At the inaugural ceremony of the Penn Humanities Forum in February 1999, William Ferris, then Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, called the humanities “the intellectual air we breathe, the cultural sea we swim in. It is where humankind’s best insights into our values, traditions, and ideals can be found.”

The Penn Humanities Forum is charged with taking a fresh look at ideas that touch on the human experience. The goal of the Forum is to demonstrate the importance of humanistic thought across the arts, sciences, and professions, and to invite the public and the university to discover their common stake in the "thinking arts."

Programs and Fellowships

Addressing a different topic each year, the Forum supports an integrated program of research, teaching, and interchange with the community.

Our annual calendar of public lectures, performances, and exhibitions, many of them free, feature renowned artists, writers, historians, scientists, philosophers, and many others whose contributions have helped to shape and reshape the human experience.

The Forum offers topic-related fellowships to postdoctoral researchers, faculty at Penn and reigonal colleges, and professionals in Philadelphia cultural organizations. Other programs, prizes, and fellowships promote Penn undergraduate and graduate research.

Where the Public and the Academy Meet

The Forum currently occupies a Tudor-style English manor house built in the early 20th century by Mellor & Meigs. Its first-floor living room and seminar hall are used for special-interest lectures, book launches, conferences, and receptions, with many of the Forum’s public programs filling large lecture halls of the university and the city. The Forum space crosses both boundaries and disciplines and is open to all. We heartily invite you to join in.