Humanities

Suzannah Clark named director of Mahindra Humanities Center

Wants to build on center’s ‘legacy of cross-disciplinary intellectual exchange’

News|

DateMarch 25, 2020March 25, 2020

Performers Kristyn Kuennen/Topher Wright (from left), Ethan Balk/Dr. Cool Ethan, Mara Balk/Twinkerbell (hidden), and Corey Williams/Anisa Love onstage at Radcliffe's Knafel Center.

What a (spirited) drag

Live performance and transformation accompany deep discussion at Radcliffe of gender and identity

Arts|

DateMarch 1, 2019March 7, 2019

Matt DeShaw '17 is seen at the Leverett House Library at Harvard

Senior looks back as he moves forward

Continues to embrace lessons to be learned

Campus|

DateDecember 1, 2017

Visitors at the Harvard Art Museums provide inspiration for Lily Calcagnini '18, who has added fashion to her concentration of history and literature.

Scholar’s eye for fashion

For Lily Calcagnini, Harvard ‘is a place where students with intellectual curiosity can study precisely whatever they want’

Arts|

DateNovember 29, 2017July 8, 2019

Economist and Harvard Professor Mihir Desai discusses his new book, “The Wisdom of Finance,” in which he explains the basic principles of finance using plain language and stories from art.

Finance meets humanities — really

Author Mihir Desai explains how the two are linked in deep and meaningful ways

Business|

DateJuly 14, 2017August 30, 2018

Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust

Drew Faust to step down as Harvard president

She plans to depart next June after 11 years of University growth, reinvention, inclusion

Campus|

DateJune 14, 2017March 20, 2019

Though a bout with mental illness forced Miguel Garcia '17 to take a leave of absence in 2012, his studies in the humanities have provided cathartic insight into his journey back to health. “Both the study of history and literature deal with the nuances of the human experience — the beautiful, the brutal, and the mundane."

Hitting the books after hitting a wall

Miguel Garcia ’17 returns from mental health struggle with new perspective on life, literature, and his future

Arts|

DateMarch 20, 2017December 10, 2018

Biology Professor Brian D. Farrell delivers a talk about his multidisciplinary approach to studying consciousness, combining biological science with the teachings of ancient mysticism to better understand the development and meaning of consciousness.

Poking at consciousness

Balancing art and science, Farrell probes mysteries of the mind

Health|

DateMarch 8, 2017March 9, 2017

The Creative Writing Program has seen a huge influx of students in recent years, with more senior English concentrators writing creative theses than critical theses.

Making magic out of 26 letters

Harvard’s creative writing program is thriving, growing in breadth, size

Arts|

DateDecember 21, 2016March 4, 2019

Brynn Elliott is a singer-songwriter and philosophy concentrator who uses the works of philosophers such as Kierkegaard and Decartes to inspire song lyrics.

Three chords and some Kierkegaard

Brynn Elliott ’18 brings philosophical depth to songwriting

Arts|

DateNovember 30, 2016November 30, 2016

"Rather than be concerned how recruiters or graduate school admissions committees might interpret a humanities concentration, I began to recognize its inherent value," says Matthew DeShaw '18.

Harvard College junior follows humanities

Despite concerns, learns lessons that only a passion can produce

Campus|

DateOctober 3, 2016October 3, 2016

For Faust, new year brings fresh challenges

In Q&A, Harvard president muses on single-gender groups, endowment concerns, the centrality of diversity and the humanities, and how she spends her downtime

News|

DateSeptember 15, 2016December 20, 2017

Accolades were bestowed upon Diana Sorensen (at podium), who is stepping down as Harvard's dean of arts and humanities. In the 10 years since being appointed, Sorensen has supported nearly a dozen new and enhanced curricular and outreach efforts.

