About
Mission & Goals
Mission Statement
The Mission of the Humanities Institute at the University of South Florida is to generate critical dialogue about what connects us to each other and our world, facilitating those conversations through research, education, and community programs.
The Humanities Institute at the University of South Florida (USF) is an interdisciplinary research center that aims to address fundamental and longstanding questions about the human condition through the examination of the complex dynamic between race, gender, socioeconomic status, religion, ethnicity, sexual identity, age, and other factors. The Humanities Institute supports and encourages collaboration, engaged scholarship, and intellectual conversation among scholars at USF and in the community.
What are the humanities?
The USF Humanities Institute follows the definition set forth by the National Endowment for the Humanities:
"The term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the study and interpretation of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life."
Goals
We are always looking for new and innovative ways to support our mission. Learn about how a gift to the Humanities Institute can support some of our strategic goals:
- Funding conference travel for USF graduate students
- Providing community-engaged programming on a range of humanities topics
- Increasing research opportunities for faculty
- Expanding participation in undergraduate research