Film Society with UW Tacoma professor Anthony D'Costa, his wife Janette Rawlings, and Beckie Etheridge at the University's Media Services. The interview concludes with Gorbman's comments on how much the University's trajectory has deviated from the original vision as a result of rapid expansion and general attitudes toward the humanities and interdisciplinary studies.
- Location:
- United States--Washington (State)--Tacoma United States--Washington (State)--Seattle United States--Indiana--Bloomington
- Type:
- Sound; Text; StillImage
- Format:
- cpd
- Preferred Citation:
- University of Washington Libraries, University of Washington Tacoma Library, UWTOH201803