Funding Opportunities

‘Making the Viking Age’ in a New Princeton Humanities Course

“For this next part, everyone is going to need an axe.” One at a time, 12 undergraduate students chose a blade from the toolbox in a studio at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, Denmark, a city about 20 minutes west of Copenhagen by train. The task at hand was to make a snelle, a […] »

Andrea Capra Awarded Council on Science and Technology Funding for New Humanistic Studies Course

Andrea Capra (Humanities Council and French and Italian) is one of nine University faculty and academic professionals to receive funding from the Council on Science and Technology (CST) for innovative course development / enhancement for his course, “Making Sense of Artificial Intelligence: Fiction, Technology, Storytelling.” The Spring 2024 course will be offered by the Humanities […] »

Bailey Sincox Awarded 2023-24 Magic Grant from the Humanities Council

Bailey Sincox (Humanities Council, English, and Humanistic Studies) has received a David A. Gardner ’69 Magic Grant from the Humanities Council, which will enrich her fall 2023 course “Theater in Early Modern London: The Purpose of Playing.” Students in the 400-level English seminar, which is cross-listed in humanistic studies and theater, will travel to the […] »
Students standing under a René Char sign

University Homepage Spotlights “Poetry and War” Magic Project

When poet René Char joined the French Resistance against Nazi occupation of France in WWII, he led sections of the maquis, rural guerrilla units, in Provence, and orchestrated dangerous parachute landings of arms and munitions — all the while continuing to write poetry.After the war, in 1946, Albert Camus first published Char’s “Feuillets d’Hypnos” (“Leaves […] »
Students standing under a René Char sign

2021-2022 Haarlow Prizes Awarded

Two Haarlow prizes were awarded this past academic year to students who delivered exceptional papers to a 200-Level Humanistic Studies course during the academic year 2021-2022. The winners are Rachel Brooks ’25 and Abigail Rabieh ’25. Brooks was recognized for the paper “Memory, Forgetfulness, and the Role of Image” submitted to HUM 216-217 in the […] »

Pathy Visiting Professor Emma Anderson to Teach HUM Course in Fall 2023

The Humanities Council’s Fund for Canadian Studies has named historian and religious studies scholar Emma Anderson (University of Ottawa) as the 2023-24 Laurence G. Pathy ’56 Visiting Professor in Canadian Studies. Anderson, professor of classics and religious studies at the University of Ottawa, is an expert on the religious encounters between Catholic missionaries and Indigenous […] »

Beatrice Kitzinger and Michael Wachtel Named Behrman Professors

Beatrice Kitzinger (Art & Archaeology) and Michael Wachtel (Slavic Languages and Literatures) have been named new Behrman Professors in the Humanities Council. The appointment recognizes distinguished humanities scholars and dedicated teachers from within the University community. Behrman Professors coordinate the Interdisciplinary Approaches to Western Culture (HUM 216-219) and play a leading role in building community among humanities […] »

Class of 2027, Join us for Princeton Preview

The Western Humanities Sequence, Everything You Always Wanted to Know Tuesday, April 11, 2023, 2:30 – 4:30 pm Tuesday, April 18, 2023, 2:30 – 4:30 pm Table 32, McCosh Courtyard »

Humanities Mentor and Behrman Undergraduate Fellow Anna Allport Awarded Sachs Scholarship

Princeton senior Anna Allport has been named one of three recipients of the Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship, one of Princeton University’s highest awards. Allport is an independent concentrator in interdisciplinary theater and performance studies. She also is pursuing certificates in theater, journalism, and humanistic studies. She will use her Sachs Global […] »

Behrman Undergraduate Fellow Marie-Rose Sheinerman Awarded Rhodes Scholarship

Marie-Rose Sheinerman, a member of the Class of 2023, has been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship for graduate study at the University of Oxford. She is among 32 American recipients of the prestigious fellowships and will join an international group of Rhodes Scholars chosen from more than 60 countries.  Sheinerman, of New York City, is concentrating […] »

Join us at the Academic Expo

Please join us to learn more about the Humanistic Studies Program. Thursday, September 1, 2022, 1:00-4:00 PM, Frick Chemistry Lab & McDonnell Brush Gallery Learn more about our Humanities Sequences and meet some of our HUM Mentors! »

Join HUM 216/217, Interdisciplinary Approaches to Western Culture this Fall!

