Depth of understanding. Intellectual flexibility. Imagination. Clarity in thinking and writing. The ability to make well-grounded and incisive choices. With these tools of the humanities, students can reflect upon the past, scrutinize the present, and imagine the future.
What is the role of the Humanities in the U.S. today? Why do we need critical thinking and creative research? How can the values of the Humanities play a vital role in shaping the future? In an increasingly technological society that requires specialized skills, the study of the humanities enables us to develop a broader vision of the world. Humanities research is central to a liberal education. It produces informed, creative, empathetic and self-critical citizens.
The Humanities teaches us to consider the underlying assumptions of social policy, technological development, economic planning, politics, and morality. Students of the humanities develop skills in critical thinking and reasoning, verbal communication, and language learning to tackle complex matters of public concern. They develop the confidence to confront problems boldly and find appropriate–and humane–solutions.
What is the Institute for Humanities Research?
The Institute for Humanities Research (IHR) was established in the fall of 1999 with funding from the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and the Dean of Humanities. The mission of the IHR--administered by an executive committee of humanities faculty and staff--is to enhance the environment for humanities research on the UCSC campus through scholarly conferences, guest speakers, colloquia, research units, faculty fellowships, small grants for faculty, and graduate student support. Recognizing that humanities research is an important component of a first-rate research university and is crucial to excellent teaching and scholarship, the IHR provides time, space, and support for the maintenance of a lively, active research community of faculty and graduate students. The activities of the IHR include: the Center for Cultural Studies, Research Units, Faculty Research Support, Graduate Student Research Support, and Special Events.
How is the IHR unique?
The IHR sponsors creative activities in all sectors of the Humanities: Linguistics, Philosophy, History, Literature, American Studies, Women's Studies, History of Consciousness, Languages, and Writing.
The IHR supports research units that allow faculty and students from across the campus to work together on common problems and concerns:
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Cuba
in Americas & Transatlantic Contexts
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Modernist
and Avante Garde Studies
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Language
and Linguistics
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Living
Writers
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Psychoanalysis & Sexuality
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U.S.
Latino Studies in a Global Context
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The IHR provides fellowships and grants to help faculty and graduate students in the humanities pursue their research. In a time of shrinking national support for training in the humanities, this program helps to ensure excellence at home and training for the next generation of thinkers and writers.
The IHR houses one of the nation's premiere centers of interdisciplinary research--the Center for Cultural Studies--which brings internationally recognized visitors to campus and sponsors major conferences on pressing cultural and political issues. While based in the humanities, the Center engages with the "interpretive" or "historical" social sciences, as well as with work in the arts.
How does the IHR serve the broader campus and community?
The IHR provides a vibrant local intellectual community. Humanists may sometimes work alone, but we never work–we cannot work–in isolation from our colleagues or the wider public. Ongoing reading groups, visiting speakers, and collaborative research projects enable us to formulate and present our work in conversation with others. Such an intellectual community, with its conferences, workshops, lectures by renowned scholars, film festivals, and other public events, is of enormous benefit to the wider university community, and to the community at large.
Who is affiliated with the Institute?
The Institute for Humanities Research aims to build on the achievements of a distinguished and diverse array of Humanities faculty. All faculty and graduate students engaged in Humanities research and Humanities-related research topics are eligible to participate, and the public is invited to sponsored events. A faculty executive committee composed of specialists in different disciplines helps shape the Institute’s activities.
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