Interdisciplinary Humanities Center

University of California, Santa Barbara

The Interdisciplinary Humanities Center’s mission is to advance knowledge about human experience in cultural, historical, and social contexts and to do so through programs that foster human agency, social connectivity, and civic empowerment. The IHC fosters interdisciplinary research in the humanities, fine arts and humanistic social sciences. Its grants support scholarship that makes original contributions to established areas of humanistic study, traverses disciplinary boundaries and advances emerging fields of inquiry. The Center’s collaborative programs in community engagement demonstrate the ways in which the humanities provide tools that reinforce the values of a democratic society. The IHC is also committed to developing projects that engage humanistic practices in addressing issues of social consequence. A cornerstone of the Center’s activities is its year-long public events series, which explores issues of far-reaching concern through perspectives and practices unique to the humanistic disciplines. As a member of the UC Consortium of Humanities Centers, the IHC serves as a link between the campus community and the University of California system.