Humanities Center

In the broadest sense, then, the humanities ask questions about what it means to be human. As a result, among other things, we consider again and again the meaning and value of great works of art and culture from the past. And this perspective enriches and informs our appreciation and understanding of our contemporary moment.

Scholars across the humanities explore issues of meaning in the broadest sense, from philology to metaphysics, from the meaning of words, images and objects to the meaning of life. We ask questions about literary, artistic, and other kinds of value: what they mean, as well as how they are represented and come to be accepted by individuals and communities.  We ask questions about value itself, what it means, and how else it has been thought about and might be conceived.

As the social expression of these concerns, the humanities also focus on ethics and the implications of various systems of meaning and value. In these ways the humanities introduce students to global perspectives on human experience through a rigorous study of the world's arts, cultures, and languages, and the diverse achievements of people who lived in other times and places.