Humanities Week 2026
Join the VCU Humanities Research Center for our third Humanities Week (Sept. 8-11, 2026). This year's Humanities Week programming engages our annual theme of Repair. This theme explores repair in all its complexity: the repair of historical damage (slavery, displacement, loss of Indigenous land, environmental harm), the healing of communities (through reparations, restorative justice, and cultural memory), and the evolving relationship between universities and the cities they inhabit — including questions of accountability, trust, and shared purpose. Through rigorous scholarship, community partnerships, global conversation, and interdisciplinary collaboration, we ask: How do we reckon with harm? What comes after monuments are removed? How do we heal from historical trauma? And what responsibilities do universities carry in repair work — toward the communities, histories, and futures they help shape?
Making Worlds, Repairing Worlds: What We Do with the Humanities
Date: Tuesday, Sep 8, 2026
Humanities Week Reception
Date: Tuesday, Sep 8, 2026
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
Date: Wednesday, Sep 9, 2026
Keynote Event: Black Freedom: Public Celebration and Commemoration as Practices of Remembrance and Repair
Date: Thursday, Sep 10, 2026
Walking Tour with The Valentine Museum
Date: Friday, Sep 11, 2026
Previous Years
Humanities Week 2025
The Humanities Research Center hosted its second annual Humanities Week, a week-long celebration of the humanities at VCU.
Applied Humanities: Solving Problems and Equipping for Careers
The speaker for this event was Scott Muir, Director of Education Advocacy at the National Humanities Alliance.
Discover Your Unique Genius: The Foundation of a Meaningful and Successful Career [video]
The speaker for this event was Cristi Cooke, founder of Pillars of Genius.
Public Humanities in Action: Project-Based Learning That Transforms Communities and Careers
The speaker for this student-oriented event was Teresa Mangum, Professor Emerita at the University of Iowa.
Connecting Classroom to Career: An Applied Humanities Design Workshop
The speaker for this faculty-oriented event was Teresa Mangum, Professor Emerita at the University of Iowa.
CHS Dean's Research Seminar
The speakers for this Dean's Research Seminar event were Joshua Eckhardt and Aspen Brinton.
Humanities and AI: Large Language Models and the Returns of Critical Theory
The speaker for this event was Wendy Chun, Director of the Digital Democracies Institute at Simon Fraser University.
Walking Tours with The Valentine Museum
The HRC was proud to host two walking tours in conjunction with The Valentine.
Humanities Week 2024
The Humanities Research Center marked its 10th anniversary in 2024 by introducing the first annual Humanities Week, a week-long celebration of the humanities at VCU.
Ryan K. Smith, Brooke Newman
Humanities Research Roundtable: Residential Fellowships in Focus
The speakers for this event were Rohan Kalyan, Gabriella León-Pérez, Ryan K. Smith, and Brooke Newman.
Why Humanities? Why Now?
The Humanities Research Center's keynote event featured Paula Krebs, executive director of the Modern Language Association (MLA), delved into the critical role of the humanities in today’s rapidly changing world, and invited us to learn why the humanities are more vital than ever, shaping not just our understanding of the past, but our vision for the future.
UFO Studies in Realms of the Indigenous and the Aesthetic
This Work-in-Progress Seminar by J. Molina-Garcia, Assistant Professor of Photography and Digital Futures at VCU, discussed the emerging field of ufology in the context of discarded theories of animism and ancient cultural knowledge.
Career Pathways for Humanities Students [video]
This workshop with Scott Muir, director of undergraduate initiatives at the National Humanities Alliance, and Marcus Messner, associate dean for faculty and academic affairs (humanities and social sciences) in the College of Humanities and Sciences, provides an answer to that frequent question, "Why study the humanities?"
Lightning Talks with Humanities Labs
The HRC hosted short presentations by faculty and students in our labs, as they discuss their ongoing research and initiatives, and answering the following: what makes a humanities lab? Why should you get involved?
What Can You Do With a Humanities PhD? An MATX Alumni Roundtable Q&A [video]
The speakers for this event were Allison Bennett Dyche from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt); Michael Means from Brightpoint Community College; Paul Robertson from Marshall University; and Tracy Stonestreet, Director of UMW Galleries at University of Mary Washington.
How the Humanities and STEM Can Find Common Ground in the History of Computing [video]
This presentation by Mar Hicks, Associate Professor at The University of Virginia's School of Data Science, explores how the history of technology can unite STEM and humanities scholars alike.
The HRC at 10: Reception and Roundtable
This celebration included a Director's Roundtable to discuss the state of the humanities, featuring Matthew Gibson, Virginia Humanities, in conversation with Catherine Ingrassia and Ana Edwards.