Spots still remain for the year-long exploration of Western literature, philosophy, history and music. Guided by a team of faculty from across the humanities and social sciences, students join a strong network of peers and mentors to examine pivotal texts, events, and artifacts of European civilization from antiquity to present day, as part of an […] »

University Homepage Features Team-Taught ‘Arts in the Invisible City’

This spring, nine Princeton undergraduate students in HUM 352, “Arts in the Invisible City: Race, Policy, Performance,” explored the vibrant arts scene in Trenton, New Jersey, through the lens of activism. The interdisciplinary course, taught by D. Vance Smith (English) and Nyssa Chow (Humanities Council, Lewis Center for the Arts), examined the historical and contemporary […] »

Humanities Mentor Frances Mangina Selected as Salutatorian

Frances Mangina, a philosophy concentrator from Toronto, was named salutatorian of Princeton’s Class of 2022. The Princeton faculty accepted the nominations of the Faculty Committee on Examinations and Standing at its April 25 meeting. She has been a Humanities Mentor since 2019. Housed in the Program in Humanistic Studies, Humanities Mentors offer advice to undergraduates […] »

HUM Students Attend ‘Elektra’ at the Met

By Nolan W. Musslewhite ‘25 The 2021-22 Humanities Sequence class headed to the Metropolitan Opera on April 1 for the opening night of Strauss’s “Elektra.”  The performance, said students, was electric. The night began with a group dinner at Trattoria dell’Arte in New York City, where a special menu was prepared for the HUM trip. […] »

Behrman Undergraduate Fellow Mengistie Awarded Sachs Scholarship

Senior Nathnael Mengistie was named a recipient of the Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship, one of Princeton University’s highest awards. Mengistie was named a Sachs Scholar at Oxford’s Worcester College. Fellow senior Sydney Hughes was named a Sachs Global Scholar, and University of Oxford student Elise Doumergue was named a Sachs Scholar […] »

Behrman Undergraduate Fellow Kahn Named Scholar in the Nation’s Service

Senior Ethan Kahn is one of 14 students at Princeton University selected to join the Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI), which funds graduate fellowships and undergraduate summer internships within federal government agencies. As a SINSI graduate scholar, Kahn, will complete a two-year Master in Public Affairs with a full scholarship for tuition and […] »
Side-by-side of Elena Fratto and her new book "Medical Storyworlds"

Faculty Author Q&A: Elena Fratto on “Medical Storyworlds”

Elena Fratto is Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures. She has received Humanities Council Magic Grants for Innovation to develop team-taught medical humanities courses and a working group, “Bodies of Knowledge.” Her book “Medical Storyworlds: Health, Illness, and Bodies in Russian and European Literature at the Turn of the Twentieth Century” was published November […] »
Side-by-side of Elena Fratto and her new book "Medical Storyworlds"

Join us at the Virtual Certificate Expo

Please join us to learn more about the Humanistic Studies Certificate. Tuesday, January 18, 2022, 5:00-6:00 PM EST This event is part of Wintersession, for full schedule and registration, visit https://airtable.com/shr83g3sOWPMpOJ1S/tblFd3rwpYXqkTFPk If you were not able to attend the Certificate Expo please feel free to reach out with any questions to the Program Manager, Stephanie […] »

HUM Takes Excursions to the Met and the Morgan

HUM 216/217, Interdisciplinary Approaches to Western Culture II: Literature and the Arts, History, Philosophy and Religion, went on two excursions during the fall semester, the first to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the second to the Morgan Library and Museum. Both excursions had record attendance and the trips were led by Fall faculty – […] »

2020-2021 Haarlow Prizes Awarded

Haarlow prizes were awarded this summer to two students who delivered exceptional papers to a 200-Level Humanistic Studies course during the academic year 2020-2021. The winners are Laura Haubold ’24 and Elise Kim ’24. Kim was recognized for her paper “Narcissus and the Instability of Identity” submitted to HUM 216-217 in the fall semester and […] »

