Led by Stanford professors, the Summer Humanities Institute lets rising high school juniors and seniors explore the big questions at the heart of the humanities: how and when can ideas transform society? When is the use of force legitimate? How can we define the limits of individual rights?

Students will spend three weeks on the beautiful Stanford campus, living in residence. They will spend the first two weeks intensively studying and researching one of two topics – “The Age of Jefferson” and “Revolutions” – attending daily lectures by the faculty members, and participating in group discussions and activities in the afternoon. There will also be downtime for extra-curricular fun, as well as supervised off-campus excursions to places of cultural and natural interest around the Bay Area.

During their third week, students will work closely with their professors, graduate students, and writing mentors to produce original research projects.

Applications are due March 15, 2012.