What Are the Humanities?
In the act that established the National Endowment for the Humanities, the term humanities included, but is not limited to, study of the following disciplines: history; philosophy; languages; linguistics; literature; archeology; jurisprudence; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts; ethics; comparative religion; and those aspects of the social sciences that employ historical or philosophical approaches.
More info about eligible programs.
Otterbein's Humanities programming began in 1984 when we were one of thirteen colleges and universities, nationwide, to receive a 1984 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Our Humanities Advisory Committee (HAC) allocates the income from this endowment to supporting activities and publications in the area of humanities through classes, speakers, awards, and more.
Speakers
Once a quarter the committee hosts speakers who give lectures, visit classrooms, and meet with interested faculty.
Past speakers.
Awards
The committee funds summer writing awards that recognize faculty who are engaged in turning their research into publications, and who devote their summers to working on articles, book chapters, and monographs.
Partnerships
The Humanities Committee partners with other campus groups and committees to support programming related to the humanities. The committee partners with academic departments to help support humanities-related activities such as trips to humanities-related cultural events or off-campus lectures for faculty and students.
The Chautauqua Institution
The Humanities Committee co-sponsors, along with the Integrative Studies Program, a three-day retreat for faculty at the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York. The topic of this retreat is the nature and value of a liberal arts education. This retreat enables faculty to have conversations about what a liberal art education is, why it is valuable, and how we can work to improve the education that our students receive.
Aegis Humanities Journal
Aegis publishes scholarly student essays and book reviews that advance the presence and values of the humanities on campus and beyond.
