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
Recalling the life of Henry Christophe, Haiti’s first and last king
In a new book, Yale’s Marlene Daut follows the remarkable trajectory of Christophe’s life and Haiti’s transition from enslaved colony to free Black nation.
In full plume: Tracing the long, transcultural history of feathers in art
For centuries people have turned to feathers as the stuff of — and the subject of — various art forms. In a Q&A, two FAS scholars discuss the cultural value of feathers and why it transcends time and space.
Faculty honored for ‘superb’ teaching and mentorship to graduate students
Each spring the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences recognizes professors from each of four divisions who provide “superb teaching, advising, and mentoring” to Yale students.
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins wins Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The acclaimed playwright, who has been part of the FAS faculty since 2021 and is a commissioned artist at Yale Rep, won for his play “Purpose.”
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, & Performance Studies and 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