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University of Rochester

Humanities Center

Fostering multidisciplinary perspectives

Supporting collaboration

Exploring artifacts of the human experience

What is the Humanities Center?

As scholars in the humanities and humanistic social sciences at the University of Rochester, we examine human culture in its myriad forms: literature, language, media, philosophy, religion, history, anthropology, visual and performing arts, and much more. We are committed to critical thinking, reasoned discourse, inclusiveness, civility, empathy, and compassion—values that lie at the center of humanistic inquiry and that are essential for a thriving democratic citizenry. The Humanities Center, located in Rush Rhees Library, is our home base for interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration. We offer programs for faculty, students, and the public. To become an affiliate of the Center and receive emails about our events, contact humanities@rochester.edu.

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News & Announcements

There’s hope for objective moral standards—but how can we better live up to them?

In an article in the magazine of science and culture Nautilus, William FitzPatrick, the Gideon Webster Burbank Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy at the University of Rochester, accomplishes two aims. First, he lays out a case for hope that there is indeed “an objective and universally true human morality” (albeit one that still allows for nuance and variations according to circumstances across cultures). Second, he considers whether, given the global rise of tribalism and nationalism, “’the better angels of our nature’ are robust enough to create and sustain a better world.”

New research project explores social and political nuances of migration in the Americas

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the University of Rochester one of its prestigious grants for a Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures, to support the project “Unbordering Migration in the Americas: Causes, Experiences, Identities.”

The interdisciplinary seminar will explore neglected but vital aspects of human migration in the Western hemisphere, considering the political, social, and economic circumstances of migration to and within the Americas over time. Components of the project also include biweekly seminars, public lectures, monthly workshops, film screenings, and an art exhibition.

October 27, 2020

Teaching the complexities of the Nobel Prize in Literature

English professor Bette London introduces students to Nobel-winning authors and the controversies surrounding the prize.

May 15, 2020

Pablo Miguel Sierra Silva Receives Inaugural President’s Ferrari Humanities Research Award

Pablo Miguel Sierra Silva, an assistant professor of history, is the first recipient of the President’s Ferrari Humanities Research Award, an award endowed by University of Rochester Trustee Bernard T. Ferrari ’70, ’74M (MD) and his wife, Linda Gaddis Ferrari. The $25,000 annual award promotes and supports humanities research among tenured and tenure-track faculty across Arts, Sciences & Engineering who are affiliated with the University’s Humanities Center.

April 11, 2019

Gift Supports Faculty in the Humanities

A recent gift from University of Rochester Trustee Bernard T. Ferrari ’70, ’74M (MD) and his wife, Linda, establishes the President’s Ferrari Humanities Award. This endowed fund provides a $25,000 annual award—in perpetuity—to promote and support humanities research among tenured and tenure-track faculty across Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (AS&E) who are affiliated with the University’s Humanities Center.

July 29, 2019

‘Experiencing Civic Life’ through the humanities

For two weeks in July, the  led high school students in a quest to understand the philosophical underpinnings and practical expressions of civic life. This was the first year of “Experiencing Civic Life,” an academic preparation and enrichment program designed to help participants become successful college students and active citizens of American democracy.

February 8, 2019

What’s the problem with civility?

In a recent episode of the University of Rochester's Quadcast podcast, Kevin Meuwissen, associate professor at the Warner School of Education; Joan Saab, vice provost of academic affairs and the Susan B. Anthony Professor of Art History and Visual and Cultural Studies; and David Primo, the Ani and Mark Gabrellian Professor and associate professor of political science and business administration, discussed civil and civic discourse, and how to bridge America’s social and political divide.

April 18, 2017

Mellon Foundation Awards Rochester $1 Million Grant for Humanities

The University has received a $1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to increase undergraduates’ engagement with the humanities. Titled “Humanities for Life,” the five-year initiative is designed to engage students early in their academic careers, to create opportunities for experiences outside the classroom, and to foster community engagement.

More News

HUMANISTS ENGAGING WITH CURRENT SOCIAL CRISES

Beneath many of the coronavirus ethical dilemmas facing Americans lie longstanding inequities in our social structure and failures of social justice, say three ethicists. Read more

New research project explores social and political nuances of migration in the Americas

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded the University of Rochester one of its prestigious grants for a Sawyer Seminar on the Comparative Study of Cultures, to support the project “Unbordering Migration in the Americas: Causes, Experiences, Identities.”

The interdisciplinary seminar will explore neglected but vital aspects of human migration in the Western hemisphere, considering the political, social, and economic circumstances of migration to and within the Americas over time. Components of the project also include biweekly seminars, public lectures, monthly workshops, film screenings, and an art exhibition.

The Humanities Center

Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration

In the Humanities Center, faculty, fellows, students, affiliates, and the public gather to collaborate and create community. Seminars, workshops, lectures, digital projects and other forms of humanistic inquiry animate our beautiful new space in Rush Rhees Library. 

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inthesetimes

In These Times: A Humanities Program For Today

At a moment when climate change compels us to address the impacts of human behavior on our environment, this semester's segment of “In These Times: A Humanities Program for Today” explores various ways that people throughout history have envisioned their relationships to the natural world. On what basis did a drought seem a sign of God’s displeasure? Did unpopulated land offer an opportunity for spiritual renewal or a resource for the benefit of civilization? In what contexts were the poet, artist, and musician regarded as especially attuned to the sounds and sights of woods and water? Join University of Rochester faculty members to discuss these and other questions, including whether the categories of the human and the natural stand up to philosophical scrutiny altogether. Sessions will also be devoted to the dilemmas of the 21st century.

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24
departments and programs

With majors and degree programs that incorporate dozens of disciplines.

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115
humanities clusters

Comprised of hundreds of courses based in Arts, Sciences and Engineering.

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Support the Center

Rochester is uniquely positioned to pursue research that spans the arts and humanities. If you would like more information about the humanities at Rochester or the Central New York Humanities Corridor, please contact us.

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