The Center for the Humanities is the primary vehicle on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus for interdisciplinary programming in the humanities. The Center’s mission includes engaging faculty, staff, students, and the public in defining the humanities; fostering interdisciplinary and collaborative study and teaching; promoting the humanities; and nurturing connections between the community and the campus.
The Center for the Humanities is not a physical location, but a locus for activities that bring together diverse modes of intellectual exploration. Founded in 1999, the Center is a key point of contact between the humanities on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and the public, and annually presents numerous lectures, symposia, readings, dialogues, and other programs for a broadly defined public.
Simultaneously, the Center creates and manages interdisciplinary programs for the UW-Madison campus, and supports two student awards programs for both graduates and undergraduates. These programs and services for the campus help to create “connecting tissue” for the diverse range of humanities disciplines at the UW-Madison.
The Center was created and first directed by Steve Nadler, UW-Madison Professor of Philosophy whose book, Rembrandt’s Jews, was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize. From July 2003 to June 2007, the Center was directed by Shakespeare scholar and Professor of English Susanne Wofford, previously President of the Shakespeare Association of America and founder of the acclaimed theater education program Class Act. Deborah Jenson, a scholar of nineteenth century French and Caribbean studies, is the current director of the Center. Each appointed faculty director serves a three-year term, and with each director comes a different personality and range of interests, which are reflected in the resulting programs. Programs and strategic initiatives are planned in close concert with a faculty advisory committee and the UW-Madison College of Letters & Science.
The Center is a unit of the College of Letters & Science of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which provides administrative support. Support for programming is provided by the Brittingham Foundation, the Anonymous Fund of the College of Letters & Science of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Continuing Studies, and the Rawson J. and Bertha Pickard Letters and Science Fund of the University of Wisconsin Foundation. The General Library System of the University of Wisconsin-Madison generously provides additional operating assistance.