Humanities Institute
Promoting collaborative research on ideas central to the pressing issues of our time.
The Humanities Institute at Penn State is committed to the development of humanistic ideas that connect with and are in the service of public concerns. As such, we declare our solidarity with those protesting police and other racial violence and the structural injustices that undergird and shape it. Our devotion to the study of history, philosophy, the languages, cultural studies and communication, connects us to the depths of injustice and suffering that current conditions manifest. We look with sorrow and solidarity to those victims of specific injustices and murderous assaults, both recently and throughout our history, and we support the voices of protest raised against them. We hope that the work we support can help in some way to bring to light and amplify our understanding of the complex historical and social dynamics that structure these injustices. For now, we join in the voices of protest against the forces of hate.
John Christman
Director
Lauren Kooistra
Associate Director
HumIn Focus
HumIn Focus is a multi-part web series centering on pressing social issues through the lens of the work of humanities scholars.
One Person, No Vote:
How Voter Suppression is Destroying Our Democracy.
Dr. Carol Anderson, Emory University
Date TBD
See here for more details.
This event is co-sponsored by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, Africana Research Center and Richards Civil War Era Center. It is presented as part of “Moments of Change: A Century of Women’s Activism,” the College of the Liberal Arts theme for 2020, and the HI Who Counts? theme.
Humanities in the World
The Humanities in the World initiative includes funding for Visiting Scholars, Postdoctoral Scholars, and our Faculty Invites program.
To learn more about the Initiative, click here
To find out more about Programming Resources for Commonwealth Campuses,
click here
- SPECIAL EVENT
-
Reflections on Democracy in America: The View from the HumanitiesA conversation with Cynthia Young on the meaning and promise of democracy after the election.
Thursday December 10 @ 3:30pm
The history of struggles for representation and recognition in America is the subject of the latest episode of HumIn Focus: Who Counts: The Complexities of Democracy in America. Given this history, coupled with the dramatic presidential election we just witnessed, the Humanities Institute invites you to join us as Director John Christman talks with Dr. Cynthia Young, Head of the Department of African American Studies at Penn State about the meaning of democracy today.
Register in advance for this webinar here.
Public Humanities Fellows
Are you an undergraduate student in the humanities who cares about social issues?
Do you wonder how you can relate your study of history, philosophy, literature or other humanities subject to the world?
A Public Humanities Fellowship at the Humanities Institute will provide you with experience relating your study of history, philosophy, literature, or other humanities subjects to the world. Click here to learn more.
Check out the Capstone Projects of our first cohort:
Whiteness, by Sara Jacques
Being Vulnerable, as a Man, by Yebo Chen
Juana's, by Carolina Navarro
At the Heart of Every Other Question
In politics, business, and issues of social concern, the most trenchant challenges we face all rest upon fundamental questions about the human condition. What does it mean to be human, a citizen, a biological organism, a member of a society? What role does our history, and its complex conflicts and triumphs, play in our current confrontations? What responsibilities do people have for themselves and their environment versus what concern should be borne by the rest of us in a caring and just world? Where do we fit in the larger non-human world? Countless pressing social issues turn on abstract and longstanding questions that are at the center of humanities research.
Walls that Transcend Boundaries
By providing a space for faculty and graduate students in the humanities to address the fundamental questions that underly the most pressing issues of our time, we foster collaboration, innovative approaches to research, and outreach that brings humanistic discovery and thought into the public domain.
Initiatives to Inspire and Engage
Through thematic programming series and public events, the Penn State Humanities Institute aims to open new lines of questioning for humanities scholars, engage the public in humanities research, and cultivate a community that can champion the human perspective in their lives and in their work.