Explore Our Archives

The Records of the New York Institute for the Humanities document the formation and early years of the Institute, the activities of Institute Fellows, and the seminars, lectures, and other events sponsored by the Institute. 

They range from 1976 to 2025 and include such distinguished voices as Susan Sontag, Carl Schorske, Alfred Kazin, Czesław Miłosz, Oliver Sacks, Joseph Brodsky, Richard Rorty, Michel Foucault, Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, Jacques Derrida, Jürgen Habermas, Ada Louise Huxtable, Mary Douglas, Nadine Gordimer, and Linda Nochlin.

In addition to materials relating to the operation and activities of the Institute, the collection contains a large number of documents generated by Professor Richard Sennett, founder and former Director of the Institute.

The Archives are held in New York University’s Special Collections at the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library. To inquire about the collection or request research materials, please visit the New York University Archives website, linked below.