NYU Center for the Humanities

[𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟔:𝟏𝟒 𝐚𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝟓:𝟓𝟐 𝐩𝐦; 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝟔:𝟎𝟎 𝐩𝐦.]

Write like the Tide!

Join artist Sarah Cameron Sunde for a full tidal cycle of silent writing and contemplation, inspired by her global project 36.5 / A Durational Performance with the Sea. From 6:14 am to 5:52 pm, you are welcome to come and go as you please to work on your own projects or respond to provided prompts.

At 6:00 pm, Professors Una Chaudhuri and Jillian Porter host a reflection on climate-informed “Endurance Protocols.” An accompanying photo and video installation will be on display throughout the day.

Full event details and registration are available at bit.ly/tidalwriting

Pictured: 36.5 / A Durational Performance with the Sea, typewriter for participation / engagement alongside video installation, 2016 (@36.5durational)

What defines the act of translation, and where do the lines exist between translation and original writing? The NYU Center for Humanities invites you to Colloquy 21: Experimental Translation, a collaboration with . Featuring Mónica de la Torre, Robert Fitterman, and M.L. Martin, this event explores iterative and genre-defying modes that expand our understanding of the craft.

RSVP at bit.ly/Colloquy-21

📝 By Mia Levine

On April 6, the Center for the Humanities hosted NYU conservators Lisa Conte and Lindsay Tyne, graduate student researchers Kayhan Qaiser and Aatish Naidu Boddapati, and oral historian Sarah Dziedzic for a discussion about their innovative project exploring the history of book and paper conservation. Largely shaped by verbal, peer-to-peer transmission, the field has remained effectively undocumented. Drawing on interviews of pioneer paper conservators, their project seeks to preserve and analyze previously unexplored histories and professional lineages. A key component of the project is visualization of these histories using data analysis. By mapping out the relationships compiled from the interviews, the graduate student researchers displayed the deeply intertwined and complicated relationships present in the book and paper conservation field. The discussion memorably illuminated a window into the possibilities that lie at the intersection of the humanities and data science.

The NYU Center for the Humanities functions as a dynamic crossroads where scholars and creators collaborate to address the world's most pressing cultural challenges. From the medical and environmental humanities to our signature collaborative fellowships, we’re dedicated to keeping the arts at the core of intellectual life.

Your support on helps us:

-Launch our new Artist-in-Residence initiative.
-Sustain vital fellowships for faculty and students.
-Expand projects that bridge the gap between scholarship and public dialogue.

Every gift gets us one step closer to turning these ambitious ideas into reality. Support the Center: https://nyuoneday.org/campaigns/center-for-humanities

Join us on Tuesday, March 10 at 6:00 PM for a multidisciplinary session exploring the unique complexity that arises when loss is universal. While grief is an inevitable part of the human experience, this panel asks what happens when everyone grieves together and how that loss is remembered both individually and collectively. Drawing on diverse perspectives from the medical humanities, we will examine how society memorializes mass trauma—from pandemics to the scars of war and 9/11. We will explore how these events shape memory, impact healthcare professionals, and influence the ways we formally mark shared tragedy. Further details and the registration link are available in our bio.

For more information and to RSVP: bit.ly/massmourning

Join us for two back-to-back sessions exploring the deep, often invisible histories of image-making technology. While one event uncovers the militant chemistry of the film factory, the other examines the instrumentalization of the body through medical imaging.

Tales of Militant Chemistry | March 2 | 12:00 PM

Scholar Alice Lovejoy discusses her new book, which reveals Eastman Kodak’s secret role in the Manhattan Project. This isn't a history of what was on the screen, but a history of film as a chemical weapon. Lovejoy is joined by Dan Streible and Cristina Vatulescu to trace the global trail of film factories from the U.S. to the Soviet Union.

Overexposed – Art, Technology, and the Body | March 3 | 5:30 PM

In 1895, cinema and X-ray technology were born simultaneously. This panel previews the upcoming exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image, investigating how medical imaging has visualized—and often exploited—women’s bodies. Curators and scholars Sonia Epstein, Elisabeth Sherman & Toby Lee discuss the intersection of art, policy, and the interior gaze.

We are so grateful for the attention and support you’ve shown the Center this semester. As we look back on months of shared space and ideas, we are already preparing a full slate of programming for the new year. Enjoy these snapshots from our Fall highlights, and we’ll see you in January.

To stay up to speed on our full 2026 roadmap and upcoming activities, join our newsletter at the link in the comments to stay connected.

What made modern jazz so unfree?

Dive deep into the radical, disruptive shift of 1960s “free jazz” with author, pianist, and musicologist Kwami Coleman!

His recently-published book, “Change: The New Thing and Modern Jazz”, explores how musicians, critics, and listeners in New York City embraced an avant-garde sound that challenged the modern world. Coleman integrates powerful musical analysis with cultural and political context to give you new ways to listen to this essential era.

Coleman will be in conversation with Grammy-nominated music writer Ben Ratliff (The New York Times) and acclaimed bassist and New School alumnus Rashaan Carter.

Don’t miss this essential discussion on jazz’s emergent avant-garde.

Date: December 2nd
RSVP: Link in bio!

On November 11th, we hosted former fellow Subah Dayal to discuss her 2024 publication, “Between Household and State”. In Between Household and State, Dayal radically shifts our view of early modern India. This book reveals how the politics of ‘ghar’ (home/household)—a contested site of kinship and belonging—was forged by the relentless circulation of itinerant households (Iranians, Marathas, Africans, and Afghans) between military forts, regional courts, and the Indian Ocean coast.

Manan Ahmed, Dipti Khera, and Ayşe Baltacıoğlu-Brammer joined Dayal to dive deep into the book’s core theme, exploring the fundamental question: “What was ‘home’ in the age of empires?”

📷 : Toluwase Thomas

“On October 14, the Center for the Humanities hosted Joe Salvatore, Clinical Professor and Director of the Verbatim Performance Lab at NYU Steinhardt, for a compelling presentation of his Verbatim documentary theatre project, “Not Sure If I Am Free To”.  Drawing on scored transcripts of interviews with members of the NYU community, seven actors portrayed identities beyond their own—across race, gender, and sexuality—capturing each speaker’s precise words, rhythms, and vocal patterns.”

Missed out? No worries! For exclusive event recaps and news about future events, sign up for the Center for the Humanities newsletter (link in bio).

📷 : Toluwase Thomas

“On October 7, NYU Center for the Humanities hosted Tara Zahra, an historian, and Meredith Dincolo, a dance artist and educator, for a two-part event that explored how dance and history intersect in powerful ways. The first part of the program consisted of Dincolo and Zahra speaking about dance as a meaningful way to tell and preserve history. The second part of the event brought ideas about research and collaboration to life through movement.” Scroll for a glimpse into the action. For exclusive event recaps and news about future events, sign up for the newsletter (link in bio). 📷 : Toluwase Thomas