The Humanities Institute at the University of Montana

Drawing on a rich tradition of teaching and scholarship in the humanities at the University of Montana, the Humanities Institute fosters provocative thinking, innovative research, and sustained public discussion of the human experience. The Institute’s activities encompass traditional humanities disciplines including history, languages, literature, philosophy, and religious studies, as well as critical studies of the arts and models of inquiry that cross disciplinary boundaries and develop new approaches.

The Humanities Institute supports humanistic work that takes place throughout the University, and welcomes initiatives that bridge traditional humanities fields with the visual and performing arts, with journalism and political science, and with the natural sciences, and that generate public discussion about the importance of the humanities in the contemporary world.

Led by faculty, the Institute is funded primarily by grants and private donations, and is structured to benefit both students and faculty. The Institute provides support for a variety of endeavors at the University, including faculty working groups, lectures and panels, curricular development, grants, and promotional needs. We strive to enrich the humanistic tradition at UM, widen the scope of public engagement with the humanities, and connect with scholarship igniting interest at other institutions and around the world.

The Humanities Institute and the College of Humanities and Sciences express their deepest gratitude to Lawrence Pettit, whose generous gift has supported the Humanities Institute.