PRESS RELEASE
The Mellon Foundation Awards FSHC with $150,000 for “The Humanities in American Life: Building Public Awareness”
THIS TWO-PART INITIATIVE WILL COLLECT DATA AND IMPACT STORIES FROM COUNCILS TO CREATE AN EASILY ACCESSIBLE ARCHIVE OF IMAGES, CONTENT, AND VIDEOS FOR LONG-TERM PUBLIC USE
Arlington, VA – The Federation of State Humanities Councils has been awarded $150,000 by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for The Humanities in American Life: Building Public Awareness, an initiative designed to strengthen efforts and resources to educate the public on the value of the humanities in American life through the implementation of two projects.
“A fundamental challenge to our work is the term ‘public humanities.’ What does it mean? Why is it important?” said Esther Mackintosh, president of the Federation of State Humanities Councils. “In this current climate of skepticism concerning the value of the humanities, it is now more important than ever to raise awareness of the vital role the humanities play in everyday American life and what would be lost without it. We are grateful to Mellon for its support, which allows us to implement this initiative in an accessible, relevant, and engaging way.”
The first project is the creation of a comprehensive, public repository of data and narratives, as well as a number of visually engaging briefing papers on an array of topics, demonstrating what the humanities are and how they’re involved in American life through council programs, partnerships, and impact evaluation studies. Topics may include veterans’ programs, community conversations, family literacy programs, and K-12 humanities education support.
The second expands on the research, testimonies, and evaluations of council programs collected to develop up to four 3-4 minute videos about council work and its impact. The first video will provide an overview of council work. The others will focus on selected categories to be determined following the initial research and collection period.
Additional details about the Humanities in American Life initiative will be announced in forthcoming releases.
ABOUT THE FEDERATION
The Federation of State Humanities Councils, founded in 1977 as the membership association of state and territorial councils, provides support for the state humanities councils and strives to create greater awareness of the humanities in public and private life. For more information about the Federation of State Humanities Councils, please visit: www.statehumanities.org
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