Division of Humanities
Knowledge from antiquity to the present
The faculty of the FAS Humanities division cover an expansive intellectual terrain. They are experts in history, literature, language, philosophy, and the arts. Their work asks who we are and what we might become as they make new discoveries about the past and present that will shape the future of human culture. Through collaboration, research, and teaching, they initiate conversations around the most pressing questions that humankind has addressed from antiquity to the present.
The divisional dean of the Humanities is Marc Robinson.
Humanities departments and programs
The FAS's 20+ humanities units cover the range of human knowledge: from English to Classics; from History of Art to Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies; from the world's languages and literatures to History. In addition, several programs are cross-divisional, bridging Humanities and Social Science.
News
‘Great Immigrants, Great Americans’ award honors Yale’s Sunil Amrith
Sunil Amrith, Renu and Anand Dhawan Professor of History and Vice Provost for International Affairs, was recently named to the 2026 class of “Great Immigrants, Great Americans” by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation
A summer ‘Odyssey’ through time
With the recent release of Christopher Nolan’s long-awaited film adaptation, Benedek Kruchió, Assistant Professor of Classics, considers how the “poem of multitudes” has been adapted and reimagined over millennia.
Watch the Throne: Uncovering three new kings of Assyria
A new study co-written by Eckart Frahm, the John M. Musser Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, provides evidence that the ancient kingdom of Assyria had three more kings than previously thought.
Does the U.S. Constitution need a makeover?
In a new book, Yale historian and Edmund S. Morgan Professor of History Mark Peterson warns of a widening disconnect between modern American society and its Constitution.
Becoming better thinkers through art and culture
How does architecture affect the way we live? Does it influence our health and our healing? Fatima Naqvi, the Elias W. Leavenworth Professor of German and Film Studies in the FAS, explores these questions in her new book. She looks at how writers and directors portray the architecture of hospitals and describe their experience from the 1880s to the present. Naqvi’s scholarship lies at the intersection of architecture, literature, and film. She argues that by experiencing culture and the arts, we become better thinkers in ways that are difficult to quantify but nevertheless profound.
FAS Humanities contacts
- FAS Dean of Humanities; Malcolm G. Chace '56 Professor of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies and of English; Professor of American Studies; Professor in the Practice of Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism
- FAS Dean's Office
- Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies (Program)
- English
- American Studies (Program)
- Senior Associate Dean; Dean of Faculty Affairs
- FAS Dean's Office