This post was written by Stephen Tuttle, a Humanities Center faculty fellow. The year I turned eleven, I spent a lot of time not reading. I was more interested in setting a high score on Megamania, a video game that was basically Space Invaders if the invaders were hamburgers (I know, I don’t get …
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 …
Faculty Writing Retreat 2025
Call for Applications: BYU Humanities Center Summer Writing Retreat 2025 Deadline: 14 March 2025 Inspired by the productive example of the National Humanities Center, we are pleased to announce that the BYU Humanities Center will sponsor a Summer Writing Retreat this year from June 2 – 7 at the beautiful Zermatt Resort in Midway, UT. …
Wild Truth
This post was written by Coleman Numbers, a Humanities Center student fellow. “I teach them correct principles, and they govern themselves.” —Joseph Smith, 1851 Why is so much science fiction concerned with totalitarianism? This question has infected me since I started Adrian Tchaikovsky’s latest novel, Alien Clay. It’s not the question I expected …
Consider the Water Lilies
This post was written by Kathryn Charles, the current Humanities Center Intern. Under most circumstances, I would jump at the chance to visit Monet’s garden at his home in Giverny, France. Under jet-lagged circumstances in the early morning, I did not. My husband, Sam, who had visited the garden before, promised me that if …
Lamenting the Loss of Literacy
This post was written by Cherice Montgomery, a Humanities Center faculty fellow. As a child, I loved stories; and if the thirty books now precariously perched on my nightstand are any indication, that has not changed much. Books are some of my best friends. They tell me everything from their most trivial thoughts to …
One Year Fellowships 2025-26
BYU’s Humanities Center sponsors two one-year faculty fellowships. Unlike the multi-year fellowships, these one-year fellowships will be awarded by application rather than appointment. The fellowship period will begin in the fall semester of 2025. Fellowships will come with a salary supplement of $2,500, a research stipend of an additional $2,500, and release from two courses …
In Praise of Wandering
This post was written by Rex P. Nielson, BYU Humanities Center Director. I’ve just returned from attending the MLA annual convention, held this year in a very chilly and rainy New Orleans. Following a lengthy more-than-ten-year stretch in which I deliberately avoided the MLA convention, a hiatus that I freely admit was prompted by …
Winter 2025: Democratic Dispositions: Learning to Live together in a Post-Election World with Leonard McMahon
The BYU Humanities Center welcomes Leonard McMahon, Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at Pacific School of Religion, as this semester’s Faith & Imagination lecturer. We hope you will join us on Thursday, March 27th at 3:00 pm in 4010 JFSB for his presentation. More information forthcoming. Title: “Democratic Dispositions: Learning to Live together in a Post-Election World” About our …
Winter 2025
All Colloquia will take place in 4010 JFSB at 3:00 PM unless otherwise specified. Please visit the event page for more details. January 16 Timothy Hampton (UC Berkeley) “Make a Cheerful Noise: Joy and the Literature of Modest Passions” January 23 Matt Ancell “A World with Two Suns: Skeptical Faith in Calderón de la …