2009 HELEN AND MARTIN SCHWARTZ PRIZE
For Public Humanities Programs

Click here for submission guidlines.

The Federation of State Humanities Councils is pleased to announce a call for submissions for the 2009 Schwartz Prize competition. The deadline for nominations is July 31st. The three prizes will be presented at the 2009 National Humanities Conference. We encourage you to submit a nomination.

The Schwartz Prize nominations submitted each year provide an impressive snapshot of the range of programs supported and conducted by councils across the country and the important role councils play in the cultural, educational and intellectual lives of their states. e country and the important role councils play in the cultural, educational and intellectual lives of their states. Winning projects in recent years, demonstrating the variety and vitality of these programs, include...

  • a three-phase initiative addressing a state's rapidly changing demographics, with a particular focus on immigrants, an aging population, and a shift of population from rural to urban communities
  • a collaborative project between colleges and local communities telling the forgotten story of Mexican-American semi-professional baseball teams
  • a statewide, collaborative initiative stimulating community dialog about race
  • the writing and production of a play used to create community dialogue about the divisive issue of taxation
  • a program which brings writers and scholars into prisons to teach courses in literature in order to empower neglected and marginalized groups
  • a heritage tourism website that allows visitors to create individualized travel itineraries focused on the state's cultural heritage and history
  • a workplace reading and discussion program that allowed employees working in the same physical space to bridge professional, economic and educational differences
  • a project that reconfirmed the power of classical literature to engage teachers at a teacher institute, members of the public at a weekend seminar, and a group of teenage boys at a youth center.

In an effort to recognize and give visibility to all programs submitted to the contest, please accompany each submission with an electronic image and description of the project suitable for posting to the Federation website. Additionally, contestants are encouraged to bring a tri-fold poster describing their program to the conference. All posters will be displayed on the main conference floor in order to provide your colleagues with an opportunity to learn about your work.

Please call or email Carrie Graf with questions regarding the Schwartz Prize at cgraf@statehumanities.org or at (703) 842-0815.

 

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