Mission
The Humanities Institute at Penn State is dedicated to supporting the generation and promotion of ideas in all aspects of the humanities and related disciplines. We are committed to a collaborative and interdisciplinary spirit in supporting research projects at all levels of production and to help publicize the social value of humanities scholarship. Through fellowship support, public lectures and conferences, workshops, and public outreach, we aim to support both Penn State faculty, other academics, and the wider public in ongoing discussion of the most pressing questions of our time.
The Institute also provides support for a wide variety of endeavors for the university community. Faculty and Graduate Student Fellowships, workshop and conference sponsorships, lectures and public media are offered to support the efforts of faculty and students in discussions of the fundamental questions of the human condition.
Legacy of the Institute for Arts and Humanities
Fall 2017 marked the Inaugural Year of the Humanities Institute, an outgrowth of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities which flourished at Penn State for the previous 50 years (1966-2016). The IAH generated numerous important initiatives and partnerships, successfully developed faculty research projects, and produced the highest quality public events, lectures and performances, all of which gave Penn State international exposure as a premier location for art and scholarship. The Humanities Institute proudly inherits this legacy, as we continue to build our own unique programs and public presence.
Staff
John Christman is a Professor of Philosophy, Political Science and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. He is the author of numerous articles and books in social and political philosophy, specializing in topics such as the social conception of the self, theories of justice and oppression, and the idea of freedom. His books include The Myth of Property: Toward an Egalitarian Theory of Ownership (Oxford), The Politics of Persons: Individual Autonomy and Socio-historical Selves (Cambridge), and Social and Political Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge). He is the editor of The Inner Citadel: Essays on Individual Autonomy (Oxford) and co-editor, with Joel Anderson, of Autonomy and the Challenges to Liberalism: New Essays (Cambridge).
Lauren Kooistra, Associate Research Professor of Humanities, earned a Ph.D. in Music Education from Penn State with a dissertation entitled The Experiences of Two Young Children in Informal Piano Lesson Settings: Expressions of Meaning and Value. Holding previous degrees in both Piano Performance (B.M., Gordon College) and Piano Performance and Pedagogy (M.M., Westminster Choir College), Lauren is interested in the ways that young children express and develop their musicianship within the contexts of their lived experience, with implications for learning and teaching. Her research focuses on the application of these aspects within piano lesson settings, and her scholarship has been internationally published and presented.
Jim Westrick
Jim Westrick received his MFA in Film Production from Chapman University with an emphasis in Film Directing. His thesis film, We Two Have Wandered, screened at multiple festivals including LA Shorts Fest and West Chester International Film Festival. He spent 16 years working in the film and television industries in Los Angeles and has worked on dozens of films in a wide variety of roles including director, editor, and cinematographer. He has also worked in post-production on over 200 episodes of television for networks such as Fox, NBC, Oxygen, Animal Planet and A&E. As a teacher of film production and screenwriting, Jim loves helping future generations hone their voices and storytelling skills.
Jiaxin Yan is a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature and Asian Studies. Her research focuses on fiction and poetry by postwar Okinawan, Taiwanese, and Zainichi Korean writers.