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The Humanities Center: Nurturing the Life of the Mind

Why does CSU, Chico need a humanities center?
Scholars in the humanities, working at a university that demands a heavy teaching load and is remote from major research resources and other scholars interested in the same issues, may feel isolated and out of touch with significant developments in their fields and the humanities at large. People working in the humanities also tend to do their research and writing on their own with little collaborative work.

The university had its medieval origins in a community of scholars, and the Humanities Center aims to provide a greater sense of intellectual community, both within the College of Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA) and within the university as a whole. The goal, in short, of the Humanities Center is to revitalize the life of the mind at CSU, Chico.

How will we do that?
Trinity 126 is being transformed into an attractive meeting place suitable for seminars, reading group discussions, and informal discussions among HFA colleagues about the ideas, art, and books that attracted them to the humanities. The open space known as Trinity 100 is being remodeled to accommodate large events and provide exhibition space for the Humanities Center’s ongoing arts program.

What activities and events will transpire within these environs?
I see three pillars to the programmatic activity, two of which are already well established. Prominent scholars in the humanities have come to campus to lecture and to talk informally with HFA faculty and others about their work.

Roger Shattuck, one of the most distinguished literary critics in America and winner of the National Book Award for his work on Proust, gave a talk and held a seminar on his collection of essays. Joseph Margolis, an eminent philosopher and specialist in aesthetic theory, lectured and held a seminar on the nature of art.
Richard Rorty, professor of philosophy and comparative literature at Stanford, a MacArthur Fellow, and one of the most well-known public intellectuals in America, will spend three days on campus in November, giving two talks and two seminars.

The second pillar of the program hosts a series of talks by HFA faculty on their current research. We have had about six of these a year.

I see the third pillar as the most promising. We want to set up an ongoing series of reading groups, centered on either the works of a seminal scholar or interdisciplinary themes of broad interest. In reading groups, one comes to know the intellectual merits of one’s colleagues and to expand one’s own knowledge. We hope to link these reading groups to major annual themes and to the speakers we invite.

What benefits will accrue to the university?
First, a humanities center that works well will sustain and improve faculty morale by combating isolation and provinciality. Thus, it should be helpful in recruiting and retaining the best faculty possible. Second, we hope to engage the faculty within other colleges by establishing a number of interdisciplinary themes and reading groups. Third, although our events are primarily directed toward other faculty, interested students are always welcome.
If we succeed in our project of intellectual enrichment and rejuvenation, this spirit will spread quickly into the classrooms and scholarly work we produce. We would like to proudly boast that everyone with an interest in the arts and letters will find sustenance, support, and community within the bounds of the Humanities Center.

Laird Easton, Department of History, is the director of the Humanities Center for 2001–03.