Is That a Fingerprint?

By now, we at the Center for the Humanities hope you’ve seen our new logo out in the world. Formed of neatly swirled lines and shaded green, this oval is hard to miss in an email or on a poster. To the left, thick letters proudly declare our name: CENTER FOR THE HUMANiTIES. (The lower-case “I” is purposeful.)

Yes, it’s a fingerprint, but no crimes have been committed and no biometric security devices have been installed in Umrath Hall! At the most basic level, a fingerprint is a common human marker. It represents individuality, but it’s a common individuality. No two are alike, yet they are a feature we all share.

Fingerprints also represent the traces humans leave behind. Long after their creators are gone, fingerprints can tell us how people have interacted with the world. They are a simple affirmation that our work as humanities scholars is to explore the impact of humans in the world. Their left-behind prints, their traces, are the humanities’ primary data. There are no subjects, no ideas, no areas of study that aren’t shaped by human interaction.

You may also have noticed the lettering in our logo. It isn’t a mistake, a slipped toggling of the caps lock. In subordinating the “I” in CENTER FOR THE HUMANiTIES, we want to emphasize the two words that constitute the humanities: human ties. And, perhaps not so subtly, we hope you will check out our online publication “Human Ties: Stories in the Humanities” — a terrific site where our faculty and students are leaving their own marks!