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

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins wins Tony Award for Best Play
The acclaimed playwright and Yale faculty member received a Tony Award for Best Play, for “Purpose,” just weeks after the same play earned him the Pulitzer Prize.
Thomas J. Harper, scholar of Japanese literature
Harper, who began his academic career at Yale, had a long career as an important figure in East Asian Studies.
FAS faculty learn Korean, rocket science, and more in summer courses
Faculty Academy, offered by the FAS Dean’s Office SAL2 program, gives FAS faculty the opportunity to teach and take courses with their academic peers.
Celebrating FAS Award Winners
This message announces the winners of the 2024-25 Heyman and Greer prizes for scholarship. Congratulations to the honorees!
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.