National endowment for the humanities

DEFINITION

The NEH is an independent agency of the United States Government that makes grants for projects in history, languages, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities. The act that established the NEH says "The term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life." The NEH provides grants to individuals and institutions for projects in the humanities. Grants support research in the humanities, educational opportunities, the research and writing of scholarly texts, translations of important works in the humanities, preservation of texts and materials important to the humanities, museum exhibitions, television and radio programs, and public programs that offer examination of ideas and themes in the humanities.Also see humanism.