Robert Penn Warren Center

The Robert Penn Warren Center offers a residential one-year interdisciplinary faculty seminar fellowship related to that year’s theme. The theme for the 2023–24 academic year is “The Place of Memory.” The application deadline is Feb. 1. Read More

Vanderbilt-related authors will have a strong presence at the 2022 Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word, which takes place at War Memorial Plaza and Nashville Public Library Oct. 14–16. Read More

Join the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities for the Liberating Structures workshop series. Liberating Structures is a methodology grounded in the idea that the strategies commonly used to organize collaborative discussion often end up stifling creativity and a sense of belonging. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Inclusive Book Group will meet online Wednesday, Sept. 7, to discuss Nevada by Imogen Binnie. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s second Excellence in Podcasting competition was held during the spring 2022 semester. Awards were presented in April to the students whose podcast submissions exemplified the goals of the competition: using audio storytelling to communicate ideas, share perspectives, make arguments and persuade others. Read More

The Indigenous Studies seminar will host a roundtable discussion on Thursday, May 5, from 5 to 6:15 p.m. CT titled “Defending the Indian Child Welfare Act.” Guest speakers include Rebecca Nagle, host of "This Land"; Matthew Fletcher, author/editor of "Turtle Talk"; and Wenona Singel, associate director of the Indigenous Law and Policy Center at Michigan State University. The discussion will be conducted via Zoom. Read More

David George Haskell, an award-winning author and professor of biology and environmental studies at the University of the South, will deliver the keynote address for the 2021–22 Harry C. Howard Jr. Lecture at Vanderbilt University. The event will take place Thursday, April 7, at 4:10 p.m. in the Central Library Community Room. Read More

Trying to figure out how to leverage your humanities degree in the workforce? The Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities will host a panel discussion on Tuesday, March 29, from 6 to 7 p.m. featuring recent Vanderbilt alumni discussing their own humanities backgrounds and how they are using humanities-based skills to navigate their careers.  Read More

Join the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities and Vanderbilt University Press for a discussion with Leigh Ann Gardner about her new book, "To Care for the Sick and Bury the Dead: African American Lodges and Cemeteries in Tennessee," on Tuesday, March 22, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Buttrick Hall, Room 123. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Inclusive Book Group will meet online Wednesday, May 4, to discuss "Hamnet" by Maggie O’Farrell. Read More

A panel of four noted scholars who are drawing on and contributing to the environmental humanities will come together on Feb. 16 for a discussion co-hosted by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities and the Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latinx Studies. Read More

The second annual Excellence in Podcasting Competition will recognize exceptional student creations. This competition is open to current undergraduate, graduate and professional students at Vanderbilt University. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Inclusive Book Group will meet online Wednesday, March 2, to discuss "The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett. Read More

Jon Parrish Peede, BS’91, former director of the National Endowment for the Humanities, reflects on his respect for the late Vereen Bell. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Inclusive Book Group will meet online Wednesday, Nov. 10, to discuss Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu. Read More

The winners of Vanderbilt's first-ever Excellence in Podcasting competition were recognized at an Aug. 24 reception hosted by the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, which sponsored the competition in collaboration with the Office of Immersion Resources and the Center for Teaching. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Inclusive Book Group will meet online Wednesday, Aug. 4, to discuss "When Breath Becomes Air," a memoir that offers readers an intimate look at the profound moments that shaped a young doctor’s life before and after his cancer diagnosis. The virtual gathering will take place from noon to 1 p.m. CT. Read More

Vanderbilt’s Inclusive Book Group will meet online Thursday, July 22, to discuss Black Bottom Saints featuring a moderated discussion with the author, Alice Randall, writer-in-residence in African American and diaspora studies at Vanderbilt. Read More

Vanderbilt University has become the newest member of the Universities Studying Slavery consortium as part of its reinvigorated commitment to confront racial injustice while working toward a more inclusive and welcoming campus community. Read More

To showcase and honor explorations in audio storytelling, Vanderbilt University has announced the Excellence in Podcasting Competition, open to all undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Read More