In this moment of unknowns and uncertainty, let the humanities, art, writing, scholarship, and debate lead you to compassion, solace, activism, creativity, and understanding."

Alexis Boylan, Acting Director, UConn Humanities Institute

What does it mean to be human?

UConn Humanities

The humanities seek to understand the whole human being: our languages, our histories, our art and ideas. The mission of the UConn Humanities Institute (UCHI) is to promote research on these questions, and to act as a voice for that research on the regional, national and international stage. In hosting annual residential fellowships, offering opportunities for humanities-focused programming, and fostering an interdisciplinary space for scholars to think, collaborate, and create, the Institute serves as a global hub for scholars dedicated to humanist scholarship and activism. UCHI seeks to inspire and support scholars at all levels and across disciplines to take on the critical and public task of humanistic inquiry.

A black and white photo of Woodie Guthrie playing the guitar. On his guitar a sticker reads "This Machine Kills Fascists."

Nasya Al-Saidy, Jane Gordon, and John Bell say #YouShould...

Prepare for the election, Part I

Cover Image for the "Dark" series: a teen age boy wearing a yellow rain coat and jeans staring into the most of a dark and unlit cave in the woods

Siavash Samei says #YouShould Watch...

Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese's Dark

Latest News and Events

Publishing NOW UConn Humanities Institute, October 23, 2020 11:00am–12:00pm, Johns Hopkins University Press. Beside the text oare images of several books covers, including the titles On Time, In Search of Sexual Health, Gamer Nation, Mapping An Atlantic World, Movable Markets, and Inscriptions of Nature.

Publishing NOW: Matt McAdam of JHU Press

October 13, 2020

Matt McAdam is a Senior Editor at Johns Hopkins University Press, where he acquires books in the history of science, technology, and medicine, bioethics, and the humanities more generally. October 23, 2020 at 11:00am.

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Poster for André Leon Talley talk. A picture of Talley in a red sweater and straw boater hat. The text beside the image reads: UCHI and the Africana Studies Institute present fashion critic/scholar, activist, and author of the recently published The Chiffon Trenches, André Leon Talley, in conversation with Alexis L. Boylan and Melina Pappademos. Live, online, registration required. November 12, 2020, 6:00pm.

UCHI Presents André Leon Talley

October 8, 2020

Fashion critic/scholar, activist, and the author of the recently published memoir The Chiffon Trenches in conversation with Alexis L. Boylan and Melina Pappademos, November 12, 2020, 6:00 pm.

[Read More]

Humanities Institute Success

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Awarded the largest single-PI research grant ($6 million) in the humanities by the John Templeton Foundation for Humility and Conviction in Public Life: a project aimed at understanding and revitalizing meaningful public discourse in democracy.

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Establishing and leading, with the help of a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the first-ever New England Humanities Consortium, bringing together both ivy-league and state-sponsored institutions.

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Tripling applications to its fellowship program, resulting in fellowships for PEN-Faulkner and National Book Award winning writers and scholars.