Skip to main content
Skip to main content

University of Maryland College of Arts & Humanities Home

Arts for All, English

How Stories Can Help Us Face Climate Change

Doctoral student Rashi Maheshwari discusses why literature, art and community matter in an era of environmental crisis.

Read More about How Stories Can Help Us Face Climate Change
American Studies, Art, Art History and Archaeology, Classics, College of Arts and Humanities, Communication, English, History, Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Program and Center for Jewish Studies, Linguistics, Philosophy, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, School of Music, School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

2026 ARHU Commencement: Undergraduate Ceremony

We look forward to celebrating the important milestone of commencement with our graduates, their families and friends and our faculty and staff.

Read More about 2026 ARHU Commencement: Undergraduate Ceremony
Philosophy

How a Philosophy, Politics and Economics Major Helped Shape a Policy Brief for Congress

Senior Liam Little ’26 has used the interdisciplinary PPE major to explore global issues, conduct research and gain hands-on experience in diplomacy and policy.

Read More about How a Philosophy, Politics and Economics Major Helped Shape a Policy Brief for Congress
Arts for All, College of Arts and Humanities, School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Heart of the Tiger: From UMD to Broadway and Back

Betsy Rosen ’06 reflects on her journey from her childhood puppetry influences to playing the fierce tiger Richard Parker in Broadway’s “Life of Pi.”

Read More about Heart of the Tiger: From UMD to Broadway and Back

What interests you?

learning about...

a career in...

Whatever your interests and aspirations, ARHU is committed to providing the knowledge, skills and opportunities all our students need to write their own stories and chart their own paths.

"In ARHU, you’re learning about how people interact with the world and each other. My goal is to build things that people are going to use. Just technology knowledge can only go so far. You have to understand how people are going to use them to be truly successful."

Ozzie Fallick '14, Software Engineer, Google
Linguistics

"Cross-cultural communication is one of the most important skills that I learned at ARHU, and I use it to engage and inform the community in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean about our events, exchanges and any other information that supports our key policy priorities in the region. ARHU gave me the tools to understand why in diplomacy, it’s as much about what you say as how you say it."

Krystle Norman '08, Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State
Spanish and Portuguese

"I had always loved art, but I never knew you could make a career out of it until I studied abroad in Rome. There, I took a full course load of art courses and learned all about the factors of being an art professional. It was life-changing. Now I feel lucky that I’m doing something that I’m so passionate about."

Laura Sheridan Raiffe '09, Regional Account Manager, Christie's Fine Arts
Art History and Archaeology

"One of the most important things I got out of my ARHU experience is my ability to parse arguments, think critically and see multiple sides of an issue. Being in law school, it’s important to do that—it’s a skill I use every day. Not a class goes by, not a case gets read that this skill doesn’t come into play."

AJ Clayborne '13, Student, Harvard Law School
English

GRAND CHALLENGES

DEMAND FEARLESS IDEAS

The research and creative works of our faculty, students and alumni are setting the agenda for transformative dialogue about the value of the arts and the humanities in the world today.

Research Highlights

New Scholarship from The College of Arts and Humanities

Explore Our Research

Happening at ARHU

We are looking forward to our commencement ceremonies on May 19th and 20th and hope you'll join us! We are delighted to have Jason Reynolds as our undergraduate commencement speaker. Jason Reynolds is an award-winning, internationally-celebrated author of more than 20 young adult books, including “Long Way Down,” “Ghost” and “Look Both Ways.” He focuses on creating literature where young people can see themselves, often drawing from his own experiences. In addition to numerous book awards, he was the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a 2024 MacArthur Fellow. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in neighboring Oxon Hill, Maryland, Reynolds graduated with a degree in English from the University of Maryland in 2005. He is on the faculty of Lesley University’s Writing for Young People MFA Program. Explore his website jasonwritesbooks.com. For more details about our commencement ceremonies, visit the link in our profile.
A look back at #MarylandDay 2026. Across the College of Arts and Humanities, faculty, students and staff welcomed visitors into classrooms, studios and performance spaces to explore what it means to think critically, create boldly and connect across disciplines. We are grateful to everyone who spent the day with us.
English doctoral student and Arts for All fellow Rashi Maheshwari’s research explores how storytelling—short stories, novels, comics, visual art, poetry, essays—shapes our understanding of climate change. This Earth Month, we spoke with Maheshwari about why the humanities are a vital force in responding to environmental challenges. “We always think of climate change as something distant from us and something in the future—rising temperatures, shrinking ice caps, policy goals, carbon parts per million. These descriptions can feel very abstract. But art can make that experience very personal and palpable. Storytelling helps us grapple with the complexities of climate change, while also amplifying voices that are too often sidelined.” Read the full interview at the link in our bio. #EarthMonth

Stay Connected

Follow us on social media and share your stories and news with us!