As a journalist then and a pastor now, I’ve had to know how to listen. Not to hear, that’s a matter of the senses. Listening is something entirely different. It has very little to do with ears and much more to do with the heart. It’s a soul function. It requires that I create within myself the space to receive another. Their stories, their experiences, their joys, their pains. Listening begins with the decision to value another simply for who they are. The humanities have helped me listen.

The 2020 Annual Business Meeting of the Federation House of Delegates will take place on November 5, 2020 at 5:00 pm ET via Zoom. Please register in advance. See details inside.

The Federation of State Humanities Councils (FSHC), a membership non-profit, is seeking a meeting planning professional to join its staff as the Meetings & Conference Manager. Previous experience in meeting and conference planning is required to be successful in this vital role. FSHC offers a collegial work environment with a small, dynamic, and collaborative team dedicated to supporting its mission of strengthening the state and jurisdictional humanities councils.

Humanities organizations have extraordinary power in the way that they frame not only our shared and distinct histories in the United States, but also imagining and shaping our collective future, and this includes Indigenous futures. Those of us engaged in humanities work have an opportunity to model what institutional equity looks like by creating long term initiatives that quantify and measure equitable representation within our institutions while also investing in programs that foster career pathways for young Native people, making it explicitly clear that humanities work can be a place of empowerment where they can shape the narratives about their own cultures and communities. Read more from endawnis here.

The humanities have a central role in moving our country and society forward. In addition to promoting and contextualizing art, people that work in the humanities must contextualize what it means to be human in a time and place like this. The humanist’s job is to explain the creative and intellectual intersections of human experience within a historical era.

The 2020 National Humanities Conference, which was going to be held in Indianapolis, IN in November has been canceled due to COVID-19.

Our objective isn’t to assume that we have all the answers; we want to work together with libraries, museums, historical societies, scholars, journalists, activists, and fellow citizens to celebrate fundamental dignity; collectively challenge the structures and issues that stand in the way of equality; and promote a true common good which is consistent with our founding principles.

When I wrote my President’s message on my first day on the job just a little over a month ago, I included one of the Federation’s guiding principles: “The humanities strengthen the civic, cultural, and social fabric of society by fostering understanding and promoting an engaged citizenry.” I reiterate it now as we see our nation urgently needs learning, understanding, and healing. Today we also see the vital importance and evidence of an engaged citizenry across the country.

Here is a small sample of programs offered by the state humanities councils on race, inequality, Black history, interracial communications, and more. These programs use the humanities to provide historical context, share personal experiences, and build understanding to better foster empathy.

“We at the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC), similar to other humanities organizations that comprise the Federation, see ourselves as having three primary roles – convener, connector, and catalyst.  All three roles are critically important.” Read more from Kevin Lindsey here.

It’s been exactly two weeks since we welcomed Phoebe Stein as the new Federation President so we wanted to catch her (in between all the Zoom meetings!) to see how she is doing, what it feels like to begin her leadership during a pandemic, her thoughts about the organization and humanities community as a whole, and finally whether she’s a virtual coffee break or happy hour kind of person!

The 2020 National Humanities Conference is scheduled to take place November 5-8, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana, home of the St. Elmo Shrimp Cocktail, the Indy 500, and six vice presidents! As we gear up for the big event, we asked Indiana Humanities to share these 10 fun facts about the state and host city, Indianapolis.

Extend your documentary repertoire with several unique offerings from state humanities councils! Films from a wide range of topics such as Responding to COVID, the Veteran Experience, Women’s History and UNLADYLIKE2020, Virtual Theater, Hoosier Film Festival and more, can be found and viewed by just clicking a button. Let us know your thoughts by tagging us on social @HumFed and using #HumanitiesAtHome.

More than anything else, the humanities inspire empathy.  The disciplines and tools allow you to see the world from someone else’s perspective.  That’s more important than ever now, especially when we are physically distant.  If I’m young with no pre-existing conditions, no kids, no elderly relatives, I may need elucidation of what this situation is like for those individuals, and thus why it’s important for me to socially distance, wear a mask, and wash my hands.  The humanities are the best way to give people that alternative point of view, which could help save lives. Read the full interview with Delaware Humanities Deputy Director Ciera Fisher.

COVID has illuminated so much of what is already in place and what isn’t in place. And it has raised questions that are clearly rooted in the daily and long-term realities of people’s lives. In this moment, we’re trying to show up as a calm, encouraging, and reliable partner in creating opportunities for people all over Oregon to feel a strong sense of interpersonal connection and shared imagination. Read the full interview with Oregon Humanities Executive Director Adam Davis.