Class of 2025 – Join us at the Academic Expo

The Academic Expo is an open house for first-year students to explore academic departments and programs at Princeton. It will be held virtually this year and all three of our Humanities Sequences will hold office hours at the Expo. Near Eastern HumanitiesTuesday, August 10, 2:00 pm EST Interdisciplinary Approaches to Western CultureWednesday, August 11, 10:00 AM and Thursday, August […] »

Certificate Student Villaruz’s Seminar Paper Accepted for Publication

Humanistic Studies Certificate student Bethany Villaruz ’24 was enrolled this past spring in Professor Allen Guelzo’s seminar, HUM 363, Writing Lincoln: Biography, Film Literature. A paper she wrote for the seminar entitled “The Sangamon: Soured: Lincoln: The Man and Its Twisted Tropes” has been accepted for publication in Lincoln Lore, the quarterly journal published by […] »

Magic Supported HUM Course Uses Digital Tools to Access the Past

How have “revolutions” in communications’ technologies altered the course of human history? Is it true that the printing press made the Reformation possible? Are social media platforms destroying democracy? To explore these questions and dive into the latest advances in communications’ technologies, students in the spring 2021 Humanistic Studies course, “A History of Words: Technologies of Communication […] »

Congratulations to the Class of 2021!

The Program in Humanistic Studies is proud to award 16 certificates to seniors from 11 different concentrations. The certificate program provides a home for students to explore new perspectives within their discipline while building bridges to others. Please join us in congratulating the class of 2021 on their accomplishments and see all of their thesis […] »

Jhumpa Lahiri Discusses the Dualities of Self-Translation

By Jon Garaffa ’20, Humanities Council What is it like to translate your own work into another language? Pulitzer Prize-winner and director of the Program in Creative Writing Jhumpa Lahiri recently discussed her latest novel Whereabouts, which is now available in English, at an event hosted by Labyrinth Books and co-sponsored by the Humanities Council, Lewis Center for the Arts, […] »

Faculty Lecturer, Nathan Davis, wins Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama

Nathan Davis, a lecturer in the theater department and Berlind Playwright-in-Residence, received the Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prize for Drama on March 22. Davis is currently teaching HUM 352 / ENG 252 / URB 352 / THR 350, Arts in the Invisible City: Race, Policy and Performance with D. Vance Smith, English. For the full […] »

Fall 2021 HUM Courses Announced

The Program in Humanistic Studies announces the Fall 2021 courses which are open to students from all concentrations. HUM courses are broad-based, interdisciplinary, and often team-taught. They have no prerequisites and fulfill requirements towards the interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies certificate. For full course descriptions and all other HUM courses, visit the Humanistic Studies website. New Fall […] »

Class of 2025, Join us for Princeton Preview

The Western Humanities Sequence, Everything You Always Wanted to Know Friday, April 16, 2021, 4:30 PM EST If you missed the live event, check out the recording here https://youtu.be/HndfQAsPTBs »

Organizing Stories: Community Organizing 101

Workshop in conjunction with the class “HUM 352, Arts in the Invisible City: Race, Policy, Performance” NEW DATE: Thurs, March 11 at 4:30-5:30 pm on ZoomThis event is open to undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty. Organizing Stories presents “Community Organizing 101,” a workshop with Trenton activist Darren “Freedom” Green. “Community Organizing 101” is sponsored in conjunction […] »

Faculty Author Q&A: Ksenia Chizhova on “Kinship Novels of Early Modern Korea”

Ksenia Chizova is Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies. Her new book “Kinship Novels of Early Modern Korea” is published by Columbia University Press. She will teach “East Asian Humanities II: Traditions and Transformations” (HUM 234 / EAS 234 / COM 234) in Spring 2021. How did you get the idea for this project? Violence […] »

2019-2020 Haarlow Prizes Awarded

Two Haarlow prizes and two honorable mentions were awarded over the summer to students who delivered exceptional papers to a 200-Level Humanistic Studies course during the academic year, 2019-2020. The winners are Priyanka Aiyer ’23 and Sandra Chen ’23. The honorable mentions went to Trace Nuss ’23 and Hana Widerman ’23. Aiyer was recognized for […] »

