an image of a long hallway with a clock on the wall

On Walking Through Museums

This post was written by Sawyer Wood, BYU Humanities Center intern and student fellow. For most of my life, I thought I wasn’t a museum person. I’d been to plenty of galleries, but I didn’t see what I was supposed to do there. I would stumble through room after room, trying to match pace with …

an image of a man and two children are sitting at a table

Learning Languages as a Family

This post was written by Nieves Knapp, a BYU Humanities Center faculty fellow. In his most recent General Conference address, President Oaks spoke about the 30th anniversary of The Family Proclamation and encouraged family activities, including learning languages together [1]. His comments made me think about my own life because in 1995, precisely when the …

an image of a painting of two hands holding each other

Health Humanities Curriculum Workshop

The BYU Humanities Center is pleased to announce a new innovative curriculum development workshop intended to expand, strengthen, and give coherence to health humanities curricular offerings in the College of Humanities at Brigham Young University. We invite all faculty in the College of Humanities to apply to participate in the workshop and join us in …

an image of a chair and hose on a patio

Giving Up the Hose

This post was written by Aiden Jones, a BYU Humanities Center student fellow. I don’t mind being scolded by a poet, but a recent Billy Collins piece I read stung a bit too much for my comfort. He ends “Introduction to Poetry” with these stanzas:   But all they want to do is tie the …

an image of a brick walkway in a park with trees and bushes

Provo Walks Project

Provo Walks is a set of unique self-guided walking tours that present a new way to engage with Provo’s community and culture. Recently featured as a “Beacon of Light” on the BYU College of Humanities website, the project, which was sponsored by the BYU Humanities Center, constitutes a form of public scholarship intended to benefit …

an image of a spiral made of books in a library

Novelty in the Loop

This post was written by Stephen Tuttle, a BYU Humanities Center faculty fellow.   Recently, I’ve been thinking quite a lot about novelty. This is partly because I teach creative writing, and novelty is a central element in most definitions of creativity. Morris Stein’s definition goes like this: “The creative work is a novel work …

an image of a yellow sunset

In the Unseen

This post was written by George Dibble, a BYU Humanities Center student fellow.   How long has it been, Lord? Your voice is so quiet. Alone in a park, in cold and night, I looked. Searched by wandering, stumbling, warming my hand with the other. Closed eyes as I leaned against a tree near a …

a wooden fence in the back yard with a bench

Please, Write About Your Backyard

This post was written by Julia Morgan, a BYU Humanities Center student fellow. Rock Canyon is a place I visit dozens of times per year. A small canyon in Provo, characterized by quartzite, limestone, and tillite rock, Rock Canyon is a favorite among locals. But I have a controversial opinion about it: I think it’s …

an image of a digital clock with green numbers on it

When Time Lingers

This post was written by Porter Kindall, a Humanities Center student fellow. In the summer of 2025, this video of fitness influencer Ashton Hall’s morning routine went viral. Captioned as “The morning routine that changed my life 3:50am to 9:30am,” Hall starts shirtless, with tape on his nose and mouth. He spends time working out, …