Above: Undergrads Bryan Le (left) and Starlynn Hartnek (right) have a conversation outside the Humanities 1 building (photo by Elena Zhukova)
The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz employs only a small staff and occupies a modest suite on the fifth floor of the Humanities 1 building. But THI, with its strong focus on research excellence, student success, and public engagement, has an oversized impact on UC Santa Cruz and the wider world.
Since its launch in the fall of 1999, THI has evolved into a center for scholarly inquiry, supporting diverse projects like the Intra-American Slave Trade Database and Watsonville Is in the Heart, a public history initiative celebrating the stories of Filipino Americans in the Pajaro Valley. Over the years, THI has also helped establish Santa Cruz as one of California’s top literary hubs. Public events featuring speakers such as Toni Morrison, Anita Hill, Madeleine Albright, Samuel Delany, and Margaret Atwood, often in collaboration with local independent bookstore Bookshop Santa Cruz, draw capacity crowds.
These events highlight the intersection of the humanities with contemporary culture.
Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, THI continues to enrich both the local community and the academic world.
“Throughout the Humanities Division, we are celebrating 25 years of creating new perspectives through THI—transforming the way we view society, ourselves, and one another,” Humanities Dean Jasmine Alinder said.
Irena Polić (Cowell ’01, linguistics; M.A. ’03), THI’s managing director, emphasizes the importance of bridging the humanities with other disciplines, from economics to engineering.
“At the heart of UC Santa Cruz’s intellectual ecosystem, the Humanities Institute is a dynamic hub that fosters groundbreaking research and sparks innovative ideas, all while giving back to the local community and engaging with the most pressing issues of our time,” Polić said.
THI is perhaps best known for its public events, which attract large and diverse audiences. The Deep Read initiative, a standout THI program, has brought renowned authors like Hernan Diaz, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Yaa Gyasi to campus, often in partnership with Bookshop Santa Cruz. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this series adapted to include virtual events, featuring authors such as Margaret Atwood and Tommy Orange.
But Pranav Anand, THI faculty director and a linguistics professor at UC Santa Cruz, emphasized that these public programs are rooted in research.
“The public events do not happen in a vacuum,” Anand said. “Every talk, every workshop is grounded in years of rigorous research by humanities scholars.”
Building basic infrastructure
THI was founded in 1999 by then–Humanities Dean Jorge Hankamer, pictured here at top left with Mellon Fellowship winners Jennifer H. Yearley (Stevenson ’91, linguistics) and April Dawn (Kresge ’92 English literature), and Mary-Kay Gamel (top right), professor of classics and comparative literature. Gamel and Hankamer, who was also chair of linguistics, were faculty sponsors. (Photo by Don Harris; courtesy UCSC Special Collections)
Founded in 1999 by the then–Humanities Dean Jorge Hankamer, THI—originally known as the Institute for Humanities Research, initially focused on providing badly needed research fellowships to support humanities faculty and graduate students.
“UC Santa Cruz was originally conceived as an experimental liberal arts institution within the UC system,” said Research Professor and Distinguished Professor of History Emerita Gail Hershatter, THI’s first faculty director. “As it began to transform into a research university, many of us on the faculty in the ’90s recognized that there were gaps.
“While the university had research-oriented faculty and graduate programs, it lacked the structures that would support that research,” Hershatter said. “A group of us began asking: ‘What do we need to better support faculty and graduate students in conducting and completing research projects?’”
Hershatter and her colleagues also wanted to raise awareness about the importance of humanities research.
“Many people, particularly in other disciplines, were unclear about what constitutes humanities research, and what it encompasses,” she said. “We were keen to show that humanities research is contemporary, useful, and in fact indispensable to the university. This group of professors asked: ‘What is missing? What would an ideal support structure look like?’ The result was a brand-new institute.”
They drafted a proposal to the central administration at a time when there were funds available, and that’s how the Institute for Humanities Research (now THI) was founded, Hershatter said.
“It included components like supporting research clusters, faculty fellowships, graduate student fellowships, and a few other programs,” she continued. “Ultimately, it was about building the basic infrastructure we felt was lacking at the university as it grew.”
That basic infrastructure included, most crucially, competitive fellowships to support graduate and faculty researchers, which remain the cornerstone of THI’s work.
Impactful projects, problem-solving
Over the last decade and a half, thanks to the leadership of Polić and Nathaniel Deutsch, professor of history and THI faculty director from 2010 to 2022, THI has developed into a vibrant center of excellence that connects scholarly inquiry, student success, and public engagement, often at the same time.
“Being part of THI, and its amazing growth over the years, has been one of the highlights of my career,” Deutsch said.
