Skip to main content
Skip to main content

University of Maryland College of Arts & Humanities Home

American Studies

After a Life-Changing Accident, Brian Cooperman ’26 Found a New Path Through American Studies

The graduating senior focused his honors thesis on disability access and is planning for a future in advocacy law.

Read More about After a Life-Changing Accident, Brian Cooperman ’26 Found a New Path Through American Studies
College of Arts and Humanities, English

Sydney Mitchell ’26 Reflects on Her Storytelling Journey at Maryland

From reading poetry on stage to researching the region’s jazz scene, the English major explored storytelling through writing, music and research.

Read More about Sydney Mitchell ’26 Reflects on Her Storytelling Journey at Maryland
The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

What Can Science Fiction Teach Us About AI?

Alexis Lothian developed the 300-level course “Artificial Intelligence Otherwise” with support from a seed grant from the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland.

Read More about What Can Science Fiction Teach Us About AI?

Whatever your interests and aspirations, ARHU is committed to providing the knowledge, skills and opportunities all our students need to write their own stories and chart their own paths.

"In ARHU, you’re learning about how people interact with the world and each other. My goal is to build things that people are going to use. Just technology knowledge can only go so far. You have to understand how people are going to use them to be truly successful."

Ozzie Fallick '14, Software Engineer, Google
Linguistics

"Cross-cultural communication is one of the most important skills that I learned at ARHU, and I use it to engage and inform the community in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean about our events, exchanges and any other information that supports our key policy priorities in the region. ARHU gave me the tools to understand why in diplomacy, it’s as much about what you say as how you say it."

Krystle Norman '08, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State
Spanish and Portuguese

"I had always loved art, but I never knew you could make a career out of it until I studied abroad in Rome. There, I took a full course load of art courses and learned all about the factors of being an art professional. It was life-changing. Now I feel lucky that I’m doing something that I’m so passionate about."

Laura Sheridan Raiffe '09, Regional Account Manager, Christie's Fine Arts
Art History and Archaeology

"One of the most important things I got out of my ARHU experience is my ability to parse arguments, think critically and see multiple sides of an issue. Being in law school, it’s important to do that—it’s a skill I use every day. Not a class goes by, not a case gets read that this skill doesn’t come into play."

AJ Clayborne '13, Student, Harvard Law School
English

GRAND CHALLENGES

DEMAND FEARLESS IDEAS

The research and creative works of our faculty, students and alumni are setting the agenda for transformative dialogue about the value of the arts and the humanities in the world today.

Research Highlights

New Scholarship from The College of Arts and Humanities

Explore Our Research

Happening at ARHU

Three books from ARHU faculty are asking us to see the world differently, and they couldn't be more timely. "The Church of Divine Electricity," by Emily Mitchell (English): Speculative fiction that imagines near-future worlds shaped by AI, climate change and emerging tech. Winner of the Elixir Press Fiction Award. "Avocado Dreams" by Ana Patricia Rodríguez (Spanish & Portuguese): A deeply researched look at how Salvadoran writers, artists and activists have shaped the cultural life of the DC metro region. "Nile Nightshade" by Anny Gaul (Arabic): a wildly inventive culinary history tracing how the tomato became central to Egyptian cuisine and identity, told largely through the hands of Egypt's women home cooks. 🏆 Just announced: this book won the 2026 James Beard Media Award in Reference, History & Scholarship! These books remind us that the arts and humanities don't just help us understand the past, they help us make sense of the world we're living in right now. @beardfoundation
Tonight, the NOI Philharmonic takes the stage at Carnegie Hall. Selected by conductor Marin Alsop as part of her Carnegie Hall Perspectives series, more than 90 fellows from the University of Maryland’s @noifestival will make the orchestra’s debut at one of the world’s most celebrated concert venues with a program featuring works by Gabriela Ortiz, Kevin Puts and Leonard Bernstein. For many of the musicians, it will also mark their first performance at the legendary hall. “I know it as a place where great musicians have performed,” said violinist and UMD doctoral student Manuel Alejandro Ordoñez Sierra. “I’m excited to see it for the first time and play a nice concert.” Read the full story at the link in our bio.
As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, educators from across the region will gather at the University of Maryland this month to explore a timely question: What does dissent look like, and how can we teach it? The Frederick Douglass Center for Leadership Through the Humanities will host its fourth annual Maryland Humanities Summer Institute on June 26. Designed for secondary classroom and community-based educators, the free, daylong program will examine the theme “Dissent!” through workshops, discussion and collaborative learning. The institute will explore dissent in its many forms—from organized protest and activism to acts of resistance, refusal and civic engagement. Sessions will focus on topics such as Black Marylanders’ activism during the Civil War, reparative archiving and the preservation of public records, lessons on youth activism, and more. Associate Professors in @umd_amst Nancy Mirabal and Bayley Marquez will both deliver keynote addresses. The institute will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and includes breakfast, lunch, ASL interpretation and giveaways. Registration is free and open through June 19. Link in bio to learn more and register.

Stay Connected

Follow us on social media and share your stories and news with us!