Being Human: The Year of the Humanities in the University

Please Note: The Matching Funds Program for the 2015-2016 academic year has ended. Check the events archive and listing to see the events and programs funded during the Year.

The provost has named the academic year 2015-2016 The Year of the Humanities in the University. The purpose of the year is to highlight the fundamental importance of humanistic thinking in research and education not only in humanities departments but also across the whole range of University schools and departments. The organizing committee invites faculty, staff, and students to submit proposals under the overarching theme, "Being Human."

We are inviting members of the many disciplines and professions of the University to reflect on how their work as scholars, teachers, and learners addresses what it is to be human. We're excited about exploring places where the humanities and other disciplines intersect and fostering new conversations among them.

We invite faculty, staff, and students from across the University to bring their knowledge and methods of inquiry to address the theme of Being Human by submitting proposals that address one or more of the following questions:

• How can studying the arts and humanities improve creativity and innovation in other fields?
• Many disciplines study aspects of human being. What aspects do they focus on? What do they have to say to one another?
• Some disciplines study worlds other than the human. How do their inquiries engage in/with humanistic thinking?
• How do the professions understand being human? What can the various professional schools learn from the humanities? What can the humanities learn from the professions?
• How can the values, methods, and opportunities of the humanities be made visible, legible, and exciting to Pitt undergraduates, the Pittsburgh community, and the wider public?
• What are the most urgent questions now for human beings/being human and how are the disciplines and professions at Pitt addressing them? How could they collaborate more fruitfully?

To support the Year of the Humanities in the University, the provost's office invites written requests for matching funds up to $5,000 to support events and programs that address these or related questions. Proposals should address the theme of the humanities in the University and bring together multiple schools or units. Proposals that aim to create a foundation for conversation that will extend beyond the academic year 2015-2016 are particularly welcome.

Please Note: The Matching Funds Program for the 2015-2016 academic year has ended. Check the events archive and listing to see the events and programs funded during the Year.