About Us
The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt University, established in 1988, promotes interdisciplinary research and study in the humanities, social sciences, and when appropriate, natural sciences. Because cooperative study in higher education is crucial to the modern university and the society it influences, the Warren Center is designed to intensify and increase interdisciplinary discussion of academic, social, and cultural issues. Members of the Vanderbilt community representing a wide variety of specializations take part in the Warren Center’s programs. The work of the Warren Center strengthens the place of the humanities not only at Vanderbilt but also within the larger society in which we live.
The Warren Center, housed in a beautifully restored Victorian home in the central part of campus, is a hub of intellectual activity. Its annual programming includes a theme-based faculty fellows program; a dissertation completion fellows program for advanced graduate students; the Harry C. Howard, Jr. Lecture; several conferences and public programs; dozens of visiting speakers; and twelve to fifteen regularly-meeting seminars and reading groups representing an extraordinary range of topics.