I think the humanities shift our perspective and give us a little bit of distance from current events in a way that lets us engage more. That sounds a little paradoxical, but I’ve found that focusing on stats, curves, protests, and antibody testing can be both overwhelming and narrowing in our understanding and response. By asking questions like, “What lessons and stories from this pandemic are worth passing to future generations?” we seem to be able to open up and talk more. The humanities help us move through fear toward a more encompassing understanding of the variety of experience.

Last week, we spoke with Oregon Humanities Executive Director Adam Davis, Delaware Humanities Deputy Director and Senior Program Officer Ciera Fisher, and Humanities Montana Program Officer Samantha Dwyer about their recently launched virtual programs, Connect in Place (Oregon), Distant Discussions (DE), and Gather Round / Montana Conversations (Montana) to gather their tips for making community conversations, Zoom calls, and other online discussion programs work for their states.

“This year’s winners reflect the intimate connections the state and US territory humanities councils have with their people,” said Esther Mackintosh, president of the Federation of State Humanities Councils. “From climate change and sustainability to addiction and recovery, these two programs focused on vastly different audiences and challenges, but were similar in their commitment to address critical issues facing their communities; bringing people together, through the humanities, to acknowledge and respond to their unique needs. We are pleased to present the 2019 Schwartz Prize to both Humanities Guåhan and Ohio Humanities for their outstanding programs.”

From haunted historical houses to spooky storytelling and re-enactments, councils celebrate Halloween with the humanities!

“These programs saw significant impact in their local communities, brought people together, promoted understanding and broke down conversation barriers resulting in real change, growth, and empowerment in their states and territories with reverberations that will be felt across the country.” – Esther Mackintosh, FSHC President

In honor of Hispanic Heritage month, learn about the experiences, contributions, cultures, and histories of the Hispanic community in the United States through a variety of public humanities programs hosted by or conducted by the state humanities council community.

“The councils are uniquely equipped to bring journalists into meaningful conversation with the communities they serve, to help citizens distinguish trustworthy from unreliable news, and to explore the historic role that journalism and the humanities have played in informing Americans,”