Article originally posted March 29, updated May 5.

After two years of going solely virtual due the COVID-19 pandemic, Syracuse University faculty, staff and students came together to celebrate University authors at the 2022 Books in the Humanities (BITH) reception. Now in its seventh year, BITH is organized and hosted by the Syracuse University Humanities Center ­– whose home is in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) – with additional support from the Syracuse University Office of Research, the Syracuse University Libraries and the Syracuse University Bookstore.

This year’s event took place outdoors on May 2 on the Huntington Beard Crouse (HBC) patio. It featured 58 © 2021 works by 54 authors and editors from nine different schools, colleges and units across the University, making it a true interdisciplinary showcase. With 21 A&S authors and contributors alone, and a diverse range of selections taking up themes like politics, linguistics, racial equity, and social media’s broader impacts, there was something for everyone at the showcase.

This year marked the first time the event was presented using a hybrid format. Before the pandemic, authors and their works were showcased at a public indoor reception: physical books were on display (and for sale by the Syracuse University Bookstore) and authors were on hand to sign them. When events moved online in 2020, the Humanities Center and the Syracuse University Libraries built on their tradition of creating an annual online research guide, which opens the platform to viewers from around the world.

At this year’s reception, authors had the chance to mingle with other authors, faculty, staff and students while also having their work featured in the online showcase, curated by librarians and students at the Syracuse University Libraries. The May 2 event also celebrated 83 © 2019 and © 2020 selections by Syracuse University authors and editors, whose respective receptions were preempted by the pandemic. In lieu of physical books on site, a digital slide show of the BITH showcase was displayed throughout the reception.

Vivian May, director of the Humanities Center and of the Central New York Humanities Corridor, hosted the first Books in the Humanities reception in spring 2016 and was thrilled to have the in-person celebration return to campus this year.

"We were truly delighted to welcome colleagues from across campus who stopped to celebrate scholarship and enjoyed a chance re-connect at our outdoor reception, despite the somewhat chilly spring weather," says May.