Initiatives | Humanities Institute

The Future of Truth is a multi-disciplinary, engaged research project aimed at investigating what truth is now and if, and how, it will matter in the future. Project activities include conferences, a public forum, exhibitions, a podcast series, and related publications. The center of the project, the exhibition Seeing Truth: Art, Science, Museums, and Making Knowledge, opens January 17, 2023 at the William Benton Museum of Art. It seeks to challenge audiences to see art, science, and truth anew in this political moment. Learn more about The Future of Truth.

The Humanities Institute’s new area of Digital Humanities and Media Studies (DHMS), seeks to engage the UConn community in debates, explorations, and exchange on all aspects related to the Digital Humanities and Media Studies. These sister fields are uniquely in dialogue at UConn, with faculty and students already working either in one or both, displaying an interdisciplinary and international richness of scholarly inquiry, experimentation, and publication. UCHI’s goal is to foster this dialogue by offering talks, supporting and organizing events and reading groups, and bringing the DHMS community at UConn together. Learn more about Digital Humanities and Media Studies.

Generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and in collaboration with New England Humanities Consortium (NEHC) and University of Connecticut Humanities Institute (UCHI), the Faculty of Color Working Group (FOCWG) provides extra-institutional space for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) faculty to navigate the particular challenges that they face in their academic positions. Academic institutions create and incubate myriad inequalities, institutional microaggressions, and bad-faith policies regarding the recruitment, retention, promotion, and provision of healthy, respectful environments for faculty of color. Such imbalances degrade BIPOC faculty’s well-being and professional advancement as well as institutional health. FOCWG has begun to address these inequities through an annual symposium, a fellowship program, and a mentorship program.

Based at the University of Connecticut, World Poetry Books is the only publisher in the United States dedicated solely to publishing books of international poetry in English translation. As a press, our goal is to champion poets and translators from all stages of their careers by creating new communities of readers both inside and outside of the university. We believe every language has its Walt Whitman, its C.P. Cavafy, or Anne Carson, yet most world poetry—especially poetry from underrepresented languages—remains under-published and undiscovered. Our mission is to publish and promote books of vital world poetry from languages other than English. We invite our readers to celebrate the art of translation, so essential to the vibrant circulation of words and ideas. To find out more, and to purchase books, please visit World Poetry Books.

In 2014 UConn became a Consortium member of the prestigious Folger Institute, a center for advanced study and collections-focused research in the humanities. Through its multi-disciplinary cross-cultural programs and residential research fellowships, the Folger Institute gathers knowledge communities and establishes fresh research and teaching agendas for early modern humanities. This area of study spans from the 14th through the 18th centuries, focusing on a wide range of relevant texts, issues, and questions. The Institute fosters targeted investigations of the world-class Folger collection and is based out of the Folger Shakespeare Library. The Consortium acts as an advisory body to the Institute, with members meeting bi-annually in D.C. to work with Folger staff on program development and scholarly outreach, among other things. By virtue of UConn's membership, our students, staff, and faculty have access to the Institute’s tremendous range of research, educational and artistic offerings. Learn more about Folger Institute Consortium.

The New England Humanities Consortium (NEHC) promotes and strengthens intellectual collaboration, interdisciplinary exchange, and innovative educational, intercultural, and curricular programming among New England Humanities centers and institutes, and the faculty, students, and regional, national, and global communities they serve. NEHC includes: Amherst College, Brown University, Colby College, Dartmouth College, Middlebury College, Northeastern University, Smith College, Tufts University, the University of Connecticut, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Rhode Island, the University of Vermont, Wellesley College, and Wheaton College. The programming and activities of the NEHC are made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the participating institutions. UCHI was the founder of NEHC and served as its first administrative hub through June 2021. Learn More about The New England Humanities Consortium.

How can we balance our most deeply held convictions with humility and open-mindedness in order to repair public discourse? This was the central question guiding Humility and Conviction in Public Life (HCPL), a research and engagement project investigating how intellectual humility—being aware of our own cognitive limitations and biases, and being responsive to the evidence—can promote healthier and more meaningful public conversation. Sponsored by generous grants from the John Templeton Foundation and the University of Connecticut, HCPL was an unprecedented combination of research and engagement. The project was hosted by UCHI for the purpose of elevating the tone and outcomes of public discourse in our society. Learn More about Humility and Conviction.