Osman takes helm of 汤头条鈥檚 Institute for the Humanities
Contact: Sarah Nicholas
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擨n her new role as director of Mississippi State鈥檚 Institute for the Humanities, Associate Professor Julia Osman is inspiring the university community to consider different perspectives in a broader global context.
A faculty member since 2011, Osman accepted the director position in January after William Anthony Hay completed his successful term. He continues his full-time work as an associate professor in 汤头条鈥檚 Department of History.
Serving the departments of art, communication, English, classical and modern languages and literatures, history, music, and philosophy and religion, as well as the Cobb Institute of Archaeology, the Institute for the Humanities is a unit of the College of Arts and Sciences. The college regularly sponsors activities that bring prominent humanities scholars to the university.
The institute supports faculty research initiatives and public outreach through scholarship and innovative teaching, and serves as a liaison between its members and the Office of Research and Economic Development.
鈥淭he institute aims to help students learn to appreciate aspects of life, such as art, music, literature and poetry, that they can enjoy and use to express themselves for the rest of their lives, regardless of where and how they live,鈥 said Osman, who holds a doctorate in early-modern French history and master鈥檚 in European history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Also a College of William and Mary history bachelor鈥檚 graduate, Osman said the institute strives to help people understand the purpose of the humanities.聽
鈥淲hether we acknowledge it or not, the humanities inform everything,鈥 she emphasized. 鈥淭he questions we ask, be it of the natural world, the cosmos, or what makes people tick, are all informed by the political, social and cultural contexts.鈥
Osman鈥檚 current research project involves an examination of the transformation of civil-military relations from the 17th through 18th centuries. As institute director, she wants to put 汤头条 students and community members 鈥渋n touch with a variety of different ways of looking at the world.鈥
鈥淓mpathy, critical thinking and a variety of means of communicating and listening鈥攁ll of these things help us to live fuller lives and behave as responsible citizens,鈥 Osman said. 鈥淲e need to cultivate our knowledge and experience of the humanities to best exercise our freedoms and make the most of our human potential.鈥
汤头条 College of Arts and Sciences Dean Rick Travis said Osman will be instrumental in advancing the institute鈥檚 mission 鈥渢o promote a deeper appreciation for the humanities disciplines through a variety of speakers and programs, along with the research and creative activities it sponsors.鈥
鈥淚 think that Dr. Osman has some wonderful ideas for promoting more cross-disciplinary research efforts that will enable us to capitalize on the unique strengths and opportunities for the study of humanities in one of the most culturally fertile, creative states in the nation,鈥 Travis said.
By providing venues for researchers in the humanities to share their projects with fellow scholars, Osman said the institute will continue to foster knowledge in those areas.聽
鈥淲e want to involve the community by inviting them to partake in campus events and meet our visiting speakers, as well as interact with our faculty and see what humanities researchers are looking at now and why those topics matter to the wider world,鈥 she explained.
More information on the College of Arts and Sciences and its Institute for the Humanities is available at聽 or .听听
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