UNDERSTAND OUR WORLD
WHAT ARE THE HUMANITIES?
The HUMANITIES include academic disciplines and creative practices that help us develop knowledge about the world, a deeper understanding of ourselves and others, and critical habits of mind—training for a lifetime. The HUMANITIES include ethics, philosophy, film studies, linguistics, jurisprudence, art history and criticism, languages, literature, history, and comparative religion.
WHAT IS THE INSTITUTE FOR THE HUMANITIES?
Located in the South Thayer Building (across from MLB), we are a unique unit in the College of LSA, not an academic department like "History" or "Philosophy," but rather an institute focused on programming and events. Our goal is to support the humanities at the University of Michigan, to help others better Understand Our World and to communicate to our campus and beyond the value of the humanities.
WHAT WE DO:
- Hold free, open-to-all events that bring current thinking in the humanities to the wider campus and public.
- Maintain an active, curated gallery that features a diverse lineup of regional, national, and international artists conveying the importance of visual arts in our world.
- Sponsor a new group of faculty and graduate students (our fellows) every year who have offices here, work on their research, and meet weekly to support each other’s research.
WANT TO GET INVOLVED?
- Apply for the Public Humanities Internship Program and have the opportunity to participate in the life of the Institute for the Humanities through a unique combination of program development, event marketing, and writing about humanities topics..
- TALK with faculty about humanities perspectives on today’s most important issues at High Stakes Culture.
- VISIT our gallery and see the thought-provoking work by regional, national and international artists. Feel free to walk in anytime it’s open (M-F 9am-5pm; see website for details) and check out the current exhibition.
- TAKE a humanities mini-course (INSTHUM).
