Advancing research and discovery about the human experience
The National Humanities Center is a private, nonprofit organization, and the only independent institute dedicated exclusively to advanced study in all areas of the humanities.
Our Mission
The Center advances research and discovery about the human experience, fosters connections among scholars and educators, and empowers all those who share a passion for knowledge to better themselves and the world.
What we do
Supporting Scholars
For nearly half a century, the Center has supported the work of scholars producing new knowledge that can open fresh paths of inquiry, reshape fields, and change the world.
Over 1,600 NHC Fellows have produced nearly 1,800 books and other scholarly works, advancing knowledge in dozens of academic fields.
Empowering Educators
The Center’s instructional resources and professional development experiences help educators at the collegiate and pre-collegiate levels enhance their teaching skills and content knowledge.
Last year, the Center’s extensive collection of high-quality teaching resources were accessed by over a million users, and educators from across the country earned over 80,000 hours of continuing education credit by participating in NHC webinars.
Engaging and Informing the Public
Through a variety of public engagement initiatives and activities, the Center promotes understanding of the humanities and advocates for their foundational role in a democratic society.
Through initiatives like the Being Human Festival (US), the Center encourages and supports the public-facing efforts of humanists and humanities organizations across the US.
Research Spotlight
Humanities and the Natural World
Highlighting the research of 2025–26 Fellows whose projects examine the complex relationships between humans and the natural world as revealed in depictions of fauna and flora.
Featured Projects
Ruiying Gao
Collating Nature: Illustrating Bencao Books in Ming China
How can we use illustrated books to understand the Ming people’s knowledge of natural species?
Travis W. Proctor
Multispecies Perspectives on Jesus in Early Christianity
How did images of animals and objects factor into early Christian theorizing about the nature and identity of Jesus?
Sarra Tlili
From Sanctity to Rights: Animal Ethics in Islam
Many medieval Muslim authors held perspectives on animals that were far less anthropocentric than those dominant today.
What’s On
Upcoming
