The Center for the Humanities was established in 1996 to promote research and other activities in humanistic lines of inquiry at UCSD.  Its present goal is to promote interdisciplinary research on issues surrounding human experience and knowledge and to facilitate collaborations that inquire into issues that have confronted and continue to confront our diverse societies.  The activities of the Center range from collaborative research groups to public events.  It also offers tools and assistance to faculty and graduate students to advance their research goals.

Events
  • CONFERENCE -- Time, Physics, & Philosophy

    May 18-19, 2012, La Jolla, CA
    Conference on Time and Causality
    Friday: La Jolla Shores Hotel
    Saturday: HSS 7077
    More info

  • Grantwriting: How To Write Grant Proposals Reviewers Will Love

    Wednesday, May 9, 2:00 p.m.
    Thurgood Marshall College Room (Price Center West)
    This panel session will discuss the grant/fellowship review process from the reviewer’s perspective and how you can increase the chances that your proposal will be accepted. Grad students and faculty in all departments are invited to attend.
    Featured panelists: Martha Lampland, Sociology; Robert Cancel, Literature; Grant Kester, Visual Arts

  • UC Fellow Lecture: From the Gates of Vienna to the Gates at Heathrow: Christian Soldiers and the Islamic 'Invasions' of the New Europe"

    Patrick Hyder Patterson, Associate Professor, Department of History

    Tuesday, May 8, 12:00 noon
    Eleanor Roosevelt College Room, Price Center West

    Over the past few decades there has emerged a new and crucial concern over whether Islam can "fit" in Europe -- whether this religion can be harmonized with European culture, European law, and European ideas about democracy and human rights. Prof. Patrick Patterson's research in Eastern Europe seeks to determine how and why those Europeans who base their politics in Christian commitments have welcomed or rejected the new presence of Muslims, and how they have used "history" in doing so -- in other words, how they have mobilized for political purposes a potent collection of centuries-old images, fears, remembrances, stereotypes, and history-laden received traditions concerning the nature of Islam and its followers.

  • Call for Participants: "Indisciplines of Enlightenment" Summer Seminar, UC Berkeley

    Call for Graduate Participants: "Indisciplines of Enlightenment: Firsts, Origins, Foundations" (seminar, July 19-22)

    10 We seek graduate student participants in an interdisciplinary summer seminar co-organized by Adriana Craciun (UC Riverside) and Ian Duncan (UC Berkeley) at UC Berkeley, July 19-22, 2012. The seminar, "Indisciplines of Enlightenment: Firsts, Origins, Foundations," is part of the UC Multi-Campus Research Group on "The Material Cultures of Knowledge 1500-1830" (materialcultures.ucr.edu). Confirmed faculty participants include Amir Alexander, David Bates, Adriana Craciun, Ian Duncan, Darcy Grigsby, Sarah Kareem, Janet Sorenson.

    "Indisciplines of Enlightenment" aims to reconfigure our disciplinary histories in light of recent work on the cultural, geographic and historical legacies of empire, science, travel and exploration in the global eighteenth century and its plural Enlightenments. Invoking the early scientific voyages of exploration of La Condamine, Maupertuis, Cook, La Perouse, Humboldt and Darwin, our seminar seeks to answer two questions that have not previously been addressed collaboratively in any extensive way. 1) What are the relations among concepts of the first, of the origin or original, of the foundation, in Enlightenment discourses? 2) Looking at modern disciplines in relation to one another, and specifically through their shared preoccupation with their own disciplinary origin myths and with firsts of their kind, how can we rewrite twenty-first century trajectories of disciplinary innovation and integration?

    We aim to publish a special issue of a scholarly journal devoted to "Indisciplines of Enlightenment," to which faculty and graduate student participants would have the option of contributing work emerging from the seminar. We would fund participants' travel, accommodation and meals while at the seminar. Graduate students from across the humanities and social sciences and from all UC campuses are invited to apply by emailing a CV and 1-2 paragraphs stating how this seminar connects to and would benefit their research plans, to the seminar organizers (adriana.craciun@ucr.edu and iduncan@berkeley.edu) by May 1, 2012.

    Further details available at http://materialcultures.ucr.edu/summer-seminar/

  • 4/4 Ray Monk lecture on Wittgenstein

    Wittgenstein event
    Ray Monk of the University of Southampton will give the lecture ‘How can I be a logician before I'm a human being?' The Life and Work of Ludwig Wittgenstein"
    April 4, 2012, 4:00 -- Seuss Room, Geisel Library, UCSD
    Cosponsored by the Center for the Humanities, the Department of Philosophy, the Dean of Arts and Humanities, UCSD German Studies, and the UCSD Library.

