Research in the Humanities

Research in the College of Humanities tackles the big questions that shape human societies—past, present, and future. Our faculty researchers are dedicated to finding answers, pursuing expertise, and developing a voice to guide and explore humanity’s most significant intellectual and cultural conversations. It is a valuable and rigorous endeavor in part because innovative research undergirds and energizes how we think, teach, and evolve. Moreover, as part of the important work being done in the humanities, researchers in our college contribute to the university’s broader research agenda and expand their knowledge base across the globe.

As members of a Carnegie R1 Research Institution, research is an important part of our college culture and is at the core of what we do. This past year saw some exciting research-focused events in the college. Highlights included campus visits by influential figures in the humanities research world. Last November, we welcomed Christopher Thornton, research director of the National Endowment for the Humanities, who shared insights about national trends in research funding and who led a mock NEH review panel aided by our dedicated faculty, Ben Cohen, Katharina Gerstenberger, Robin Jensen, and Kent Ono. In January, Shelly Lowe, chair of the NEH, visited the university and, at breakfast with college faculty, outlined her vision for the future of the humanities and the NEH. Finally, in March, Niko Pfund, president of Oxford University Press (USA), joined us for four days—meeting with individual faculty, discussing the future of AI in publishing, and educating students on careers in publishing.

In further support of humanities research, our college launched several noteworthy programs and resources last year. A new mentorship program brought together new faculty and post-docs with established researchers to talk about research projects, publication plans, and careers in academia. Our new afternoon Lightning Talks series provided a lively venue for new faculty to share their research interests and connect over orange blossom-scented tea and baklava. A new Faculty Manuscript Review Program invited national and international experts to review faculty book manuscripts before publication. Plus, grant-writing resources, workshops, and retreats engaged researchers throughout the year, thanks to our college grants specialists and the NEXUS Research Institute staff.

Our faculty’s dedication to excellence has made the College of Humanities at the University of Utah a national leader in humanities research. We now rank in the top quartile of humanities colleges nationwide for all measures of research productivity—publications, citations, grants, and more—over the past few years. Impressively, our college is in the 92nd percentile for total number of faculty citations—a strong indicator of the faculty’s success in bringing knowledge and expertise into public dialogue through publications and other public media.

Due to the merit of their research and other scholarly work, faculty members in our college are increasingly engaged with and recognized by top national funders. Faculty regularly receive fellowships and grant awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities,