What are the humanities?

The humanities investigate human culture, expression, and experience. They help us understand who we are, where we have been, and what lies ahead. They do this by studying the varied things that humans create, such as art, music, poetry, theory, and law, and the many different ideas and stories that people use to navigate and make sense of the world. The humanities include all literatures and languages as well as philosophy, religion, classics, history, art history, film and media studies, and the fine and performing arts. Research in the humanities expands our knowledge of the richness and diversity of human experience, past and present; broadens our perspective to include the lives, thoughts, and traditions of people other than ourselves; and helps us understand what we need to flourish as individuals and as members of local, regional, and global communities. The humanities nurture capacities such as historical perspective, interpretation, analysis of ideas in context, making connections across different fields of study, creativity and imagination, communication, visual literacy, cross-cultural understanding, ethical thought, and empathy. All of these are vital for sustaining civic culture, establishing common ground based on a shared understanding of facts, and comprehending and addressing some of the most urgent challenges of the present moment. 

What is the Princeton Humanities Initiative?

Established in 2024, the Princeton Humanities Initiative is a crossroads and hub for humanistic-based inquiry and idea incubation. Aiming to expand the impact of humanities scholarship on campus, in higher education, and in the wider world, the initiative supports innovative, interdisciplinary, and collaborative humanities-centered research, teaching, and civic engagement. It brings together faculty, students, staff, affiliates, and community partners from a range of disciplines, fields of expertise, and professions to collaborate on shared projects. It connects humanities teaching and research with teaching and research in the social sciences and sciences through substantial intellectual partnerships. And it explores the current state and possible futures of the humanities in the 21st century, building on longstanding traditions of scholarship while envisioning new models and methods of humanistic study that are inclusive, international in scope, and culturally and intellectually capacious.     

Media & Meaning: Humanities in the World

Organized around the theme “Media & Meaning: Humanities in the World,” the three-year initiative consists of the first step in an institutional transition from the Humanities Council to a planned Humanities Institute at Princeton.