Join us at the Certificate Expo

Please join us to learn more about the Humanistic Studies Certificate. Friday, February 5, 2021, 3:00-4:30 PM EST For full schedule and registration, visit: https://airtable.com/shrjBhggl03rXa904/tbloluCBNA97RJkqv »

Katie Chenoweth Investigates Impact of Printing on Development of French

By Ruby Shao ’17 The Prosthetic Tongue: Printing Technology and the Rise of the French Language, the first monograph of Katie Chenoweth (Department of French and Italian), recently won the Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for French and Francophone Studies from the Modern Language Association of America. Published through the University of Pennsylvania Press in […] »

Spring 2021 Courses Announced

The Program in Humanistic Studies is announces the Spring 2021 courses which are open to students from all majors. HUM courses are broad based, interdisciplinary and often team-taught. They have no prerequisites and fulfill requirements toward the interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies certificate. For full course descriptions and all other HUM courses, visit: https://humstudies.princeton.edu/courses/ New Spring 2021 Courses HUM […] »

HUM 216-219 Alumni Panel “Owning HUM”

On Wednesday, September 2nd at 10:00 AM (EST), students from the 2019-20 sequence class have invited a panel of alumni to talk about HUM 216-217 in a discussion entitled “Owning HUM”. The past students representing a diverse alumni body will describe the shared impact the course had on their personal and academic development. The panel’s […] »

HUM Certificate Student Shares Summer Internship Story

In a typical summer, thousands of Princeton students are scattered across the country and around the globe for internships that enrich their academic focus, provide valuable work experience, jumpstart their professional network and expand their worldview.The pandemic changed all that, taking in-person internships off the table.Enter the virtual internship. This summer, the University — including […] »

HUM Alumni: Reckoning with a Beloved Course

The Interdisciplinary Approaches to Western Culture is a Princeton staple. How is it adapting to become more critical of the Western canon it teaches? HUM students and professors share their perspectives on how the course has changed direction and where it still needs to go. Read the full article article here. »

Cotsen Fellow Freeman Highlights the Plight of Uighur Poets and Artists

Joshua L. Freeman, Lecturer in the Humanities Council and East Asian Studies and Link-Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows, writes a moving article in the The New York Review of Books about Uighar poetry and the struggle poets and artists face as they bear witness to the catastrophes taking place in their homeland. […] »

Council Scholar Guelzo Discusses the Complexity of Racial History

In an interview featured in World Magazine, Humanities Council Senior Research Scholar Allen Guelzo explains how a deep understanding of America’s racial history is part of the path forward for our society. Read the full interview here. Allen Guelzo will be teaching “Secession, the Civil War, and the Constitution” (POL / HUM / AMS 488) in Fall 2020. »

HUM Alumna Yung In Chae ’15 discusses How to Live As the Ancients Did

Humanistic Studies Certificate Alumna, Yung In Chae ’15, has a feature article in this week’s issue of the Princeton Alumni Weekly, How to Live as the Ancients Did, From drinking to ruling to growing old, a series of books offers classic advice. Yung In Chae ’15 is a writer and editor-at-large of Eidolon. Chae graduated from […] »

Congratulations to the Class of 2020!

This year the Program in Humanistic Studies is proud to award 17 certificates to seniors from 11 different departments. The certificate program provides a platform for students to explore new perspectives within their home discipline while building bridges to others. The program was able to offer many students the opportunity for international travel and research […] »

“Literature and Medicine” Course Makes Meaning of the Pandemic

Students in the Spring 2020 course “Literature and Medicine” (SLA / HUM / GHP / RES 368) taught by Elena Fratto (Slavic Languages and Literatures) discover that literary texts keep them connected to one another — and help them grapple with their own experiences during the pandemic. During online class sessions and precepts, Fratto and her three […] »
Kirsten Traudt ’20

HUM Mentor Traudt ’20 Featured on New University Podcast

HUM certificate student and mentor Kirsten Traudt ’20 is featured in a new podcast launched by the University. The “We Roar” podcast shares the personal stories and expertise of students, faculty, staff and alumni during the COVID-19 pandemic. It offers short meditations by a wide range of Princetonians as they continue their work and daily […] »
Kirsten Traudt ’20

