Introduction and Annual Topics

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.” Through its cultural, educational, and research programs, the Forum furthers Penn’s Agenda for Excellence by demonstrating the central value of the humanities in the life of the academy and the community.

The underlying goal of the Forum is to use humanistic knowledge and expertise as a bridge across academic and professional disciplines and the town-gown divide. The Forum’s wide variety of programs allow humanities professors and students to put their ideas to work: bringing the fruits of their research into an ongoing public conversation, learning from those outside their field, translating the life of the mind into benefit for the community.

The work of the Forum is organized under yearly themes whose breadth invites scholars and the general public to discover common ground. Each theme generates a high-profile program of public lectures, exhibitions, and performances, as well as seminars for faculty and students at all levels.

Each year the Forum offers a number of academic fellowships for work related to the theme. At the core of this effort is the weekly Mellon research seminar, which gathers postdoctoral fellows, Penn and regional faculty, and community cultural experts. Through the interdisciplinary Graduate Humanities Forum, PHF sponsors graduate students in a self-directed weekly seminar. The Forum’s Undergraduate Research Fellows also meet regularly to share their independent research and their love of learning.

The Forum currently occupies a Tudor-style English manor house built in the early 20th century by Mellor & Meigs. Its living room is used for special-interest lectures, book launches, and receptions, but the Forum’s public programs fill the biggest lecture halls of the university and the city. Anonymous 4, Tariq Ali, Judy Chicago, George Crumb, Helen Drutt, Anthony Grafton, Charles Jencks, Louis Menand, Jack Miles, Steven Pinker, Sylvia Plachy, Karim Rashid, Edward Said, and David Slovic are just a few of the notable thinkers and artists who have addressed our town–gown audiences over the years. Many of these programs are free and open to the public, and we heartily invite you to join in.

ANNUAL TOPICS

Travel, 2006–07

Word and Image, 2005-06

Sleep and Dreams, 2004–05

Belief, 2003–04

The Book, 2002–03

Time, 2001–02

Style, 2000–01

Human Nature, 1999–00

Philadelphia Writers, March 1999