Blue Humanities

Exploring the rich exchange between art, humanities and water.

Woman with trashbag wading through brackish water
Alligator eye popping up from water

Our world and water -- a complex relationship. Ranging from freshwater streams, to tidal estuaries, to open seas and frozen polar caps, scholars in the blue humanities address important questions about how we imagine and portray this mostly liquid planet. What role does representation play in our understanding of the non-human realm? What stories have we told about marine life? What traditions should we tap into, as storms intensify and sea levels rise?

Blue Humanities uses the insights of attentive reading, careful analysis, and communication to generate insights into our relationship with the watery world.

Unique projects

From creating a symphony from algae data to kayaking through Tampa Bay's winding waterways -- Blue Humanities projects highlight the ways we interact, learn and create from water. 

Projects and programs 

Sailboat with "USF" written on the sails with bridge in the background

Passionate professors

Meet the professors who explore and research how water affects and changes our geography, society and more. 

Meet the affiliated faculty 

Group of students hiking in river

Comprehensive coursework

Here are some of the classes that explore and focus on the important questions regarding water in our world. 

Course listings 

Still river water with trees in the background

The Blue Humanities program uses the humanities to explore our relationship with the marine world.

With things like rising tides, climate change, and disappearing ice bergs, it’s clear that even if we have forgotten about the ocean -- the seas haven’t forgotten about us.

In-Person Event

The online symposium “Keywords in Blue Humanities,” will kick off with an in-person event, on February 12, at USF St. Petersburg’s Nelson Poynter Memorial Library.

The program will continue to host a three-part online symposium, which will start the next day and run through May, featuring scholars and creatives from around the world who will speak about the rich exchange between art, humanities and water. 

Spring 2026 Symposium Event 

The Nelson Poynter Memorial Library