Draft:Oklahoma Center for the Humanities



The Oklahoma Center for the Humanities (OCH) is a nonprofit through the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 2014, the OCH develops programming that utilizes the humanities to explore what it means to be human, oftentimes in collaboration with TU faculty, students, and members of the community. Programming includes lectures, art and history exhibits and various performances in collaboration with local arts organizations.

With the support of the Henry Kendall College of Art and Sciences as well as the Office of Research, the OCH was created and funded. Sean Latham, Pauline McFarlin Walter Professor of English and Comparative Literature, was named its director, and he works in cooperation with internal and external advisory boards.

The OCH is housed at TU's 101 Archer, located in the Tulsa Arts District.

Past Themes
Every year, the OCH designs programming around a central theme. Past themes include
 * 2014-15 Privacy
 * 2015-16 Humor
 * 2016-17 Food
 * 2017-18 Homelands
 * 2018-19 Memory
 * 2019-20 Play
 * 2020-21 Cou/Rage
 * 2021-22 Renewal and Recovery
 * 2022-23 Freedom
 * 2024-24 Movement

Recognition
In April 2024, the OCH received the inaugural Public Humanities Award for Leadership in Practice and Community from the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes.

The OCH was nominated for it's Pathways to Freedom program from 2022-23. Programming began in fall of 2022 with an exhibit and interlocking conference entitled "Musical Legacies of the Dustbowl" which looked at Black and indigenous music innovations in the 1930s and 40s. The next program, "All-Black Towns of Oklahoma" examined these historic towns, largely unique to Oklahoma, that began to form during the Great Migration and burst of Black wealth generated by the state's oil boom. The final program, "The Work of Sovereignty,"  examined the impact of the 2020 Supreme Court decision McGirt v. Oklahoma through law, art and the humanities. The OCH developed all aspects of the program in collaboration with diverse community groups.