Marquette University has established The Center for the Advancement of the Humanities to develop, enhance and disseminate new approaches to the humanities, Provost Daniel J. Myers announced today.
The center will support teaching and research in humanities that is forward looking while seeking new approaches to traditional humanistic disciplines. It also will develop faculty and student affinity groups across disciplinary boundaries.
“When we think of the ideal Jesuit University, there is no question that the humanities play a central, pivotal role in the education we provide and in our pursuit of understanding,” Myers said. “The Center for the Advancement of the Humanities will help make Marquette a standard-bearer for the importance of the humanities at universities, in our nation, and across the globe as we all grapple with the human condition and the pursuit of a better life for all.”
The center’s director is Dr. James B. South, professor of philosophy and associate dean for faculty in the Helen Way Klingler College of Arts and Sciences.
“This center is consistent with the Jesuit mission of the university and its long history of emphasis on the importance of the humanities,” South said. “We want to demonstrate the importance of the humanities to the Marquette community and the public.”
The center hopes to sponsor faculty and student research, interdisciplinary conferences, internationally known speakers and public events.
“The center intends to be at the forefront of debates that require humanistic knowledge to enhance the common good of society,” South said. “We will support the Ignatian ideal of being persons with and for others.”
An advisory committee soon will be announced for the center.