About the National Endowment for the Humanities

Malinche as Carmen at a bullfight

About

What are the humanities?

The humanities explore, interpret, and preserve the diversity of human cultures, ideas, practices and experiences, past and present.

They are the languages, religions, laws, philosophies, and customs that make us distinct. They are our history and our cultures, the ideas and movements that have shaped societies throughout time.

Humanities subjects include:

  • History
  • Literature
  • Linguistics
  • Law
  • Philosophy
  • Archaeology
  • Language
  • Comparative Religion
  • Ethics


NEH is the only federal agency in the United States dedicated to funding the humanities. Since its founding in 1965, NEH has awarded over $6 billion in grants to museums, historic sites, colleges, universities, K–12 teaching, libraries, public television and radio stations, research institutions, independent scholars, and to its humanities council affiliates in each of the nation’s 56 states and jurisdictions. Panels of independent, external reviewers examine and select top-rated proposals to receive grants.

NEH grants support the building blocks of American civil society, helping to examine the human condition, promote civics education, understand our cultural heritage, foster mutual respect for diverse beliefs and cultures, and develop media and information literacy. Grants help to bring museum exhibitions to your town, strengthen teaching in your schools, create documentaries and podcasts, facilitate groundbreaking research, and preserve and expand access to cultural and historical artifacts.

 

According to the legislation that created the National Endowment for the Humanities, "the term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the study and interpretation of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of the social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life."