What Are The Humanities?

Humanities are the story of human experience and they help us understand the human condition. The humanities help us feel human. The humanities connect us, our shared past, and the ideas that will help us shape a shared future.

The humanities are fields of learning that help us understand and appreciate human history, culture, values, and beliefs.

They allow us to analyze our complex society and make thoughtful, reasoned decisions based on inquiry, evaluation, and empathy. They include but are not limited to:

  • American Studies
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Area Studies
  • Art and Architectural History and Criticism
  • Cultural Studies
  • Economics
  • Ethics
  • Ethnic Studies (includes fields such as African American Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies, Native American Studies, etc. )
  • Folklore
  • Geography
  • History
  • History and Ethics of Science and Technology
  • International Studies
  • Jurisprudence
  • Languages and Linguistics (including both classical and modern languages)
  • Literature (both prose and poetry)
  • Music History and Criticism
  • Philosophy
  • Political Science
  • Religion and Comparative Religion
  • Sociology
  • Theatre History and Criticism
  • Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

What does CT Humanities fund?

CT Humanities supports 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations incorporated in CT, CT municipalities, and CT-based federally or State recognized tribes develop and implement public humanities programs and build their capacity to bring the humanities to the public through consultant-based projects.  

Public humanities programs are projects that help the public to better understand or explore subject matter that falls within the humanities as described above. They may include:

  • Exhibits
  • Discussion-based programs
  • Interpretive digital media projects
  • Community reads projects
  • Walking tours
  • …And more!

Please note that CT Humanities unfortunately does not fund the publication of books. Additionally, for projects within the disciplines of ethics and religion, note that CTH cannot fund projects advocating a particular political, philosophical, religious or ideological point of view or a particular program of social action or change. More information about what CT Humanities can and cannot fund can be found in each grant’s guidelines, which you can find on the grant’s webpage or within the grant’s application.

CT Humanities supports the intersection of the humanities and other fields, such as arts or STEM. 

While the humanities are closely related to the arts, the arts is a distinct discipline that is funded separately. The creation of art, such as through writing workshops, painting, or the performance of a play or concert would be considered the arts. The contextualization or interpretation of art, such as through a talkback that examines the themes of a play or exhibit labels that contextualize and help to interpret visual art, would be considered the humanities. Projects at the intersection of arts and humanities that involve contextualization or interpretation of art are eligible for CT Humanities funding.  

For questions about CTH’s granting program, please contact Grants staff at grants@cthumanities.org. 

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