The newly relaunched Davis Humanities Institute, or DHI, intends to leave an impression on campus and community members alike with its inaugural event this spring: premiering Julie Wyman’s critically acclaimed documentary The Tallest Dwarf at the Ann E. Pitzer Center on April 8.

In The Tallest Dwarf, viewers follow Wyman who, standing at five-feet tall with a long torso and shorter limbs, is on a journey to find out if there is, perhaps, a place for her in the dwarf community and Little People of America, or LPA, a nonprofit that provides support and information to people of short stature and their families. 

> Read more about the documentary and filmmakers here.

Ethical questions raised in documentary 

The film raises questions around artistic representation, body image, identity and community, and how medical and technological “advances” threaten to reshape or even eliminate these identities, and what the consequences are when parents make decisions about their children’s bodies. 

“It’s an extremely compelling piece of work,” said DHI Director and Professor of Russian Jenny Kaminer. “It is a deeply personal story told from her personal perspective, but it also touches upon profoundly important ethical questions that transcend her personal experience.” 

Wyman’s journey takes her to unexpected places as she engages with activists, artists and the complicated history of dwarf identity. Community members play a large part in the film and Wyman highlights their stories as well, taking a collaborative approach to the storytelling and documentary process.  

The complex, overlapping components touched on in the film, as well as the collaborative approach to the work, makes The Tallest Dwarf the perfect example of what UC Davis and the broader Davis community can expect from projects and collaborations connected with the revamped Davis Humanities Institute, according to Kaminer. 

The film is meant to embody the core aspirations of the institute as well as be a moment of joy and celebration, Kaminer said.

"There is so much we hope to do with the DHI," Kaminer said. "We have a small but hardworking team and it feels like the sky’s the limit."

Wyman, an associate professor in the Department of Cinema and Digital Media in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis, received support for the film from the Davis Humanities Institute through its Faculty Research Fellowship program in 2019-2020. The documentary premiered at South by Southwest in 2025 and, this spring, it will have its national broadcast debut on PBS.

Community members in attendance at the April 8 screening will have an opportunity to engage directly with Wyman and actor, lead participant in the film and former President of the Little People of America, Mark Povinelli, during a Q&A after the film. Finally, guests are welcome to participate in a reception with refreshments and a musical interlude presented by the Department of Music.

The event is free. Registration is requested as seating is limited.  

Listen to Wyman discuss the film and event on CapRadio's Insight With Vicki Gonzalez.

What else to expect from the Davis Humanities Institute?

While The Tallest Dwarf premiere may be the flagship event for the Davis Humanities Institute’s official re-launch this academic year, it is not the only event they have a stake in. Kaminer explained that, working backwards from the themes in Wyman’s film, the institute has a slate of events focused on medical humanities and disability studies — a programming theme that will carry though next fall quarter.

“That is a part of a larger goal of the DHI,” Kaminer said, “to convene conversations around critical, socially relevant issues and to spotlight areas where our faculty are doing exceptional work. And there is a lot of exceptional work happening now within disability studies and medical humanities more broadly.”

On May 20, through a partnership with UC Davis’ Shields Library, the institute will host a book talk with Associate Professor of American Studies Ryan Lee Cartwright, whose research focuses on disability, gender and sexuality on the social and spatial margins. Cartwright's book, Peculiar Places: A Queer Crip History of White Rural Nonconformity (University of Chicago Press, 2021), maps racialized queer and disability histories of white social nonconformity across the rural US, from the 1910s to the 1990s.

The Davis Humanities Institute’s new motto, “Connections Happen Here,” is intended to encapsulate a core function of the revitalized institute: to support interdisciplinary research within and beyond the College of Letters and Sciences and, through public events, to make broadly accessible the world-class humanities research produced at UC Davis.

To that end, the Davis Humanities Institute is working to build partnerships not just across the College of Letters and Science but across UC Davis and the larger community.

On April 15, it is partnering with the School of Law to host a lunchtime lecture on “Language and Culture as Barriers to Equality Before the Law,” featuring Professor Luna Filipović, Department of Linguistics. The event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served.

On May 27, Davis Humanities Institute will host a public showcase highlighting the work of humanities and arts faculty recently awarded research fellowships by the institute. Hosted at International House, the event will offer an overview of some of the cutting-edge research pursued at UC Davis, while offering a glimpse into the intellectual and creative process that drives the work of humanities researchers and arts practitioners. Refreshments will be served. Registration is required.

In the coming year, Kaminer said the DHI will be working on building partnerships that will allow it to pursue new programs, support more innovative research and develop stronger relationships between "town and gown." 

"For anyone intrigued, the relaunch event will be a great opportunity to begin those conversations with members of the DHI team who will be there in person — and eager to chat," she added. 

To stay in-the-know about all the events happening with Davis Humanities Institute and to register for the events mentioned above, sign up for their newsletter here. 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE STORIES 

'The Tallest Dwarf' Documentary Coming to Davis, PBS and a Theater Near You?

Julie Wyman, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and associate professor of cinema and digital media at UC Davis, finds belonging and an unexpected history within the dwarf community whilst working on her documentary, "The Tallest Dwarf." It will be screened at theaters across the U.S., including at UC Davis, and have its broadcast premiere this spring on PBS.

Clinical to Compassionate: The Next Generation of Health Care Workers

The Critical Medical Humanities Program offers undergraduates an immersive, cohesive learning experience looking at medical issues from multiple cultural and ethical perspectives, giving students a more well-rounded baseline to work from.

Stories Archive