Public Humanities

This post was written by Kristen Blair, HC Undergraduate Student Fellow In a moment of particularly moving emotion, William Shakespeare’s Prince Hamlet bemoans his mother’s hasty transfer of affections. In his suffering, he says: O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw and resolve itself into a dew, How weary, stale, flat and …

This post was written by Holly Boud, HC intern Here I am, sitting on a stool in my kitchen in my run-down Orem apartment eating turkey bacon (God’s gift to mankind). The door of my room hangs unevenly on its hinges. My light is broken. My toilet bowl has a hard water ring that I …

This post was written by Matthew Wickman, Founding Director of the BYU Humanities Center I’ve attended the conference of the Modern Language Association most years since I arrived at BYU in 2000. I thought I might take off this year’s conference (held in Philadelphia), but then decided late in the game to attend, after all. …

This post was written by Benjamin Jacob, HC Student Fellow, Interdisciplinary Studies major One of the most poignant moments in the wonderful new film “La La Land” occurs as the aspiring actress Mia (played by Emma Stone) auditions for a part in a movie.  She auditions by singing the story of her aunt, an eccentric …

The following post was written by Brittany Bruner, a former Humanities Center intern. I spent a semester in Jordan during a fraught moment in history. The Syrian refugee crisis is rampant all over the world. It is especially troubling in the Middle East, and in Jordan, a country that houses over one million Syrian refugees, …

Next week, I’m introducing Alexander Sukorov’s Francofonia, a history about the Louvre under Nazi occupation and a philosophical inquiry into art and historical consciousness, at BYU’s International Cinema. In this genre-defying film, the figure of Marianne, the French iteration of Lady Liberty who emerged during the Revolution, is occasionally shown flitting about the empty and …

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” –Brené Brown, TED Talk “Listening to shame” March 2012   In a TED talk I watched recently, Brené Brown talks about life being a compilation of individuals seeking connection. The whole point of life, she says, is to make meaningful connections with people, and we strive to …

This post was written by Carlee Schmidt, HC Undergraduate Fellow I didn’t know the Creature had a voice. I also grew up thinking the towering green figure was named Frankenstein, when actually that’s the name of the doctor who created it. My visual memory is encapsulated in a large plate my mom used during Halloween …