Arts & Culture

Advancing Discovery: Faculty Research in the Humanities—Part I

Wednesday, May 2, 2018, By Rob Enslin

2018 is proving to be a watershed year for the humanities at Syracuse. Despite ongoing threats to federal arts and cultural funding, the Humanities Center is entering its second decade, awash in experience and excellence, while one of its signature programs, the Mellon-funded Central New York Humanities Corridor, is the new recipient of $6.5 million of permanent support. “Our research excellence in the humanities and humanistic social sciences has never been stronger,” says Karin Ruhlandt, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, noting a recent uptick in humanities research expenditures at the University.

As humanists mine new, alternate forms of support, they also push the boundaries of teaching and research. Projects aimed at unifying humanities inquiry, artistic practice and scientific research are no longer the exception, but the rule at Syracuse. “Creative Conversations” is the first in a four-part series about faculty research in the humanities—how it is advancing discovery at Syracuse and, in the process, rethinking the University’s strategic position.