Center for Washington Area Studies
From GWUEncyc
Article
The Center for Washington Area Studies (CWAS) is a multi-disciplinary university-wide research center whose purpose is to encourage, promote and engage in research related to Washington, D.C. and surrounding region. Its primary activities include 1) support of efforts by The George Washington University (GW) faculty to seek external funding for research on the Washington region or that includes the Washington region in more general research, 2) support of research by GW faculty and students that is of relevance to the Washington area, and 3) support for GW faculty seeking to incorporate the Washington region into their courses by maintaining and disseminating resource materials. CWAS is located within the George Washington Institute of Public Policy, a university-wide public policy research institute.
The Center for Washington Area Studies was established in 1980 to bring the resources of George Washington University to bear on the development of a fuller understanding of the Washington area as a locality, with its own economy, history, politics, and culture. As a regional studies institute, CWAS’ purpose has been to encourage scholarly inquiry, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary, on a broad range of matters relating to the national capital area. The Center has supported faculty and student research, conferences and symposia, and a publications program.
In addition, CWAS has supported programs to enrich the collections of the University’s Gelman Library related to the Washington area.
CWAS was initiated as part of the University’s former Division of Experimental Programs efforts to draw faculty and students from many disciplines into common discourse and endeavors and to encourage exchange among the social sciences, the humanities, and professional fields. While the Center was, until 2004, organized as a scholarly unit within the Columbia College of Arts and Sciences, it encouraged and facilitated participation by faculty from other schools within the University. As of July 2004, CWAS has moved organizationally from the Columbian College and is now located within the George Washington Institute of Public Policy, a university-wide public policy research institute reporting to the Executive Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
The following are major titles produced by the Center and can be found in Special Collections and University Archives:
Materials for the Study of Washington: A Selected Annotated Bibliography by Perry G. Fisher (No. 1)
Public Street Illumination in Washington, D.C.: An Illustrated History by Sarah Pressey Noreen (No. 2)
Alexander Boss Shepherd and the Board of Public Works by William M. Maury (No. 3)
The First Women Washington Correspondents by Maurine Hoffman Beasley (No. 4)
Law and Order in the Captial City: A History of the Washington Police 1800-1886 by Kenneth G. Alfers (No. 5)
Ancient Washington: American Indian Cultures of the Potomac Valley by Robert L. Humphrey and Mary Elizabeth Chambers
(No. 6)
Foggy Bottom 1800-1975: A Study in the Uses of an Urban Neighborhood by Suzanne Berry Sherwood (No. 7)
A Selected Bibliography For Washington Studies and Descriptions of Major Local Collections by Perry G. Fisher and Linda J. Lear (No. 8)
Gentrification in Adams Morgan: Political and Commercial Consequences of Neighborhood Change by Jeffrey R. Henig
(No. 9)
Images of Brookland: The History and Architecture of a Washington Suburb edited by Geroge W. McDaniel and John N. Pearce (No. 10)
Washington and Washington Writing edited by David McAleavey (No. 12)
Document Information
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Photographic Credit: n/a
Author or Source: GW website
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: December 21, 2006
Prepared by: Lyle Slovick, Assistant University Archivist
For more information about GW history
Contact:
Special Collections Research Center [1]
The Melvin Gelman Library [2]
The George Washington University [3]
2130 H Street, NW Suite 704
Washington, DC 20052
202-994-7549
mailto:archives@gwu.edu
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