HumIn Focus

As part of the Humanities Institute’s mission to publicize the social relevance of Humanities scholarship, we present HumIn Focus, an educational web series that asks scholars to reflect on the ideas lying behind pressing social issues. In each episode, we ask scholars to reflect on ideas in their work in ways that expand and enrich questions of current concern. In so doing, we hope to both broaden and deepen conversations about those questions in ways that emphasize how what we do in the Humanities matters crucially for all of us.

Episodes

Humanity Behind Bars: Incarceration in America

We examine the history of the American carceral system and ask what happens to the human being behind bars. We hear from humanities scholars, legal experts and prisoners, focusing on just solutions that might reduce prison populations and restore the humanity of prisoners while preparing them for life after prison. Watch »

Posted on February 6, 2022

 

Nurse

Rethinking Care: Health Humanities and the Pandemic

The COVID 19 pandemic has provided a stress test for the American healthcare system. In Rethinking Care, we view healthcare through the lens of the humanities, focusing on ways to repair some of the inequities of the system, and provide better care for healthcare workers and patients alike. Watch »

Posted on April 18, 2021

 

woman carrying child

Making Home: Migration, Mobility, Hospitality

Humanities scholars at Penn State reflect on migration, mobility and the ethics of hospitality so as to better understand the context of the debate on immigration and refugees in the US and around the world. Watch »

Posted on September 9, 2020

 

More from WPSU

You Can't Say That

You Can’t Say That

Posted on April 9, 2015

Experience a class where people say the things you aren’t supposed to say; where students participate in a quiet revolution toward cross-cultural understanding; where the philosophy is simple: conversation can change the world.

 

The Pennsylvania Game

Posted on November 1, 2022

When did the Liberty Bell first crack? Which industrialist had his very own dinosaur? Play along and test your knowledge of Pennsylvania’s people, places and products. First aired in 1986, the Pennsylvania Game is now streaming for the first time on the PBS App.

 

The Local Groove Presents

Posted on February 28, 2023

The Local Groove Presents is a spin-off of our popular radio show and features musical performances by Pennsylvania artists at WPSU’s studio. The series features a variety of genres from indie rock to folk and bluegrass from local bands and songwriters.