Humanistic Studies Announces Fall 2020 Courses

The Program in Humanistic Studies is excited to announce new Fall 2020 courses open to students from all majors. HUM courses are broad based, interdisciplinary and often team-taught. They have no prerequisites and fulfill requirements toward the interdisciplinary Humanistic Studies certificate. For full course descriptions and all other HUM courses, visit: https://humstudies.princeton.edu/courses/ New Fall 2020 Courses HUM […] »

Humanistic Studies Senior Traudt Awarded Keasbey Scholarship

Senior Kirsten Traudt has been awarded the Keasbey Scholarship, which provides the opportunity to study at selected British universities. Traudt, of Morristown, New Jersey, is a Classics major and is also pursuing a certificate in Humanistic Studies. She will pursue an M.Phil. in Greek and Latin Languages and Literatures at the University of Oxford. Read the full story on the University homepage. »

Behrman Undergraduate Fellow Hirschfield Wins Gates Cambridge Scholarship

Senior Sarah Hirschfield has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship. The awards give outstanding students from outside the United Kingdom the opportunity to pursue postgraduate study at the University of Cambridge. The program was established in 2000 by a donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Cambridge to build a global network of […] »
Pyne 2020

Humanistic Studies Senior Awarded Pyne Prize

Princeton University senior Emma Coley has been named co-winner of the 2020 Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, the highest general distinction conferred on an undergraduate. She shares the award with Ben Press. They will be recognized at a luncheon during Alumni Day on campus Saturday, Feb. 22. Read the full Story on the University homepage. »
Pyne 2020

Humanistic Studies Certificate Student and HUM Mentor Honored for Service

Emma Coley ’20, concentrating in Religion with certificates in Humanistic Studies, Urban studies, and Ethnographic studies, received the 2019 A. James Fisher, Jr. Memorial Award. Given in honor of A. James Fisher, Jr. ’36, the award is presented each year to a Princeton senior who best exemplifies the qualities for which Mr. Fisher is remembered: […] »
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Humanistic Studies Senior Elzalabany Awarded Sachs Scholarship

Yousef Elzalabany ’20 is one of three seniors awarded the Daniel M. Sachs Class of 1960 Graduating Scholarship, one of Princeton University’s highest awards. Elzalabany, a concentrator in Near Eastern Studies, is an accomplished poet with a particular interest in the history and lived experiences of Muslims. He proposes to spend the first year of […] »
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Haarlow

2018-2019 Haarlow Prizes Awarded

Each year, the Haarlow Prize is awarded to students who deliver exceptional papers to a 200-Level Humanistic Studies course. This year’s winners are Allie Mangel ’22 and Fumika Mizuno ’21. For the first time this year, an honorable mention was awarded to Ian Johnson ’22. Mangel was recognized for her paper, “Space, Boundaries, and Bridging the Divide”, […] »
Haarlow
Scientific American GETTY

Alumna Sophie Evans ’19 Explores Astrophysics and Humanism in Scientific American

In her essay published in Scientific America in October, 2019, Sophie Evans ’19 describes the importance of seeing the relationship between astrophysics and humanism; how the human mind seeks to understand the unfamiliar and the seemingly impossible through a humanistic lens. This idea emerged from the course AST 203, “The Universe,” which she took out […] »
Scientific American GETTY

Theodore K. Rabb, Founder of the Humanities Sequence, Remembered

A memorial service honoring the life and intellectual legacy of Professor Theodore K. Rabb. Theodore Rabinowicz was born on March 5, 1937, in Teplice-Sanov, Czechoslovakia, to Oskar and Rose (Oliner) Rabinowicz. His father was an author and professor, and in 1939 the family emigrated, settling in London. Theodore received bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the […] »

Humanities Council Announces 2019-2020 Breakthrough Seminars

This year, the Humanities Council is supporting ten Breakthrough Seminars, which offer students courses with experiential or field components that move outside the traditional classroom setting. For 65 years the Council has been home to interdisciplinary team teaching and curricular innovation, and these seminars are designed to enrich, deepen, and internationalize learning across the humanities […] »

