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College of Arts and Humanities

Listening in on Lessons from 'We Are the World'

Dean teaches ARHU course on arts and humanities of a single song.

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American Studies, Arts for All

Material Culture, Collective Memory and the Work of Repair

American studies Ph.D. student Hannah Brancato combines scholarship, art and community to understand trauma and possibility.

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School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

UMD Launches Global Culture and Thought Major

New program emphasizes international cultures and languages to prepare graduates for an increasingly globalized world.

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College of Arts and Humanities

How ARHU Students Can Get the Most Out of the Career Center

From exploration to job applications, the University Career Center @ ARHU meets students where they are.

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What interests you?

learning about...

a career in...

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

While the Spring semester has gotten off to a decidedly wintery start, we think this bit of good news from the College of Arts and Humanities may warm your heart! Dean Shonekan was determined to make our first all college commencement ceremony this May a smashing success, so we are so pleased to announce this inspiring and impressive speaker who will join us May 19 for our ceremony at the Xfinity Center. Hear from Dean Shonekan herself who it is! @stephshonekan @umdenglish @mfa_at_umd @umd_art @terparthistory @umdhistory @umdcommdept @terpsmusic @umd_tdps @umdsllc @harriettubmanwgss @umd_amst #UMDgrad
Thank you to everyone who contributed to our holiday toy drive for Children's National Hospital. Your generous donations of toys, books, crafts and puzzles will bring joy to children during the holiday season. We're grateful for this community's kindness and spirit of giving. Wishing you all a happy and peaceful holiday season.
Let’s make a brighter day together! Warmest holiday wishes to you and yours on behalf of all of us in the College of Arts and Humanities. This fall, Dean Stephanie Shonekan designed and taught a first year seminar (ARHU 158) course: We Are the World: The Arts and Humanities of a Single Song. Her vision was to guide students through an exploration of the cultural, artistic, and humanitarian significance of the 1985 charity single written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and performed by an unprecedented ensemble of major American artists. The song served as a powerful artistic response to the Ethiopian famine and has raised more than $80 million to support humanitarian efforts across Africa. Drawing from disciplines such as musicology, history, cultural studies, literature, foreign policy and ethics, the class invited students to think critically about how popular culture can inspire collective action and social awareness. This seminar also introduced students to the four strategic commitments of the College of Arts and Humanities: Transformative Thinking, Boundless Creativity, Expansive Empathy, and Meaningful Futures.

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