Meditation in 4149 JFSB

This post was written by Paul Westover, a Humanities Center faculty fellow.   In my English 236 class, a GE course on C. S. Lewis, we recently read “Meditation in a Toolshed,” an essay that begins with a simple anecdote: Lewis, standing in his shed, observes a beam of light entering through a crack at …

Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite

This post was written by Ivy Griffiths, a Humanities Center student fellow.   I often find myself worrying about my future. With so many variables out of my control, there is no way to guarantee success in my endeavors. If life is a game, how can I win when I don’t hold all the cards? …

2024 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 …

Humanities Center Faculty Writing Retreat

Call for Applications: BYU Humanities Center Summer 2024 Writing Retreat Deadline: 15 March 2024 Inspired by the productive example of the National Humanities Center, we are pleased to announce that the BYU Humanities Center will sponsor a new Summer Writing Retreat this year at the beautiful Zermatt hotel in Midway, UT. At a location that …

Navigating the Body and the Soul

This post was written by Drew Swasey, a Humanities Center student fellow.   During a period of my college years, my ascent of the stairs behind the Maeser building became a ritual punctuated by necessary breaks. The physical discomfort of those moments has nearly faded from my memory, yet the process I would use to …

Finding Love in the Shadow Lines

This post was written by Luka Romney, a Humanities Center student fellow.   It seems to me that heartbreak is the constant negotiation and renegotiation between two forces within the self: the first, the deep inner knowing that one is both a deserving recipient and a ready vessel for the fundamental metamorphosis that reciprocal love …

Winter 2024

All Colloquia will take place in 4010 JFSB at 3:00 PM unless otherwise specified. Please visit the event page for more details.   January 18 Stephen Ramsay (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) Resilience, Romanticism, and the “Techno” in Techno-Capitalism January 26 Sylvester Johnson (Virginia Tech Center for Humanities) Humanities & Public Interest Technology: Leading the Ethical Governance …

Acting Otherwise

This post was written by Zach Stevenson, a Humanities Center student fellow.   It is impossible to know with certainty the precise thinking patterns of one’s youth, but I feel that I can confidently assert that my former understanding of free will was a faulty one. Specifically, I once understood free will to be a …