    Ray Monk, the author of an award-winning biography of the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, will describe the life and work of this most enigmatic philosopher. To understand Wittgenstein's rather difficult work, it helps to know what kind of man he was.
    Ray Monk took up his position in Southampton in 1992. He has published biographies of Wittgenstein and Russell. His biography of Wittgenstein has been described as "exceptional", "wholly admirable", "definitive", and "an incisive portrait." His research interests include the history of analytic philosophy, the philosophy of mathematics, and philosophical issues arising from the practice of biography.

  • 3/8 The Values-Driven Professional

    A lunch talk by Dr. Mark Jesinoski, UCSD CAPS Post-Doctoral Fellow
    Thursday, March 8 - 1:00 p.m
    Center for the Humanities, Literature 310
    We will discuss what it means to be a values-driven professional, and what types of skills you may have to develop to support you in this journey. Members of all departments are welcome; those in the arts are especially encouraged to attend. A pizza and salad lunch will be provided.

  • 3/7 Digital Toolkit: Mendeley and Zotero

    Workshop on how to take the hassle out of managing large numbers of bibliographic sources.  Librarian Gayatri Singh will demonstrate the use of two widely used free software tools, Mendeley and Zotero, and answer your questions about how they might apply to your project. Faculty and graduate students are welcome to this presentation. However, SPACE IS LIMITED so reserve a seat today with an email to to Kedar Kulkarni (kkulkarn@ucsd.edu). Wednesday, March 7 4:00-5:30 p.m. Geisel Library Room 276 

  • 3/7 UC Irvine: The Technological University We Could Be For

        Featured Panelists: Geof Bowker_Informatics, UC Irvine; Beth Coleman,_Comparative Media Studies, MIT; Johanna Drucker, Information Studies, UCLA; and Nishant Shah, Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore. This distinguished panel will lead a discussion of "the university we are for," focusing especially on the impacts new technologies are having on pedagogy and institutional structure, on research and engagement in and across the academy. Wednesday, March 7, 2012 | 3:30-5:30 PM,  135 Humanities Instructional Building, UC Irvine click here  

  • 2/3 "Envisioning Humanities Scholarship @UCSD" Workshop

    Faculty are invited to this workshop/lunch with Dr. Jennifer Langdon of the University of California Humanities Research Institute to discuss the potential for the UCSD Center for the Humanities, faculty funding sources, and our relation to the 9 other UC humanities centers. Friday Feb. 3rd, 12-1pm, Green table room at Price Center West. RSVP: jdobrien@ucsd.edu, 858-822-4973. humctr@ucsd.edu.    

  • 2/23 Grant Writing Workshop for Graduate Students in the Humanities

    How to find funding sources, grant writing tips, and other ideas** (**PLEASE SUBMIT WORKSHOP CONTENT REQUESTS TO: Any requests for workshop content?) With Zoe Michel, Graduate Fellowship Advisor, UCSD OGS. Thursday, February 23rd, 1:30-3pm, 3rd floor literature building contact: 858-822-4973, jdobrien@ucsd.edu    

  • Graduate students invited to MLA Dinner with Dean Lerer

    GRADUATE STUDENTS: IF YOU WILL BE ATTENDING THE MLA CONVENTION IN SEATTLE THIS JANUARY, PLEASE JOIN DEAN LERER FOR SUSHI. Sushi in Seattle with Dean Seth Lerer Date: January 06, 2012 Time: 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM Location at: Jasmine Seattle 1102 4th Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 Map and directions Contact: jvanmeter@ucsd.edu

  • Trespassing: The Future of the Humanities

    October 28, 2011 9:30-4:30 Seuss Room, Geisel Library A tribute to Masao Miyoshi, Hajime Mori Professor of Japanese Literature. This event builds from Miyoshi's ideas in his last book, Trespasses, a collection of key essays that challenge us to look beyond our current understanding of humanistic research.

News
  • CALL FOR PROPOSALS - RESEARCH GROUPS 2012-13

    The Center for the Humanities at UCSD invites applications for Research Groups on humanities-related topics. Convened by individuals from at least two departments or programs, these groups meet regularly (at least three times a quarter) to exchange ideas, read and discuss texts, explain work in progress, and plan and implement common research projects.

    Amount: The maximum allowable request under this program is $1,500.

    See full announcement

  • 2nd Annual Society of Fellows Meeting: What Are We Doing When We Do the Humanities?

