Our Mission
The Humanities Collaborative takes a wide view of humanistic inquiry, including research and conversations that cross disciplines, schools, and the academic / public divide. Our programs include intellectual, creative, and investigative endeavors that span traditional humanities disciplines, the creative and performing arts, the social and natural sciences, as well as questions that arise from schools such as law, business, medicine, and public health. Our programs are part of a new vision of the humanities that includes public outreach and community collaboration with partners across our state, the US, and the world.
Founded in January, 2021, the Humanities Collaborative sponsors grants, lectures, workshops, seminars, and working groups to bring humanities scholarship to broad and diverse audiences within and beyond inside and outside the University of South Carolina.
What Are the Humanities?
In the humanities, we study human culture and society. The humanities include academic
disciplines ― from anthropology to philosophy, from art to religion ― that explain
and enhance the human condition, giving us new ways to look at the world. Many fundamental
aspects of everyday life fall under the umbrella of the humanities, including literature,
film, television, video games, politics, religion, and social media.
Some people might think the humanities are the opposite of the sciences, but in fact
the two share a close relationship. If the sciences teach us new things about the
world, the humanities allow us to communicate how that knowledge affects the lives
of our fellow humans.
By exploring the humanities, we can ask and answer compelling questions, such as:
- How do art and culture influence each other?
- What can we learn from major religious and political movements that have shaped history?
- How can we find more meaningful relationships to those physical places that we share?
- How do our digital lives influence how we see each other or communicate with each other as human beings?
Leadership
The Humanities Collaborative is led by Holly Crocker, director, with the assistance of the Steering Committee and the Advisory Committee.
- Maureen Ryan, Associate Director
- Kyle Allen, Graduate Associate
- Jeanne Britton, Library
- Thaddeus Davis, Theatre and Dance
- Peter Duffy, Theatre and Dance
- Jennifer Frey, Philosophy
- Tony Jarrells, English
- David Kneas, SEOE
- Kathryn Lindeman, Philosophy
- Maureen Ryan, FAMS
- Pat Sullivan, History
- Nancy Tolson, African-American Studies
- Ashley Williard, LLC
- Nina Levine, English
- Jessica Elfenbein, History
- Kurt Goblirsch, LLC
- Jim Hunter, Theatre and Dance
- Chris Tollefsen, Philosophy
- Laura Kissell, SVAD
- Erin Roberts, Religious Studies