Dear Friends of the Humanities,
As the holiday season approaches, it is a time for us to pause and reflect, and a time to look forward and anticipate the new year. It is also a time to focus on gratitude.
In 2021, UCI Humanities remained committed to its mission to illuminate the human experience—inside and beyond the classroom—and to provide an invaluable humanities education. Thanks to efforts both university and statewide, students returned to campus this fall to fill our lecture halls and learning spaces with the renewed buzz of critical discussion, scholarly communication and compassionate camaraderie. Simultaneously, we launched an outdoor museum, "Humanities: It's Time," to engage students and campus visitors in pivotal historic moments chosen by our faculty scholars. We sought to bring to light what the humanities do best: enable us to bravely face what it is to be human across time. Only by confronting and critically interpreting our legacies can we guide ourselves to brighter futures.
I am truly heartened by how we've come together (both virtually and in-person) to create a greater sense of community despite the many obstacles we've collectively faced. As we look back on all that the year has brought us, I'm inspired by the ways Humanities faculty, staff, students, alumni and our community supporters not only persevered, but also innovated.
