The Heyman Center for the Humanities

The Heyman Center for the Humanities provides the intellectual and physical space for interdisciplinary discussions among members of the Columbia community and the New York City public. It brings together faculty and students from across the university—from the humanities, social and natural sciences, law, medicine, journalism, and the arts—to share thinking, debate ideas, and collectively consider methodological, conceptual, and ethical issues of common interest and concern.  It sponsors public lectures, readings, conferences, and performances, fosters scholarly and artistic collaborations, and offers meeting spaces for its various affiliated members. Its Public Humanities programs serve people in neighboring communities who have limited access to, or who might uniquely benefit from, focused humanities programming—including incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, veterans, and those who are economically disadvantaged.

Since it was built in the late 1970s, the Center has been home to the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at Columbia, a group of postdoctoral fellows supported by generous funding from the Mellon and Kenan foundations.  The Heyman Center, in collaboration with the Society of Fellows, recently launched Heyman Center Fellowships for advanced graduate students as well as junior and senior faculty at Columbia.

The Heyman Center also houses Columbia's Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, the Society of Senior Scholars--a group of emeritus faculty who teach primarily in the Core Curriculum--and The Friends of the Heyman Center.  All of these groups host seminars and colloquia of their own throughout the year. The Lionel Trilling Seminars and the Edward Said Memorial Lecture are also based at the Heyman Center. Notices for these can be found in the Events section of our website.

The Heyman Center is a member of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes.