Winter 2023

All Colloquia will take place in 4010 JFSB at 3:00 PM.   January 19 Ryan Christensen Loneliness and Love January 26 Laura Catharine Smith Promoting Information Literacy and Critical Thinking in the Modern Humanities Classroom February 9 Kevin Blankinship Brokers of the Trust Economy, or Why and How Professors Should Write for the Popular Press …

Of Christmas, Climate Change, and Communication

My title is not mere alliteration. Christmas, climate change, and communication have more in common than just the letter “c.” What else unites this holiday, hot topic, and humanistic discipline? For starters, climate change referentials are hidden throughout the holiday hymns. We sing “Joy to the world” and “Let earth receive her King!” (#201, emphasis …

On Confidence

Welcome back from Thanksgiving break, and best of luck as you move into the wind-up phase of the semester. I promise to keep this blog entry brief—proceed with confidence. I’ve been musing on confidence and its origins. Etymology provides no sure guide to words’ current meanings, I know, even if words do seem to remember …

Gratitude for Guilt, for Grace

As Thanksgiving celebrations take place this week, my thoughts have repeatedly turned to gratitude—what it is, what it means, and perhaps more importantly, how to express it. The Oxford English Dictionary defines gratitude as “a warm sense of appreciation of kindness received, involving a feeling of goodwill towards the benefactor and a desire to do …

The Art and Science of Philosophy

When I tell people that I am a philosopher, I sometimes see an inchoate question behind their eyes. What is philosophy? Is it the same thing as psychology? Is it old men wearing togas? Where does philosophy fit into the life of the university? The university is filled with those who seek truth. They seek …

JFSB arches in the snow

Book Manuscript Workshop 2022

What: BYU Humanities Center book manuscript mentoring workshop Brief description: The BYU Humanities Center will support a faculty member (or collaborative team of faculty members) working toward the completion of a book manuscript by paying two reviewers of the scholar’s choosing to read the manuscript and offer substantive feedback. One of these reviewers will be internal to …

National Humanities Center Summer Residency CFP

BYU Humanities Center Sponsored NHC Summer Residency CFP  The BYU Humanities Center is pleased to announce a Call for Proposals to participate in the Summer Residency Program sponsored by the National Humanities Center (NHC), located in the Research Triangle Park of North Carolina (near Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh).  Every year, the NHC sponsors a …

Things: As They Seem and As They Are

A number of years ago I visited with a therapist on a weekly basis, discussing the constant, heavy feeling I couldn’t shake off. I was a newly returned missionary, and I was struggling to return back to school while two of my family members were hospitalized and one of my grand-parents had recently passed away. …

History and the Humanities in Portugal

This past summer, I went on a study abroad trip to Portugal. Prior to my travels, I had very limited knowledge of the country. I could not recite a list of its famous people, nor could I produce the names of its top tourist attractions. I couldn’t talk about its food, its citizens or its …