A little over a year ago, in early November, we launched this site as a way of promoting a conversation across different realms of social endeavor, with the aim of showcasing the ineluctable if fragile force of the humanities. As its mission, the site asks questions about the humanities’ role in these realms, appreciating the paradox that the questioning itself is at the heart of the humanities, which is to say at the heart of all genuine conversation that begins with a readiness to listen. For the humanities, from their inception, entertained the reciprocity between self-understanding and understanding of others, and upheld the central role of language to capture this mutual understanding through the means of aesthetic delight, cultural knowledge, and creative inspiration.

We take this occasion to give thanks to our readers and visitors, with the hope of deepening our conversation in the future.