East Asian Humanities Students Explore Art in New York City

In March 2019, a group of Princeton students explored New York City’s art galleries as part of the HUM/EAS 234: East Asian Humanities II: Tradition and Modernity course. The excursion was led by Professors of East Asian Studies, Steven Chung and Carlos Y. Lin. The itinerary included stops at The Japan Society, Doosan Gallery, Chambers […] »

Working Across the Humanities and the Sciences: Q&A with Victoria Tang ’19

Originally from Perth Amboy, NJ, Victoria Tang ’19 graduated with a degree in Psychology as well as certificates in Neuroscience and Humanistic Studies. Having participated in Interdisciplinary Approaches to Western Culture (“HUM Sequence”) as a freshman and the HUM trip to Greece as a sophomore, Tang explored an interest in the medical humanities through the […] »

Students Showcase Research and Creativity at the Medical Humanities Fair

Students from the course ANT/HUM 240: Medical Anthropology, showcased their final community-based research and artistic projects at the Medical Humanities Fair on May 13. The course draws from medical anthropological approaches in dialogue with history, journalism, literature, philosophy, religion, film, and visual arts to understand the cross-cultural significance of medicine and present-day struggles for wellbeing […] »

Council Launches Near Eastern Humanities Sequence

For the first time this fall, the Humanities Council’s Program in Humanistic Studies will be offering students a Near Eastern Humanities Sequence alongside the East Asian Humanities Sequence and the Interdisciplinary Approaches to Western Culture, traditionally referred to as the ‘HUM Sequence’ or ‘Western Sequence.’ HUM 247/NES 247 Near Eastern Humanities I: From Antiquity to […] »

Welcome Class of 2023!

Welcome to Princeton University and the Program in Humanistic Studies. We invite you to join our lively community of faculty and students, who represent all divisions and departments of the University. Based in the historic Joseph Henry House, our program is home to the Humanities Sequences, the interdisciplinary certificate, a mentoring program, and a wide […] »

Rafail Zoulis Named Salutatorian

Rafail Zoulis, a classics major from Athens, Greece, has been named the Latin salutatorian. Zoulis is pursuing certificates in Hellenic studies, Humanistic Studies and Medieval Studies. Read the full story on the University homepage. »

Senior Annabel Barry Named Co-Winner of the 2019 Pyne Prize

Annabel Barry ’19 has been named co-winner of the University’s 2019 Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, the highest general distinction conferred on an undergraduate. They will be recognized at a luncheon during Alumni Day on campus Saturday, Feb. 23. Barry, of Southport, Connecticut, is an English major who is also pursuing certificates in European Cultural Studies, Humanistic Studies and Theater. In November, […] »

Princeton Preview 2019: Welcome, Class of 2023!

Princeton Preview gives newly admitted students to the Class of 2023 and their families an opportunity to sample the University’s academic, residential and social offerings. The annual hosting program will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday April 9 and 10 and Monday and Tuesday April 15 and 16. This year the Humanities Council will host […] »

Theodore Rabb, Historian and Founder of the Humanities Sequence, Dies at 81

Theodore Rabb, Professor of History, emeritus, founder of Princeton’s Humanities Sequence and an innovative teacher of generations of students, died Jan. 7 at Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center. He was 81. In 2017, he returned to the Humanities Council to give a keynote talk at a symposium celebrating the 25th year of the Humanities Sequence, telling those in attendance […] »

Excavating Princeton and American history

On Jan. 3, 1777, British and American forces fought a critical battle of the Revolutionary War on and around the Princeton University campus. This semester, 18 students in the course HUM 350 / ART 302 / AMS 352: “Battle Lab: The Battle of Princeton” are using hands-on fieldwork to explore how the battle may have […] »

Annabel Barry ’19 Receives Mitchell Scholarship to Study in Ireland

Senior Annabel Barry has been named a George J. Mitchell Scholar to study philosophy and literature at University College Dublin (UCD). Twelve Mitchell Scholarships were awarded to students nationwide by the nonprofit U.S.-Ireland Alliance based in Washington, D.C. Barry, of Southport, Connecticut, attended Stanford Online High School. She is an English major who is also pursuing certificates […] »