Humanizing the humanities

Diana Sorensen, who has led Harvard’s Division of Arts and Humanities for 10 years, steps down

Campus|

DateApril 27, 2016February 28, 2019

"The current knowledge economy limits women’s work, leadership, and earning," Melissa Harris-Perry, a professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University, told her Harvard audience at the fourth annual Anita Hill Lecture on Gender Justice. Hill, a professor at Brandeis University, is pictured on-screen.

Minding the gaps

Women still face unequal pay, acknowledgment, and opportunities, Harris-Perry says

World|

DateMarch 30, 2016

Harvard Horizons symposium showcases work of GSAS students

News +|

DateMarch 25, 2016

The humanities offer three qualities of value to leaders: perspective, improvisation, and persuasion, said President Drew Faust during her visit to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Faust also spent the day meeting with faculty members and academy cadets.

To speak, and move others to act

At West Point, Faust emphasizes importance of the liberal arts in effective leadership

World|

DateMarch 24, 2016October 6, 2016

"I was very academically focused as an undergrad. I went to the Brattle Theatre and saw a lot of movies, but I never wrote for any campus publications. But I studied literature, so I was interested in criticism," said New York Times chief film critic A.O. Scott ’87-’88.

Always a critic

Alumnus A.O. Scott set for Barker Center book talk

Arts|

DateMarch 9, 2016

When sophomore Matthew DeShaw (right) chose a concentration in the humanities, he felt the need to defend his choice. It was Professor Kathleen Coleman who explained that an undergraduate degree in classics is the “quintessential interdisciplinary training” that could take him into any field.

Humanities offer marketability in a competitive world

‘I have come to see my concentration as an investment in versatility and intellectualism’

Arts|

DateMarch 4, 2016March 4, 2019

Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison enjoyed a sustained standing ovation before beginning her first Charles Eliot Norton Lecture. Speaking from a wheelchair, she described her return to Harvard as “comforting,” then launched into the human tendency “to separate and judge those not in our pact.”

Slavery’s chilling shadow

In her first Norton Lecture, novelist Toni Morrison quotes standard historical passages to drive home the depths of evil

Arts|

DateMarch 3, 2016August 7, 2019

A group of students from "The Art of Looking" visited the Harvard Art Museums under the guidance of freshman Ted Zhu (center). Mostly science concentrators, the students were intent on deepening their understanding of how to look at art with a critical eye.

Seeing more

‘Art of Looking’ sharpens students’ critical eye

Arts|

DateMarch 2, 2016

Toni Morrison will deliver the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures, which will be held throughout March and April at Sanders Theatre. “There is no more compelling writer for our campus and our global times,” said Homi K. Bhabha, Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of the Humanities and director of the Mahindra Humanities Center.

Morrison’s first Norton Lecture set for March 2

Nobel Prize-winning novelist to give six talks at Sanders Theatre

Arts|

DateFebruary 22, 2016

Conan O'Brien '85 shared a laugh or two with President Faust at Sanders Theatre.

Conan: Explore, learn, take risks

In visit to Harvard, O’Brien tells students how humanities opened his world

Arts|

DateFebruary 12, 2016

Sacvan Bercovitch

Memorial Minute - Faculty of Arts and Sciences

News|

DateJuly 16, 2015

Abramson Award winners Ruth Bielfeldt (left) and Sarah Richardson have shown deep commitment to teaching undergraduates. Bielfeldt plans to use the money that accompanies the award to help fund her new research project. Richardson will use it toward writing a new book.

Two honored for teaching excellence

Professors recognized with Abramson Award for dedication to teaching undergraduates

News|

DateMay 6, 2015May 17, 2019

Freshman Matthew DeShaw (right, photo 1) took a selfie with Lucas Delgado, one of the students attending Visitas. DeShaw helped to welcome the incoming freshmen at the Barker Center's Arts Café (photos 2, 3) and answered questions about a humanities concentration. "The single most common and relevant question I fielded was, 'What are my employment options after graduating with a humanities concentration?' " DeShaw's response: “Whatever you want to do.”

