Public Humanities

The following post was written by Delys and Phil Snyder. The Cormac McCarthy Corpus Project began as Phil Snyder (English), a literary critic, began writing about Cormac McCarthy’s style and found he needed more language tools, and so he joined forces (in several ways) with Delys Snyder (University Writing), who has expertise in language and …

At the end of April I finished my last course at Brigham Young University, and once I defend my thesis I will be finished with my master’s degree in English literature. Naturally, I have been reflecting on the many hours and years of work I have spent at BYU in the humanities as I approach …

The following post was written by Jill Rudy, a Faculty Fellow for the Center.  As a folklorist, I recognize this year’s Humanities Center theme, The Work of Art, resonates with issues of memorable and mundane learning. Is art something we must travel to see and to admire? Is it unique, costly, and rare? Does it …

The following post was written by Mark Davies, a Faculty Fellow for the Center.  It’s always nice to find that our research and projects have some importance and relevance beyond the handful of people who might read a journal article that we’ve written, or the even smaller number of people who will be impacted in …

For the past decade, I have taught a semester-long prep course for undergraduates with PhD aspirations. At one of our meetings we discuss a subject I title “What’s Hot? What’s Not?” Its aim is to help prospective scholars understand a little better how to choose long-term research projects that are more likely to strike a …

From popular crime narratives such as the Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer” to the podcast “Serial,” modern-day sensation narratives have recently spiked in popularity. Similar to the sensational reports published in nineteenth-century newspapers, these narratives dramatize real life while trying to maintain integrity to facts. Yet, by nature of narrative, whether fiction or nonfiction, stories …

The following post was written by Dee Gardner, a Faculty Fellow at the Humanities Center.  One of our remarkable human endowments is the ability to learn and store words and their meanings. This is a process that continues throughout our lifetimes, and there appears to be no limit to how many words we can learn. …

The following post was written by Ed Cutler, a Faculty Fellow for the Center. Rocking the world of physics earlier this week, a team of scientists confirmed that they have directly observed gravitational waves, the so-called ripples in the very fabric of spacetime Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity had predicted a hundred years ago. Because …

As an English major I have had the opportunity to study literature in connection with many other disciplines including history, religion, math, psychology, philosophy, science, film, trauma studies, and adaptation studies, to name a few. Studying these fields in conjunction with literature is one of my favorite parts about being an English major. I learn …