By Rani Sisavath

The Humanities Research Center at Virginia Commonwealth University will mark its 10th anniversary this year by introducing Humanities Week, a celebration of the humanities on campus, from Sept. 16 to Sept. 20.

"We hope this is the first of many such celebrations, putting the spotlight on humanities at VCU, a timely project many years in the making," said Cristina Stanciu, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of English and director of the Humanities Research Center. "Every September we'll celebrate innovation in the humanities at VCU during Humanities Week. This is just the beginning."

Established in the College of Humanities and Sciences in 2014 by Catherine Ingrassia, Ph.D., now the dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences, the Humanities Research Center serves as a hub for humanities research at VCU and the Greater Richmond area.

"The humanities are the bedrock of creativity, critical thinking and cultural understanding. They foster the innovative thinking and diverse perspectives that drive progress across all fields," Ingrassia said. "The Humanities Research Center's interdisciplinary approach, as seen by its many research labs, event offerings and funding opportunities, demonstrate that the humanities are not just relevant, but essential in addressing the multi-dimensional challenges of our time. From exploring the intersection of technology and ethics to reimagining historical narratives, humanities scholars prove that true innovation requires the holistic, human-centered approach that the humanities provides."

Under Stanciu's leadership since late 2020, the center achieved status as a universitywide center in 2022, and it has launched eight humanities labs for interdisciplinary research in areas such as health, the environment, memory studies, artificial intelligence and graphic narratives. The center also has hosted speaker series and several national and international symposia, and it has awarded hundreds of research and travel grants, fellowships and residential fellowships for both collaborative and individual research projects across campus.

In 2021, the center launched On Native Ground, a series of programs that works with local tribal nations and with the annual Pocahontas Reframed Film Festival in Richmond to make visible local, national and global Indigenous histories and cultures. The center also nurtures community and collaboration by hosting Write on Site events every Friday morning.

In July 2024, the Humanities Research Center was renewed for three more years as a universitywide center by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation, with continued support from the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Humanities Week 2024 features a slate of public events, including a keynote by Paula Krebs, Ph.D., the executive director of the Modern Language Association, titled "Why Humanities? Why Now?"; a virtual panel on career pathways for humanities students with Scott Muir, director of undergraduate initiatives at the National Humanities Alliance; a Q&A with alumni from VCU's Media, Art and Text Ph.D. program; and a keynote lecture by Mar Hicks, Ph.D., associate professor of data science at the University of Virginia, on how the histories of computing, labor, gender and social change can unite humanities and STEM disciplines. View the full lineup of events here.

To close out the week, a Reception and Roundtable on Sept. 20 will feature Matthew Gibson, executive director of Virginia Humanities, joining Stanciu, Ingrassia and others to reflect on the state of the humanities and the role of the Humanities Research Center in guiding the future of the humanities at VCU and throughout the state.

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