2017-18 Haarlow Prize Awarded for Explorations of Epic Poetry

The Haarlow Prize is awarded annually to the recognize exceptional papers submitted to a 200-Level Humanities Studies course. This year’s winners are Alec Israeli ’21 and Sofia Pauca ’21. Israeli wrote a paper titled “Metaphor as Reversal and Affirmation of the Colonizer/Colonized Divide in Derek Walcott’s Omeros” which was submitted to HUM 218-219. He is […] »

Abourahme Explores Migration and Detention in New Fall Course: Camp/Prison/Border

Global politics largely concerns mass incarceration along with border control, political theorist Nasser Abourahme argues. To explore the two crises that define our age through the lens of the camp, he will teach HUM 310/COM 371/URB 311: Camp/Prison/Border in Fall 2018. As the 2018–19 Fellow in the Humanities Council and Princeton-Mellon Initiative in Architecture, Urbanism and the […] »

Student Mentor Nicolette D’Angelo Named Rhodes Scholar 2019

D’Angelo, of Hewitt, New Jersey, is majoring in Classics and pursuing certificates in Creative Writing, Humanistic Studies, and Gender and Sexuality Studies. She plans to pursue the M.St. in Classics at Oxford. She is among three Princeton seniors to be awarded the scholarship. Read the full story on the University homepage. See the full list of winners in The New […] »

Princeton Preview 2018: Welcome, Class of 2022!

Princeton Preview gives newly admitted students to the Class of 2022 and their families an opportunity to sample the University’s academic, residential and social offerings. The annual hosting program will be held on Monday and Tuesday April 9 and 10 and  April 16-17. This year the Humanities Council will host the following events: Explore the […] »

What’s New in HUM This Spring

Freshman and sophomores from all majors are welcome to join the HUM Sequence 218-219 mid-year.  There are no prerequisites.  Among the six distinguished faculty who will teach this intensive two-credit course is political philosopher Jan-Werner Müller whose What Is Populism? was the common reading for this year’s entering class.  The faculty for Spring 2018 are: Joshua Billings, […] »

“Medical Story-Worlds” Course Plumbs Stories About the Human Body

In what ways might a short story by Tolstoy or a novel by Toni Morrison illuminate aspects of medicine or disease that a medical textbook can’t? And why might this engage students in the humanities as well as the sciences? The Humanistic Studies (HUM 302) course “Medical Story-Worlds,” being taught at Princeton for the first […] »

2016-17 Haarlow Prizes Awarded for Frankenstein and Montaigne

The 2016-17 Haarlow Prize was awarded to Gunnar Rice ’17 and Tali Pelts ’20 for the two best papers submitted to a 200-level Humanistics Studies course. Gunnar Rice ’17, an English concentrator, was recognized for his paper, Too Vivid for the Minutiae of Science: Disciplinary Permeability and Literally Poetic Science in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – […] »

How do we Value the Environment?: Q&A with Jenna Spitzer ’17

Jenna Spitzer ’17 majored in Philosophy with certificates in humanistic studies, values and public life, and environmental studies. She took part in Humanities Council programs including the Humanities Sequence, Behrman Undergraduate Society of Fellows, and Humanities Mentors. She will be working for City Year in the fall. How did your interests in the humanities and […] »

Q&A with Claire Ashmead ’17: Learning how to live a good life

Claire Ashmead ’17 won a Witherspoon Scholarship to pursue a master’s in creative writing at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. A history major with certificates in humanistic studies, creative writing, and Chinese language and culture, she participated in Council of the Humanities initiatives including the Humanities Sequence, Behrman Undergraduate Society of Fellows, and Humanities […] »
Ruby Shao

Shao’s Manuscript Winner for Inaugural Princeton Undergraduate Research Journal

Senior Ruby Shao’s manuscript, titled “A Natural Case for Taxation,” has been selected as a first place winner in the inaugural issue of the Princeton Undergraduate Research Journal. This honor was given based on comments from undergraduate and faculty reviewers, and comes with a $1000 monetary prize. Shao is a philosophy major pursuing a certificate in […] »
Ruby Shao
Ayelet Wenger