    On April 21st almost 200 scholars and community members attended the second annual gathering of the UC Society of Fellows in the Humanities, hosted by the UC Santa Cruz Institute for Humanities Research at the Museum of Art and History in downtown Santa Cruz.

    More: http://uchumanitiesforum.org/2012/04/30/2nd-annual-society-of-fellows-meeting-what-are-we-doing-when-we-do-the-humanities/

  • CFP: UCHRI Working Groups for 2012-13 - DUE May 10

    Deadline: the date has been extended to May 10, 2012.

    The University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI) invites proposals for Working Groups during the 2012-13 academic year (July 1 to June 30).
    Working Groups are designed to catalyze collaboration between individuals from different disciplines, locations, and UC campuses around a specific problem, theme, object or topic. A Working Group may consist of 5 to 15 people who will collaborate over one academic year to address a clearly defined timely issue or early stage of research on an emergent topic in the humanities.
    Who Can Apply: UC Ladder Rank Faculty
    Level of Award: Up to $10,000
    NEW DEADLINE: 5:00 pm PST, May 10, 2012 on FastApps
    For details, see http://www.uchri.org/Funding/Programs/uchri-working-groups.php

  • “New Directions in the Humanities” Conference Call for Papers

    Deadline: April 5, 2012

    The 10th International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities has released its call for papers for the June 2012 meeting in Montreal, Canada. The deadline for proposals (a title and short abstract) is April 5th. For more information, go to http://thehumanities.com/conference-2012/

  • Open Classroom Challenge -- Instructional Grant

    Deadline: April 15th, 2012

    Open Classroom Challenge -- Instructional Grant
    UC Institute for Research in the Arts

    Three grants of $5000 each will be available in each application period

    Courses must be taught in Fall 2012, Winter 2013, or Spring 2013 Selection criteria include originality, significance, innovative potential, interdisciplinary scope, and cogency of project design. Of particular interest are projects that do some of the following:

    • Design, test, and implement innovative curricular initiatives.

    • Recognize critical thinking as the source and opening of the art work and not merely the place of a post-mortem evaluation, appreciation, or interpretation of the completed work.

    • Promote “action research” and “research-in-action” models of collaborative interdisciplinary arts practice capable of working transitively in and on real-world settings outside conventional studio, gallery, and performance contexts.

    Eligibility:
 Applicants must be UC faculty, staff or students whose research and teaching interests include visual art, digital media, music, dance, drama or film and video. Projects generated by students, staff and part-time faculty must have a full-time faculty sponsor.

    For more information, go to http://www.ucira.ucsb.edu/open-classroom-challenge/

  • Research Group Awards Announced

    The UCSD Center for Humanities has awarded 12 grants for our 2012 Faculty and Graduate Student Research Groups. The research groups convene scholars from the humanities, arts, engineering, and science and cover a wide array of interdisciplinary concerns. This year's research groups will question the relationships that the arts, humanities, and science have to social activism, political civility, pedagogy, and democracy; grapple with ramifications of technology that render inert objects more life-like as well as change our quantifiable and aesthetic understanding of the cosmos; hold conversations and contestations in Black and Queer Studies; look at individual and macro-transformations across spatial and temporal borders; and challenge themselves to better understand the nature of meaning and time. More information on each group can be found under the research tab.  

  • Seminar in Experimental Critical Theory VIII (7/29-8/8 save the date)

    The American University of Beirut and UCHRI offer the Seminar in Critical Theory VIII, "Living in a Critical Condition:/Spaces of Resistance". Call for proposals to be announced in January. SECTVIII will explore the spatialities and speeds of resistance to dominant and exclusionary power structures, how spaces are shaped by and produced through various forms and temporalities of resistance, and how they can enable or impede resistance. Focusing on the current practices of resistance in Arab cities and reaching relationally and comparatively beyond, we will investigate forms of resistance, inscriptions of resistance, and the impact of commemorative sites and spatial imaginaries as resistance. http://www.uchri.org/Initiatives/SECT/

  • Graduate Seminars on Humanities and Changing Conceptions of Work

    Deadline: January 19, 2012

    On behalf of the University of California Humanities Network, the UC Humanities Research Institute invites proposals for graduate seminars on the Humanities and Changing Conceptions of Work, to be held during the 2012-13 academic year. The notion of work can be broadly conceived. It might focus on knowledge production and theories of creativity, or it might address transformations of labor globally and/or historically, as well as of the "work" of the humanities.

    For further information click here

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