Under their leadership, THI has expanded to support scholars in translating their research into real-world projects that often cross disciplinary boundaries.
“We help scholars take their ideas and turn them into projects that make an impact—not just in the academy, but in the world,” Polić said. “We’re a one-stop shop for research—we help faculty and graduate students identify funding opportunities, connect with collaborators, and navigate the often-intimidating world of bureaucracy.”
THI also supports undergraduate and graduate students through its Public Fellowships program, which offers hands-on experience at nonprofits, cultural institutions, and other organizations.
This program helps students apply their academic expertise to real-world problems, while building meaningful connections between campus and community.
A historical photograph from the Watsonville Is in the Heart initiative, which preserves and uplifts stories of Filipino migration and labor in the city of Watsonville and greater Pajaro Valley. (Photo by Elena Zhukova)
Past fellows have contributed their skills globally, working with organizations such as the Center for Studies of the Holocaust and Religious Minorities in Oslo, the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, and the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH), among others. THI’s collaborations also extend to local institutions like the MAH, Kuumbwa Jazz, Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, creating a dynamic network of intellectual and cultural exchange.
One such initiative, Watsonville Is in the Heart, focuses on the local Filipino community in Santa Cruz County, fostering research and community engagement.
“The THI team has been pivotal in connecting scholars, artists, and organizations across the region to create a true collective space for the humanities,” said Anand.
The Deep Read: A public engagement success
Launched in 2020, and cofounded by Professor of Literature Sean Keilen and Irena Polić, the Deep Read has become one of THI’s most successful programs, emphasizing slow, deliberate reading and connecting literature to contemporary issues.
Every year, 1,000 students and 200 community members receive free copies of the selected book, which is followed by faculty-led discussions on the book’s themes.
This year, the Deep Read features Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Percival Everett, whose novel James retells Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn from the perspective of the character Jim. Winner of the National Book Award, James explores themes of slavery, race, language, and literacy.
Last year, Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Lori Kletzer, a distinguished labor economist, participated in a faculty dialogue centered on Hernan Diaz’s Trust, a novel that explores the human cost of wealth and power.
UC Santa Cruz Professor Emerita of Literature Karen Tei Yamashita (left) onstage with author Yaa Gyasi (right) at the Quarry Amphitheater during the culminating event for the 2022 Deep Read exploration of Gyasi’s acclaimed novel Transcendent Kingdom.
Set in 1920s New York City, the book follows a wealthy tycoon who exploits the 1929 stock market crash for personal gain, shedding light on the moral and societal consequences of unchecked financial ambition during a time of economic upheaval.
Kletzer’s participation underscored how the humanities can help address pressing contemporary issues.
“The book made it quite natural for me to participate, because there were themes, events, and characters I could readily connect with some of the labor issues I think about,” Kletzer said. “In my mind, the Deep Read is precisely about blurring boundaries in a way that encourages everyone to drop this notion of insiders and outsiders. Books are a mechanism for bringing people together.”
Kletzer said that the Deep Read program is just one way in which THI incorporates the humanities in analyzing pressing contemporary issues.
“The humanities help us understand what it means to be human; what it means to do right by each other among other concerns,” Kletzer said. “We need to be considering the ethics of technological change of all kinds, and humanists are trained to bring forward these questions.”
In February, THI hosted a virtual event on Huckleberry Finn with literature professor and Twain scholar Susan Gillman. This spring, THI will hold faculty salons where professors from various disciplines discuss their research on the book. The program will culminate on May 4 with a conversation between Everett and Vilashini Cooppan, professor of literature and critical race and ethnic studies, at the Quarry Amphitheater.
The Deep Read, which now has over 10,000 readers, was made possible with the help of the Helen and Will Webster Foundation.
A research hub with an oversized reach
In addition to its public programs, THI has played a pivotal role in building UC Santa Cruz’s research infrastructure. Its original mission, providing crucial fellowships, has expanded to include research development and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
The institute’s growth has been transformative for campus scholars, offering the tools and support necessary for their academic ideas to become tangible, impactful projects. THI has also been instrumental in uniting Santa Cruz’s cultural and academic communities, fostering collaborations that bridge the gap between academia and the broader public.
As THI celebrates its 25th anniversary, its work continues to shape the intellectual landscape, providing scholars with the resources they need to create projects that make a difference.
“We’ve built something bold and substantial—an interdisciplinary research community that thrives on collaboration, celebrates public engagement, and enables scholars to share their work with the world,” said Anand.
The Humanities Institute thanks its donors, the Helen and Will Webster Foundation, and its 25th Anniversary Cultural Champion sponsors, Joanna Miller and Linda Peterson.
Visit THI’s website for a schedule of events marking the institute’s 25th anniversary.