Humanities Student Wenger wins Keasbey Scholarship for British Study

Senior Ayelet Wenger, a member of the Behrman Undergraduate Society of Fellows, has been awarded the Keasbey Scholarship, which provides the opportunity to study at selected British universities. Wenger, of Columbus, Ohio, is a classics major who is also pursuing certificates in Judaic studies and Hellenic studies. She will pursue an M.Phil. in Judaism and […] »
Ayelet Wenger

Humanities Student Claiborne wins Luce Scholarship for Internship in Asia

Monique Claiborne, a senior and founding member of the Humanities Mentorship program, has received a Luce Scholarship for a yearlong internship in Asia. She is a philosophy major earning a certificate in American studies who hopes to eventually pursue a Ph.D. in philosophy. Claiborne plans to use the award to intern with a record label, […] »
Solveig Gold

Humanistic Studies Student Solveig Gold wins Pyne Prize

Solveig Gold, a classics major pursuing a certificate in humanistic studies, is one of two Princeton seniors selected as co-winners of the 2017 Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, the University’s highest general distinction awarded to an undergraduate. An alumnus of the yearlong, team-taught Humanities Sequence, she has previously won a Charles A. Steele Prize, a […] »
Solveig Gold
Yelena Baraz and Effie Rentzou

Rentzou and Baraz Named Behrman Professors in the Humanities

The Council of the Humanities is pleased to announce two new Behrman Professors in the Humanities; Effie Rentzou, associate professor of French in the French and Italian Department, and Yelena Baraz, associate professor of Latin Literature in the Classics Department. Rentzou will start her three-year term in the academic year 2017-2018 and will be teaching […] »
Yelena Baraz and Effie Rentzou
Joani Etskovitz

Certificate Student Etskovitz Awarded Marshall Scholarship

Princeton senior Joani Etskovitz has been named a 2017 Marshall Scholar. The Marshall Scholarship covers the cost of graduate study and living at a British university of the recipient’s choice for up to two years. Marshall Scholarships help build strong ties with the United States by giving young Americans of high ability and leadership potential […] »
Joani Etskovitz
Jeff Dolven

Jeff Dolven Announced as Second Behrman Professor in the Humanities

The Humanities Council is pleased to announce that Jeff Dolven, professor of English, will become the second Behrman Professor in the Humanities, starting his three-year term next spring. The appointment recognizes distinguished Humanities scholars and dedicated teachers from within the University community. Behrman Professors will lead the Humanities Sequence and play a leading role in […] »
Jeff Dolven

New Humanistic Studies Course Offerings for Fall

Humanistic Studies announces the following new course offerings for Fall 2016: Script, Screen, and Sexuality in East Asia – COM 379 / HUM 379 / EAS 379 / GSS 380 (LA) Introduction to Digital Humanities – HUM 346 / ENG 349 (LA) Frankenstein at 200 – HUM 225 / ENG 226 (LA) Art and Power […] »

Making Meaning of the Pandemic Through the Lens of Literature

Students in the Spring 2020 course “Literature and Medicine” taught by Elena Fratto (Slavic Languages and Literatures) discover that literary texts keep them connected to one another — and help them grapple with their own experiences during the pandemic. During online class sessions and precepts, Fratto and her three assistant instructors — graduate students Jacob Plagmann […] »

New Interdisciplinary Team-Taught Courses for 2020-2021 Announced

The Humanities Council’s many interdisciplinary certificate programs, including the Program in Humanistic Studies, offer students “Breakthrough Seminars” that help to enrich and deepen learning across the humanities curriculum and offer experiential exchange with material culture and artifacts. Through the David A. Gardner ’69 Magic Projects, the Council supports innovative, first-time undergraduates courses led by pairs […] »
ANT/HUM 240

Medical Anthropology Launches a New Website About Life During COVID-19

With the support of the Humanities Council, the students enrolled in the Spring 2020 Medical Anthropology course (ANT/HUM 240)—co-taught by João Biehl, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Anthropology and Co-Director of the Global Health Program, and Onur Günay, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Woodrow Wilson School —have launched a new website to critically analyze […] »
ANT/HUM 240
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