Sharing and Shaping Humanities Perspectives

Throughout National Arts and Humanities Month, the Federation has been exploring the amplitude of “the humanities,” paying close attention to the ways humanities councils both help to shape and are … Read more

Martha R. Bireda

Councils Celebrate Black History Month

In February, the humanities council community commemorates the critical contributions, lived experiences, and cultural heritage of Black Americans who have shaped the country’s history…

Celebrate Native American Heritage with Humanities Councils

November marks a time of gratitude but also commemoration with National Native American Heritage Month, and Indigenous cultures are often the focus of humanities councils’ work.

Making Meaning Episode 3: Environmental Justice, Climate Disasters, And The Humanities

Adrienne Kennedy, a climate activist and organizer from south Lumberton, North Carolina, talks about what environmental justice looks like for her after Hurricane Matthew destroyed her home. Dr. Joseph Campana, director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Rice University, explores ways the humanities can help us process relentless patterns of climate catastrophe.

An Orientation in Time: The History of Civic Participation

Grounding ourselves in civic history means embracing generations of community. This doesn’t mean that we must all agree, but instead that we listen to one another across the different places, lived experiences, and rich cultures that make up our nation. 

Environmental Humanities Programming

Preservation and education, water and recovery – for humanities councils, Earth Day in April was a reflection of environmental conversations they spark all year round. As a panelist at a Wisconsin Humanities discussion said, “What’s the best way to talk about [climate change], knowing that as a starting point this is something that should be historically, culturally, and context-dependent?”

Florida Humanities Navigates Sacred Waters

“When we think about stories, we think of this ‘Once upon a time…’ there’s a moral, a take-away, that tells us something larger about ourselves and about our environment,” Machado said in “Sacred Water: Exploring the Protection of Florida’s Fluid Landscapes,” a Florida Humanities virtual presentation recorded on October 14, 2020. Read more about Florida Humanities’ program and how the humanities can help us think about our environment.

Interview with Keith Simmons, Florida Humanities Communications Director

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.

Councils Kick Off Democracy and the Informed Citizen Programs in 2018

In partnership with The Pulitzer Prizes and supported by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, forty-nine councils will launch hundreds of programs and events exploring the importance of being an informed citizen and what that means in today’s society.

Pulitzer Prizes and FSHC Launch Centennial Campfires Programming

Pulitzer and the Federation of State Humanities Councils kick-off the 2016 launch of the Pulitzer Centennial and Campfires Initiative

Forty-Six State Humanities Councils Awarded Funding for Pulitzer Prizes Centennial Campfires Initiative

Awards total more than $1.5 million for grassroots programming in celebration of the Pulitzer’s Centennial.