Building on the University of Chicago’s longstanding leadership in the arts and humanities, the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society has received a grant from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to launch an initiative that will assess the current state of humanistic teaching and research in higher education and explore its future prospects.
The Future of the Humanities project, an interdisciplinary effort that will begin this month, will convene diverse groups over two years to articulate defining principles and core qualities of work in the humanities, including strategies for adapting to recent shifts in political discourse, public perception and the research landscape in humanistic scholarship and teaching.
“The University of Chicago’s longstanding commitment to the study of the humanities comes from a recognition that illuminating the human experience and advancing culture, the arts, and their engagement with society provides a critical foundation in a time of shifting technology and values,” said Provost Katherine Baicker. “Our preeminent faculty in the arts and humanities are determined to continue their legacy of leadership on these questions, including through this important project at the Neubauer Collegium with the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation.”
The Future of the Humanities initiative’s core research group will convene a series of meetings at which a wide range of stakeholders, including scholars in the humanities and other disciplines from public and private universities and colleges, representatives from research and cultural institutions, non-profits and government agencies, will seek to articulate some of the defining principles and core qualities of work in the humanities. In addition, in partnership with researchers at NORC at the University of Chicago who study the value and outcomes of engagement with the humanities, arts and culture, the group will consider a range of data to understand the role of the humanities in higher education and its value to society. At the conclusion of the project, the group will produce a set of recommendations to inform those who engage with the humanities in higher education and public life, including scholars, educators, civic leaders and cultural producers.
For more than 130 years, scholars at the University of Chicago have played a central role in the evolution of numerous disciplines in the humanities, ranging from foundational contributions to the study of languages, philosophy and literature to projects bridging many facets of culture and technology. Over time, the University’s work has grown to include new fields of study in the Division of Arts & Humanities as well as the 2012 launch of the Neubauer Collegium, an interdisciplinary research incubator supporting novel collaborations in the humanities and the humanistic social sciences.
“At a time when sustained, exploratory conversations across disciplines and institutions have become increasingly precious, it is thrilling to convene this multi-year conversation at the Neubauer Collegium, an institution that has gained visibility over the past decade as a forum for rigorous, collaborative work that addresses complex and pressing problems,” said David J. Levin, interim director of the Neubauer Collegium for the 2025–2026 academic year.
The Neubauer Collegium is uniquely equipped to lead this project. Collegium projects integrate disparate perspectives and methodologies, convening unlikely partners from around the world to work on questions too complex for any single discipline to address. With nearly 150 major projects to date, these collaborations thrive in a research environment shaped by the University of Chicago’s longstanding commitment to interdisciplinary thinking, original scholarship and freedom of expression.
Distinct among research centers and institutes, the Collegium incorporates the visual and performing arts into larger research inquiry and regularly engages communities outside the academy as research partners. The Collegium’s approach to fostering rigorous and impartial discourse among academics, practitioners, policymakers and members of the public will be essential to the Future of the Humanities project’s success.
At the initiative’s first convening, participants will begin developing a shared understanding of the current landscape and identifying metrics that will assist them in their deliberations. The group will also determine the timeline and thematic focus for subsequent gatherings.
“I’m deeply gratified we will have an opportunity to convene such a critical conversation at the Neubauer Collegium, and I am hopeful about our ability to imagine forward-thinking ideas for the future of the humanities,” said Neubauer Collegium Roman Family Director Tara Zahra.
With more than 200 tenure-track faculty members in the humanities—among the largest humanities faculties in the world—UChicago scholars are exceedingly well positioned to lead the humanities forward at a time of great challenge and opportunity for the humanities.
“Our faculty in the arts and humanities are eager to expand upon the University of Chicago’s unmatched legacy of leadership in shaping discussions to ensure our fields are more engaged and vibrant than ever,” said Deborah Nelson, dean of the Division of Arts & Humanities at UChicago. “We need to ensure that the humanities remain at the center of how our society tackles the most urgent issues.”
“The Neubauer Collegium has long exemplified intellectual innovation in the humanities and humanistic social sciences, making it a powerful convenor for this project to envision the future of humanistic scholarship and teaching,” said Amanda Woodward, dean of UChicago’s Division of the Social Sciences.