Hall Center for the Humanities

Hall Center for the Humanities We believe that the humanities must play a critical role in building a humane future for our world.

The Hall Center’s mission is to support research in the humanities, to create knowledge, and to share that knowledge with diverse communities.

06/01/2026

We are so proud to welcome filmmaker Boots Riley back to the Free State Festival with his latest film, I Love Boosters! Boots's new comedy has been called “a wickedly clever skewering of the moral rot at the center of the fashion industry delivered with enough vision to make your eyes hurt" on RogerEbert.com. A groundbreaking artist in cinema, music and theatre, Boots is a Lawrence favorite and this will be a must see festival moment on June 24 - 6:30pm at Lawrence Arts Center!

Thank you to event sponsors:
KU Film and Media Studies
KU African and African-American Studies
Hall Center for the Humanities

And festival sponsors:
Kansas Public Radio
Lawrence Business Magazine

Congratulations to this year's Applied Humanities Boot Camp grads! This week-long course introduced graduate students to...
05/22/2026

Congratulations to this year's Applied Humanities Boot Camp grads! This week-long course introduced graduate students to career paths outside of academia in federal, state, nonprofit and community organizations. Led by Sarah Bishop, CEO of Coneflower Consulting and former interim director of the Hall Center, bootcampers networked with professionals from various industries, worked on resumes, and participated in mock interviews to prepare for their future careers.

"Your skills are so valuable, and so needed out there. It is a gift to the world when you choose to move outside [of academia]."

Thank you to Sarah, the panelists, and everyone who attended Boot Camp this week!

For 50 years, the Hall Center has served as the University of Kansas' home for the humanities, supporting research, inte...
05/15/2026

For 50 years, the Hall Center has served as the University of Kansas' home for the humanities, supporting research, interdisciplinary conversation, and public programs that bring humanistic inquiry to communities across the state.

As the 2025-2026 academic year comes to a close, we want to thank you all for being here for two big milestones: 20 years in our home at 900 Sunnyside Ave., and 50 years as KU's humanities center, which we celebrated with music, stories, and the people who made it all possible.

We look forward to the next fifty!

📹: Cindy Knudsen
📸: Mark McDonald
View the full album at: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-GQSJ99

"As my mother said to me: Hughes, as a poet, helped us to dream. And if you could dream freedom, in simple terms ... tha...
05/07/2026

"As my mother said to me: Hughes, as a poet, helped us to dream. And if you could dream freedom, in simple terms ... that was his power."

Dr. Randal Maurice Jelks, Dr. Maryemma Graham, and a room full of Langston Hughes fans rode out a tornado watch as the former KU professors discussed Hughes' abolitionist roots, his vision of democracy, and the power of art as activism in the final Humanities Speaker Series talk of the semester.

Jelks, an award-winning author, documentary film producer and Ruth N. Halls Professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University, was presenting his most recent book, "My America: Langston Hughes on Democracy." Graham, founder of the Project on the History of Black Writing and Distinguished Professor Emerita in the KU Department of English, has spent decades preserving the work of Black writers whose stories had been lost or underappreciated.

Thank you to everyone who braved the storm with us last month for this talk! If you missed it, you can watch the recording here: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/jelks

We are in the final hour for !Thank you to everyone who has given so far. Your donations have unlocked all of our chall...
04/29/2026

We are in the final hour for !

Thank you to everyone who has given so far. Your donations have unlocked all of our challenges from Jill Docking, Kenneth Frazier, Giselle Anatol and an anonymous donor totaling an additional $14,000 for the Applied Humanities.

If you haven't made your gift yet, there is still time. Visit https://onedayoneku.org/pages/hall-center-for-the-humanities-landing-page to support graduate students!

Fifty years ago, The University of Kansas invested in the humanities with the approval of what we now call the Hall Cent...
04/28/2026

Fifty years ago, The University of Kansas invested in the humanities with the approval of what we now call the Hall Center. In honor of our 50 years for , we have one more challenge to unlock. Make a gift of any amount and help us reach 50 donors for our 50 Years of Humanities Impact Challenge!

Kickstart the next 50 years: https://onedayoneku.org/pages/hall-center-for-the-humanities-landing-page

And if you give now, you can stretch your donation even further. The Hall Center's Power Hour lasts until 7:00 PM tonight, and with every donor, we get closer to a chance at up to $3,000 in bonus funds!

--
📸 Photo from our 50th Anniversary Celebration by Mark McDonald. KU Endowment

We are just 30 minutes in to , and we need 6 more donors to unlock the Jill Docking Applied Humanities Challenge, givin...
04/28/2026

We are just 30 minutes in to , and we need 6 more donors to unlock the Jill Docking Applied Humanities Challenge, giving the Hall Center an additional $10,000!

Plus, if you donate between 5-7 PM today, you can unlock even more bonuses during our Power Hour!

Give today and stay tuned for more challenges: https://onedayoneku.org/pages/hall-center-for-the-humanities-landing-page

ONE HOUR to go before ! Join humanities faculty, staff, alumni, friends and fellows in support of the Hall Center's App...
04/28/2026

ONE HOUR to go before !

Join humanities faculty, staff, alumni, friends and fellows in support of the Hall Center's Applied Humanities Boot Camp and Summer Fellowships. These programs help prepare graduate students in the humanities for careers outside of academia.

And if you make a gift between 5-7 PM today during the Hall Center's Power Hour, you could help us win bonus dollars! See you soon: https://onedayoneku.org/pages/hall-center-for-the-humanities-landing-page

Tomorrow is the day!This year for , the Hall Center is raising funds to support graduate students with our Applied Huma...
04/27/2026

Tomorrow is the day!

This year for , the Hall Center is raising funds to support graduate students with our Applied Humanities Boot Camp and Summer Fellowships.

These programs prepare graduate students in the humanities for meaningful careers beyond academia by connecting their research skills to real-world impacts in federal, state, nonprofit and community-based organizations.

How can you help?
Donate any amount, any time between 12:00 PM Tuesday, April 28, through 12:00 PM Wednesday, April 29. Every donor counts!

Visit https://onedayoneku.org/pages/hall-center-for-the-humanities-landing-page to make your gift!

Ride out the storm with us tonight at the Hall Center!Join us at 7:00 PM TONIGHT at the Hall Center for our final Humani...
04/23/2026

Ride out the storm with us tonight at the Hall Center!

Join us at 7:00 PM TONIGHT at the Hall Center for our final Humanities Speaker Series event of the semester.

Featuring:
✅ Award-winning author, film producer & former KU professor Randal Jelks
✅ Founder of the History of Black Writing, Distinguished Professor Emerita Maryemma Graham
✅ A discussion on Langston Hughes, democracy, art and activism
✅ A Q&A portion
✅ A basement

But if you can’t make it out tonight, you can always join us online at https://crowdcast.io/c/jelks.

Address

900 Sunnyside Avenue
Lawrence, KS
66045

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

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