URI Center for the Humanities

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URI Center for the Humanities

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The humanities are the stories, the ideas, and the words that help us understand our lives and our world. Assistant to the Director at [email protected]

URI’s Center for the Humanities was established by Faculty Senate legislation in 1994 and is designed to foster intellectual exchange and independent inquiry, analysis, and interpretation of the humanities in research, teaching, and learning. Its activities include a speaker series, research grants, and fellowships for faculty and graduate students. For more information, contact Dr. Eve Sterne, Director of the Center for Humanities at [email protected] or Laura Stiffler, Admin.

10/13/2026

Don't miss the second Brown Bag of the semester with William Stark, of URI's Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department.

Stark will present his talk, "Artificial Savages, Border Performance, and the Politics of Belonging," which looks at the work of Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Coco Fusco, Violeta Luna, and the international collective La Pocha Nostra, asking what performance art can teach us about migration, democracy, identity, and belonging in an age of polarization and resurgent nationalism.

The event takes place on Tuesday, October 27th at 12:30pm in the Galanti Lounge of Carothers Library as well as over livestream (link emailed upon registration). Read more and register here: https://bit.ly/4zw5iHQ

10/09/2026

This evening, October 9th, acclaimed cartoonist, author, and LGBTQ+ cultural icon, Alison Bechdel, will visit URI in celebration of National Coming Out Day.

The event will feature storytelling, conversation, community, and celebration to reflect on the power of LGBTQ+ stories and the importance of making spacefor these communities to be seen, heard, and remembered.

Doors will open at 4:30pm in Edwards Hall. Come early to check out Wanderground Le***an Archive and Library's display of Bechdel's collection, and stay after the discussion for a book signing, with books available for purchase.

More information and registration here: https://bit.ly/4dZQF78

10/07/2026

Don't miss Soul Value, with April H. Brown and Jessica T. Pearson, on Wednesday, October 21st at 4pm in the Hope Room of Higgins Welcome Center.

Soul Value combines monologue, dance, ritual, and song to bring to life the stories of New England Black women—Elleanor Eldridge, Elizabeth Freemen, and Margaret Kinnicutt—and the men of the first RI Regiment during and after the American Revolutionary War.

The event takes place on Wednesday, October 21st at 4pm in the Hope Room of Higgins Welcome Center as well as over livestream (link emailed upon registration). More details here: https://bit.ly/4zbKQvE

10/05/2026

We hope you'll consider applying for the Center for Humanities Fall 2026 Grants, deadline: November 1, 2026.

We offer funding through grants for Faculty Research, Faculty Subvention, Graduate Student Research, Graduate Student Conference Travel, and "The Winnie" Grant for faculty and graduate students. Applications can be submitted via InfoReady.

Please visit our website for more details: https://bit.ly/4rPf0T0

09/29/2026

The first Brown Bag talk of the semester is this afternoon, September 29th, at 12:30pm in the Galanti Lounge of Carothers Library.

Dr. Bridget Buxton, of URI's History Department, will present her research, The Phaistos Disk, which looks deeper at the stamped spiral inscription artifact, dated to the MMIII period c. 3700 years ago. This is the first public discussion of the Ariadne Project, an interdisciplinary humanities-computer science research project, that challenges long-standing assumptions about the Phaistos Disk, its language, and even its authenticity.

Unfortunately this event will not be livecast or recorded. More information and registration here: https://bit.ly/3T5whdK

09/21/2026

The Center for Humanities is kicking off our yearlong lecture series on American Revolutions this Thursday, September 24th with historian Rob Parkinson!

Parkinson's talk, "Everything You Wanted to Know About the Declaration* *But Were Afraid to Ask," dives deep into the forgotten body of the Declaration, examining the 27 grievances that were the Revolutionaries' dealbreakers in 1776.

The event takes place this Thursday, September 24th at 4pm in the Galanti Lounge (3rd Floor) of Carothers Library, as well as over livestream. More details and registration here: https://bit.ly/4iiAogE

09/17/2026

Join us for the first Brown Bag of the year with Bridget Buxton, of URI's History Department, on Tuesday, September 29th.

Dr. Buxton's talk, The Phaistos Disk, presents the first public discussion of the Ariadne Project, an interdisciplinary humanities-computer science research project. The Ariadne Project examined the Phaistos Disk, a unique stamped spiral inscription conventionally dated to the MMIII period c. 3700 years ago, to challenge long-standing assumptions about the object, its language, and even its authenticity.

This event will take place on Tuesday, September 29th at 12:30pm in the Galanti Lounge of Carothers Library; unfortunately it will not be livestreamed. More details and registration here: https://bit.ly/3T5whdK

09/13/2026

Tomorrow, September 14th at 11am, URI leaders, students, elected officials, and community members will celebrate URI's new Fine Arts Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The celebration features remarks from President Parlange, URI Board of Trustee members, RI House and Senate lawmakers, and URI faculty, staff, and student performers. Along with an open house and guided tours offered to attendees, the ceremony will include a formal dedication of a choral room named in honor of the late RI Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio.

The event takes place Monday, September 14th at 11am in the main lobby outside of the Robert E. Will Theatre in the Fine Arts Center (105 Upper College Road).

09/10/2026

The first event in our yearlong lecture series, American Revolutions, is right around the corner!

Dr. Rob Parkinson, professor of history at Binghamton University, will visit URI to discuss, Everything You Wanted to Know About the Declaration* *But Were Afraid to Ask, which deep dives into the 27 grievances that were the Revolutionaries' dealbreakers in 1776.

Parkinson's lecture takes place on Thursday, September 24th at 4pm in the Galanti Lounge of Carothers Library, as well as livestreamed (link emailed upon registration). Read more and register here: https://bit.ly/4iiAogE

09/08/2026

Check out 𝘙𝘩𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺's recent article on our upcoming lecture series, American Revolutions!

Read here: https://bit.ly/4qWVPpH

Address

175G Swan Hall
Kingston, RI
02881

Telephone

+1 401-874-1000

Website

http://www.uri.edu/humanities

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