The “humanities studio” is a special kind of course that is the centerpiece of Future Histories Lab. Our humanities studios are project-based, fieldwork-based, community-engaged courses that ask students to study a place in-depth and to share their research through public-facing media including websites, video, maps, installations, and performance. These studio courses aim to produce products that help communities express their histories, identities, and concrete dreams for the future.
Storytelling can be a form of community protection, especially when combined with data and policy analysis. Because our faculty and students come from the arts and humanities, the social sciences, and the design disciplines including architecture, landscape architecture, and city planning, they bring a wide variety of tools to the table. The hybrid methods of these studios were developed in the seven-year Global Urban Humanities Initiative and are now being turned to local Bay Area and California topics in global context.
Our studio courses allow humanities students to explore project-based learning and to develop practical skills such as web design, audio editing, and project management. At the same time, the courses encourage deeper humanities research on the part of design and planning students. The student work to come out of the courses includes interpretive essays, community ethnographies, videos, posters, photography collections, public tours, physical models, performances, and exhibitions.
Certificate Programs
By completing a humanities studio course plus two electives, both undergraduate and graduate students can earn a Certificate in Urban Humanities. Courses are offered in summer as well as in the fall and spring. We also offer a foundational lecture course, Hidden Histories: Public History in Public Space, which examines case studies of monuments, performances and urban design that express or erase the history of communities and individuals.
