Humanities at Home
What has been on the minds of Stanford professors as they navigate this turbulent and anxious time? Where do they find comfort and solace, challenge and struggle, beauty and grace?
What has been on the minds of Stanford professors as they navigate this turbulent and anxious time? Where do they find comfort and solace, challenge and struggle, beauty and grace?
While many aspects of campus life are now mediated through a computer screen, the extended time apart has offered us a rare chance to hear from faculty informally, in their own homes. The Stanford Public Humanities asked professors to share a kernel of thought with the broader community, to offer a fleeting moment of contemplation amid the chaos.
From their kitchen tables and their living rooms, faculty in the School of Humanities and Sciences translate poems, compose music, share childhood memories, read meaningful texts, examine visual artworks, and more. Whether meditating on the past or grappling with the present, they each invite us to reflect on the human condition in a different way.
New videos will be posted during the summer on the Humanities at Home YouTube playlist.
Ato Quayson
Professor of English Ato Quayson reads and discusses a short passage from Toni Morrison's Beloved.
Jisha Menon
Associate professor of Theater and Performance Studies Jisha Menon reads, translates, and examines the Urdu poem "Khwaab Basera" by Faiz Ahmed Faiz.
Alexander Nemerov
Art and art history professor Alexander Nemerov shares a memory from adolescence that has stayed with him through the years.
Mark Applebaum
Professor of music Mark Applebaum takes to his studio at home to try and compose music during a pandemic.
Allyson Hobbs
Associate professor of history Allyson Hobbs reads and discusses the speech Nikky Finney delivered upon winning the National Book Award in poetry.
Marci Kwon
Assistant professor of art and art history Marci Kwon explores different aspects of Martin Wong's last painting, Did I Ever Have a Chance.
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