Day 1 | The Art of the Humanities: A Yale Showcase

April 16–17, 2026 | A conference celebrating the humanities and 45 years of the Whitney Humanities Center

The Whitney Humanities Center marks 45 years since its founding with a reflection on what makes the humanities and the university essential today. Throughout its history, the WHC has been a home for vibrant interdisciplinary exchange. It is a place where ideas cross boundaries freely and where interpretation is practiced not only as a scholarly pursuit, but as one of the most human ways we make sense of our world and connect with one another. The Humanities, the University, and the World honors that legacy while looking ahead.

April 16 | The Art of the Humanities: A Yale Showcase

The conference will open April 16 with “The Art of the Humanities,” an afternoon celebration of creativity and literary talent at Yale. The program will feature faculty from across the university, including Peter Cole, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Alice Kaplan, Amara Lakhous, Julian Lucas, Rachel Kauder Nalebuff, and Meghan O’Rourke.

The afternoon will also include a special performance by Shades of Yale, an undergraduate a cappella group dedicated to celebrating the music of the African diaspora and African-American tradition.

This showcase highlights the WHC’s long tradition of building community across fields and engaging diverse forms of knowledge, offering a glimpse of the expansive conversations that will continue throughout the conference.

A reception will follow.