Humanities Week
A weeklong celebration of the human adventure across time, history, culture and place.
Now entering its sixth year, Humanities Week opens the door to discovering how studying the humanities at Arizona State University can lead to a successful career, a good life and a more just world.
Students and the public are invited to engage with varied events throughout the week, from open houses to hands-on activities to panel discussions.
Humanities Week 2026 is October 26–30. View the schedule below for events on the calendar so far. Check back soon for updates, including details on our signature event, the Marshall Distinguished Lecture.
Signature event
2026 Marshall Distinguished Lecture: An Evening with Laura Tohe
Tuesday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
Roskind Great Hall (ARM 101)
Laura Tohe is Sleepy Rock People clan and born for the Bitter Water People clan. She is an award-winning poet and writer and the current Arizona State Poet Laureate. Her books include No Parole Today, Tséyi, Deep in the Rock and Meeting the Spirit of Water, and she co-edited Sister Nations, an anthology of Native American women’s writing. Her oral history book, Code Talker Stories, is a bilingual collection of interviews with remaining Navajo Code Talkers and their descendants.
Tohe has written poetry, essays and media articles that have been widely published nationally and internationally. Her commissioned libretti include Enemy Slayer, A Navajo Oratorio, which premiered at Phoenix Symphony Hall, and Nahasdzáán (Mother Earth) in the Glittering World/Nahasdzáán Ou Le Monde, which premiered in France. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2025 Native Writers’ Circle of the Americas Lifetime Achievement Award, the Academy of American Poets Fellowship and the Dan Shilling Public Scholar Award from Arizona Humanities.
Tohe has also shared her expertise through the Arizona Humanities Arizona Speaks program, presenting on Indigenous literature, culture and history, including the Navajo Code Talkers. She is Professor Emerita with Distinction from Arizona State University and serves on the Board of Directors for Indigenous Nations Poets (In-Na-Po).
Tohe holds master’s and doctoral degrees in creative writing, American literature and Native American literature.
Register to attend.
2026 events
Monday, Oct. 26
Humanities Week Open House
10 a.m. | Durham Hall courtyard | Learn more.
Democracy Lab LIVE: Democracy in Real Time
12:15 p.m. | McCord Building dean's patio | Learn more.
Onigiri action
1:30 p.m. | Durham Hall | Learn more.
What does attention have to do with morality?
3 p.m. | West Hall room 135 | Learn more.
The Lantern, the Spirit and the Living Object: Breathing Life Into Japanese Craft
4 p.m. | Durham Hall room 135 | Learn more.
Na:to Niokī (Art Talk)
6 p.m. | Hayden Library, Labriola Center room 204 | Learn more.
Tuesday, Oct. 27
ASU Common Read with Daisy Fancourt: 'Art Cure'
10 a.m. | Online | Learn more.
Explore SILC programs and study abroad: Advising pop-up
10 a.m. | Durham Hall first floor | Learn more.
Poetry and Picnic
11 a.m. | Durham Hall outdoor patio | Learn more.
Health for Humans in the Digital Age
Noon | Student Center @ The Post Office | Learn more.
Reading Black America from China
Noon | Ross-Blakley Hall 196 | Learn more.
Global Doors: Opportunities in Spanish and Portuguese
1 p.m. | Durham Hall first floor | Learn more.
AI and Multilingualism Lab
3 p.m. | Durham Hall, room 132 | Learn more.
From Curate to Cure: Artists on Health and Wellness
4 p.m. | Piper Writers House, outdoor patio | Learn more.
French Hip Hop From Around the World
4 p.m. | Durham Hall first floor | Learn more.
Hair Stories: The Politics of Hair
6 p.m. | Memorial Union Alumni Lounge | Learn more.
Wednesday, Oct. 28
Fiesta Latina: US Hispanos/Latinos, Food, Music and Cultures
9:30 a.m. | SILC Café at Durham Hall | Learn more.
Engaging Native Communities and Audiences
10:30 a.m. | Ross-Blakley Hall, room 196 | Learn more.
Scholarships, internships and careers: Get paid to learn languages
Noon | SILC Café at Durham Hall | Learn more.
SILC Café: Hosted by Spanish and Portuguese
1:30 p.m. | SILC Café at Durham Hall | Learn more.
ASU Public History Poster Show
3 p.m. | Lattie F. Coor Hall breezeway | Learn more.
Fall 2026 Worldbuilding Distinguished Lecture with Rebecca Roanhorse
3 p.m. | Walton Center for Planetary Health Auditorium 107 and online | Learn more.
Chinese Arts Experience
3:30 p.m. | SILC Café | Learn more.
American Trickster Book Launch and Conversation
5:45 p.m | Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health (Walton Center) | Learn more.
Thursday, Oct. 29
Beyond a Test Score: How Do We Measure Young Learners' Progress?
10 a.m. | Ross-Blakley room 117 | Learn more.
Romania in Motion: A Hands-on Cultural Experience
10 a.m. | SILC Café at Durham Hall | Learn more.
Debke Club Performance
11:30 a.m. | Durham Hall, first floor | Learn more.
ASU Humanities Week Faculty Showcase: 'Kings, Travelers and Philosophers: Premodern Perspectives on Jewish, Christian and Muslim Relations'
Noon | West Hall | Learn more.
SILC Career Pathways: Inside the U.S. Foreign Service
Noon | Virtual | Learn more.
Chankú Lúta Presentation and Community Conversation
1 p.m. | Labriola Center (204), Hayden Library | Learn more.
SILC Café: Hosted by Italian
1:30 p.m. | SILC Café | Learn more.
Globalize your degree with SILC: Languages, cultures and study abroad
2:30 p.m. | Durham Hall room 240 | Learn more.
'Reclaiming Democracy: A History of Voter Disenfranchisement and the Future of Voter Empowerment' with ASU History Alumna, Terry Anne Scott, Director of the Institute for Common Power
3 p.m. | Coor Hall 4403 and online | Learn more.
Explore concurrent degrees with SILC's new Global Citizenship major
3:30 p.m. | Durham Hall room 240 | Learn more.
Incarceration, Disability and Resistance: Then and Now
4 p.m. | Memorial Union Alumni Lounge | Learn more.
Sound as Connection: Listening Across Species and Deep Time
4 p.m. | Ross-Blakley Hall 196 and online | Learn more.
Bang, Bang, Bang, Noraebang!
6 p.m. | SILC Café | Learn more.
Phi Beta Kappa Celebration
7 p.m. | Armstrong Hall Roskind Great Hall, ARM 101 | Learn more.
Friday, Oct. 30
Workshop: Sensory Awareness, Story-Seeking and Writing
10 a.m. | Ross-Blakley Hall 197 | Learn more.
Explore Concurrent Degrees with SILC's New Global Citizenship Major - Virtual
10 a.m. | Online | Learn more.
Chankú Lúta Interactive Storytelling and Community Engagement Workshop
Noon | Studio 122 | Learn more.
So What Are You Going to Do With That?: Humanities Alumni Panel
Noon | Armstrong Hall, L1-30 | Learn more.
SILC Café: Hosted by Vietnamese
1:30 p.m. | SILC Café at Durham Hall | Learn more.
2025 highlights
In 2025, ASU hosted over 35 events for Humanities Week. You can view recordings of a few highlights below.