The Liberal Arts Collective (LAC) at Penn State is an interdisciplinary group fostering innovative scholarship in the humanities that cuts across disciplines. We seek to create a venue where graduates, undergraduates, professors, and professionals can collaborate to produce meaningful scholarship. We build community across different fields of study and highlight the ways that different disciplines inform and shape one another.

In previous years, our group has organized two conferences under the name Race in the Americas, but the type of work and the discussions that we featured far exceeded the scope of our organization’s name. After a short respite, we rebranded and reemerged to once again develop a forum to foster intellectual exchange and inquiry and to build a vibrant scholarly community.

The “Liberal Arts Collective” is, therefore, a name that is more true to the interdisciplinary work that we want to foreground.  Before COVID-19, we organized a bi-annual academic conference at Penn State’s University Park campus to cultivate intellectual, interdisciplinary inquiry in the humanities. Currently, we host virtual roundtables and events for an international audience of scholars, activists, professionals, and community members. We have recently completed the Unraveling the Anthropocene podcast project, culminating in a 33-part podcast series, reading group, and roundtable.

We welcome you to our official website, and we look forward to welcoming you at University Park in the future. Until then, stay connected with us via Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!

For information on how to become a member of LAC or for general inquiries, see our “Get Involved” page.