This post was written by Brooke Farnsworth, a BYU Humanities Center student fellow. In first grade, my over-active imagination convinced me that I could control water. The idea made sense—the ocean always seems to listen to my beckoning, churning and whirling in an attempt to follow my demands, and the rain would gradually increase if …
Faculty Writing Retreat 2026
Call for Applications: BYU Humanities Center Summer Writing Retreat 2026 Deadline: 15 March 2026 Inspired by the productive example of the National Humanities Center, we are pleased to announce that the BYU Humanities Center will sponsor a Summer Writing Retreat in June 22 – 27, 2026. This retreat will provide you with space and time …
One Year Fellowships 2026-27
BYU’s Humanities Center sponsors two one-year faculty fellowships. Unlike the multi-year fellowships, these one-year fellowships will be awarded by application rather than appointment. The fellowship period will begin in the fall semester of 2025. Fellowships will come with a salary supplement of $2,500, a research stipend of an additional $2,500, and release from two courses …
Undergraduate Fellow Nominations
We are currently looking for a new group of Humanities Center undergraduate fellows. Generous donors have made it possible for us to fund at least four student fellowships – the equivalent of a full scholarship – next year. As always, our pool of candidates will consist solely of nominations sent by you, our faculty. The …
On Flow and Fragments
This post was written by Sawyer Wood, BYU Humanities Center Intern and student fellow. I’ve recently been learning more about the idea of flow. As outlined by psychologist Mihalyln Csikszentmihalyi in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, flow is described as a state in which someone is completely focused or engaged in a task or …
Strangers
This post was written by Courtney Bulsiewicz, Assistant Academic Director of the BYU Humanities Center. When I was a child and would have to ride in the car for any amount of time, I would look in the cars next to ours and imagine the lives of those that passed us, slipped behind us, or …
Winter 2026: Katie Kresser
The Humanities Center welcomes Dr. Katie Kresser, Seattle Pacific University as our Faith & Imagination Lecturer, Thursday, March 19, at 3:30pm in 4010 JFSB. Her presentation will explore why art matters and considers how taking art seriously can unlock fundamental truths and shape cultural formation. We hope you’ll join us. Refreshments will be served. Title: …
Winter 2025: Democratic Dispositions: Learning to Live together in a Post-Election World with Leonard McMahon
The BYU Humanities Center welcomed Leonard McMahon, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at Pacific School of Religion, as this semester’s Faith & Imagination lecturer. Title: “Democratic Dispositions: Learning to Live together in a Post-Election World” About our guest: Leonard McMahon has a Doctorate in Theology at the Graduate Theological Union at UC Berkeley, working in spirituality, …
Winter 2026
All Colloquia will take place in 4010 JFSB at 3:30 PM unless otherwise specified. Please visit the event page for more details. January 15 Damien Pollard (Northumbria University) “Voices in Stories and Stories in Voices: What Film Sound Can Tell Us about Social Change” January 22 Scott Muir (National Humanities Alliance) “Attracting Students …
Come Follow Me…to Oxford: The Joy of Finding Him in the Journey
This post was written by Cherice Montgomery, a BYU Humanities Center faculty fellow. Come, Follow Me The scriptures are replete with invitations from the Savior to “…come, follow me” (Luke 18:22). I thought I knew what that meant—until I attended the Genesis Writing Retreat in Oxford, England. While there, I had the privilege of lingering …