Welcoming Harvard’s next class

A freshman returns to Visitas, and views new arrivals’ weekend with fresh eyes

Campus|

DateApril 30, 2015

In the Oberon Theater on Arrow Street, Marcus Stern teaches directing. The class attracts student directors interested in theater, television, and film, as well as actors, dramaturges, and designers investigating all aspects of theater. Actor Derek Speedy ’18 (left) and director Juliana Sass ’17 are pictured as their scene is critiqued. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer

Theater, Dance, and Media

FAS approves a new concentration in the arts

News|

DateApril 7, 2015April 17, 2019

A world authority on the religious art of the Middle Ages, Jeffrey Hamburger, the Kuno Francke Professor of German Art and Culture, has been named a recipient of this year’s Anneliese Maier Research Award.

Hamburger receives Anneliese Maier Research Award

Honor recognizes accomplishments in humanities and social sciences

News|

DateJanuary 30, 2015

Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow William F. Lee speaks with the Harvard Gazette in Loeb House at Harvard University. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer

Taking the Harvard Corporation’s temperature

After six months as senior fellow, Bill Lee outlines what’s been achieved and what lies ahead

News|

DateDecember 22, 2014

Mahindra Humanities Center Director Homi Bhabha (center) and Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana (right) were two panelists in conversation with William Deresiewicz (left), the author of “Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life,” an acidic assessment of top-tier universities, their students, and the admissions process.

Leaders or followers?

Deresiewicz says elite colleges don’t do enough to help students find passions instead of professions

World|

DateSeptember 23, 2014

Background in the humanities is often an ingredient in leadership, Faust said.

A sense of direction

Faust opens academic year with conversation covering humanities, diversity, more

Campus|

DateSeptember 16, 2014

Page 1 of 4

Wants to build on center’s ‘legacy of cross-disciplinary intellectual exchange’

Live performance and transformation accompany deep discussion at Radcliffe of gender and identity

Continues to embrace lessons to be learned

For Lily Calcagnini, Harvard ‘is a place where students with intellectual curiosity can study precisely whatever they want’

Author Mihir Desai explains how the two are linked in deep and meaningful ways

She plans to depart next June after 11 years of University growth, reinvention, inclusion

Miguel Garcia ’17 returns from mental health struggle with new perspective on life, literature, and his future

Balancing art and science, Farrell probes mysteries of the mind

Harvard’s creative writing program is thriving, growing in breadth, size

Brynn Elliott ’18 brings philosophical depth to songwriting

Despite concerns, learns lessons that only a passion can produce

In Q&A, Harvard president muses on single-gender groups, endowment concerns, the centrality of diversity and the humanities, and how she spends her downtime

Diana Sorensen, who has led Harvard’s Division of Arts and Humanities for 10 years, steps down

Women still face unequal pay, acknowledgment, and opportunities, Harris-Perry says

At West Point, Faust emphasizes importance of the liberal arts in effective leadership

Alumnus A.O. Scott set for Barker Center book talk

‘I have come to see my concentration as an investment in versatility and intellectualism’

In her first Norton Lecture, novelist Toni Morrison quotes standard historical passages to drive home the depths of evil

‘Art of Looking’ sharpens students’ critical eye

Nobel Prize-winning novelist to give six talks at Sanders Theatre

In visit to Harvard, O’Brien tells students how humanities opened his world

Memorial Minute - Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Professors recognized with Abramson Award for dedication to teaching undergraduates

A freshman returns to Visitas, and views new arrivals’ weekend with fresh eyes

FAS approves a new concentration in the arts

Honor recognizes accomplishments in humanities and social sciences

After six months as senior fellow, Bill Lee outlines what’s been achieved and what lies ahead

Deresiewicz says elite colleges don’t do enough to help students find passions instead of professions

Faust opens academic year with conversation covering humanities, diversity, more

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