The Center for Theoretical Inquiry in the Humanities responds to the desire of scholars and students in all areas of the humanities to investigate the foundational issues of their disciplines.
While the specialties of Center participants run the gamut of the humanities, our coherence lies in addressing questions that animate every discipline engaged in humanistic inquiry, for example, questions about text and interpretation, about varieties of critique (conceptual, empirical, aesthetic, political), about the nature of semiotic systems and their historical embodiment.
Our common project derives from a commitment to examining the historical and philosophical presuppositions of our fields through the careful study of landmark texts.
At the heart of our enterprise is a reading group that weds the discipline of research and teaching to the spontaneity of collaborative discussion and debate.
The reading group serves as the incubator for a broad spectrum of graduate courses linking disciplinary specificity with an interdisciplinary theme of inquiry and for undergraduate courses that examine the foundation and history of the humanities. Lecture series, symposia, workshops, and publications highlighting the work of the Center are additional components integral to our intellectual and pedagogical mission.
