Fifth annual ASU Humanities Week explores human adventure
Students listening to humanities alumni discuss how their degree helps them in their full-time careers at the "So What Are You Going To Do With That?" humanities alumni panel. Photo by Meghan Finnerty/ASU
This year's Humanities Week at Arizona State University will highlight the human adventure across time, history, culture and place.
Taking place Oct. 20–24, students, faculty and community members are invited to engage in a variety of events that showcase how the humanities enrich careers, lives and research.
Throughout the week, schools and centers will host open houses, lectures and hands-on activities that promote work being done within the humanities in this space.
This year, humanities units from the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts and the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences will join The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in the week’s festivities for the first time, expanding reach to three of ASU’s campuses.
The week’s signature event, the 2025 Marshall Distinguished Lecture: An Evening with Jesmyn Ward, will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in Armstrong Hall 101. The event is free and open to the public, and funded with a gift from Jonathan and Maxine Marshall.
An author and professor at Tulane University, Jesmyn Ward's stories are primarily set on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, where she grew up and currently lives. Her writing reflects the trauma of being forced to evacuate due to Hurricane Katrina and the social and economic repercussions that came afterward. She now teaches creative writing and was awarded the Strauss Living Award in 2016 — given every five years by the American Academy of Arts & Letters for literary excellence.
A MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipient and two-time National Book Award winner, Ward became the first woman and the first person of color to win two National Book Awards for Fiction in 2017 and was recognized by The New York Times when her books "Men We Reaped," "Salvage the Bones" and "Sing, Unburied, Sing" were named in the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century list.
“ASU Humanities offers compelling insights into our shared human past, present and future,” said Jeffrey Cohen, dean of humanities at The College. “ASU is a national leader in humanities research, creativity and experiential learning. We set our students up for success upon graduating. Humanities Week displays the best of what we as a university contribute toward the advancement of the humanities and the creation of a better world.”
Recently, ASU Humanities was launched as a one-stop shop for all things humanities. The initiative offers students the ability to browse over 75 humanities-related degrees from colleges across four campuses and highlights career-focused resources that prepare students for a fulfilling life and successful career.
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View the full schedule of events.
Here's a look at some of the signature events happening across ASU for Humanities Week 2025.
Monday, Oct. 20
From 10 a.m. to noon, ASU’s humanities academic units and research centers will have interactive tables at the Durham Hall courtyard. Stop by to learn more about how studying the humanities can benefit a wide range of career paths and supplement any degree. Grab free food and swag and take part in hands-on activities.
The Art and Science of Conlanging
At 10:10 a.m. in Armstrong Hall 101, learn about the art and science of “conlanging,” or language creation, with David and Jessie Peterson — the minds behind languages such as Fremen dialects in Legendary's "Dune" and the Kryptonian Glyphs from the most recent “Superman” movie. In the talk, they’ll discuss the process behind creating 70 languages for over 30 films, TV shows and video games.
Taking place in Durham Hall at 1:30 p.m., learn how to make your own “Onigiri” (Japanese rice balls) and take a photo with your creation. Each post that features “#OnigiriAction” will provide school meals to children in need.
Tuesday, Oct. 21
Exploring Día de los Muertos: A Guided Tour with Mathew Sandoval
At 1:30 p.m. in Interdisciplinary B 280, join Mathew Sandoval for a tour of the Hispanic Research Center’s Día de los Muertos exhibition. Sandoval will go over the holiday’s history and the ways it has been celebrated in the Phoenix area. Attendees will be entered in a drawing for a free copy of the newly published Bilingual Press libritoBooklet.
"Queen of Flowers and Pearls": A Performance by Gabriella Ghermandi
Watch Ghermandi’s performance of a powerful and intimate narrative that weaves together personal history, literature and music in the Memorial Union’s Pima Auditorium at 4 p.m. Ghermandi is an Ethiopian-Italian singer, performer, novelist and short-story writer rooting her performance of her autobiographical novel to relay a moving and accessible account of cross-cultural identity, memory and resistance.
Wednesday, Oct. 22
Taking place at Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 12 room 312 on ASU’s Polytechnic campus at noon, join the Master of Arts in Narrative Studies program in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts for a symposium featuring faculty and alumni speakers discussing the degree program. The event will feature presentations, project updates and hands-on activities for attendees to explore a variety of topics that show the impact of storytelling in different mediums and contexts.
"Toward Morning — Nyamathaam’im — ‘Abíní" and "The Tendency," a Lecture Series:
The Center for Imagination in the Borderlands introduces a new lecture series, part of the 210 project, a larger initiative which uses seven generations of time as a portal to disrupt conventions of time and to imagine old and new ways of engaging communities and worlds. Day one will take place at 5:30 p.m. in Armstrong Hall 101. Day two will take place on Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. in Old Main’s Carson Ballroom.
ASU Public History Poster Show
At 2 p.m. on the first floor of Lattie F. Coor Hall, join the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies to engage one-on-one with current students and recent graduates making an impact in the field of public history research. Take a look at their visual presentations and learn about the social and cultural significance of their work.
Thursday, Oct. 23
Threads of Arabic Life: Food, Calligraphy & Conversation
Explore Arabic life through traditional food tasting, hands-on Arabic calligraphy and engaging conversation. Starting at noon in the Durham Hall lobby, attendees can learn how to write their name in Arabic, sample food and chat with Arabic-speaking students and faculty about their culture.
The Future Is Now: Nnedi Okorafor in Conversation with Matt Bell
As part of a celebration of the Department of English’s 125th anniversary, Professor of Practice Nnedi Okorafor discusses her latest work of metafiction, “Death of the Author,” as well as the “She Who Knows” series. She will be in conversation with Professor Matt Bell, founding director of the Worldbuilding Initiative. The event will take place at 3 p.m. at the University Club.
Friday, Oct. 24
"So What Are You Going To Do With That?": Humanities alumni panel: Hear from English majors, history majors, language majors and more to learn how they turned their humanities degrees into impactful careers. Join humanities alumni for a panel discussion at noon in Armstrong Hall L1-30 or participate online. In-person attendees will receive a boxed lunch.
Water Power: Water Politics and Environmental Histories from Arizona to Arabia
Attend a discussion examining how regions such as Arizona and Saudi Arabia are bound through politics, ecology and water infrastructure. The talk will feature guests from universities across the country, including the University of Utah and Syracuse University, and will begin at noon in the Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health Auditorium.
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