The Center promotes understanding of the humanities and highlights their vital role in a vibrant, democratic society through a variety of public programs and initiatives, podcasts, and events.
Public Events
Fresh Off the Press: NHC Fellows Discuss New and Intriguing Work
November 2021–February 2022
The National Humanities Center is pleased to present a series of engaging monthly talks featuring recently published books by NHC Fellows on a variety of topics.
The Afterlife of the Humanities Major
November 9, 2021
What becomes of humanities majors after they finish the degree? How might colleges and universities assist them in the transition? Join the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Humanities Center for a conversation about these issues that will feature the perspectives of both academia and industry.
Lorraine Daston, “Science Goes Global”
October 13, 2021
In this Scholar-to-Scholar talk, Lorraine Daston (NHC Fellow, 2021–22) discusses how scientists began developing international collaborations and organizations in the late nineteenth century.
In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Humanities
April 7–22, 2021
This conference included a series of virtual events highlighting perspectives from leading humanists, scientists, engineers, artists, writers, and executives collectively advancing inquiry into key emerging questions around artificial intelligence.
Podcasts
Bloodborne: Invasion and the Politics of Disease
Gregg Mitman (NHC Fellow, 2020–21; 2004–05)
Ecological, economic, political, and social forces have turned regions of west Africa into profitable sites of natural resource extraction, productive enclaves of biomedical research, and hot zones for pandemic threats.
From Comedy to Comity: How Comic Literature Can Guide Us Toward a More Civil Society
John McGowan (NHC Fellow, 2017–18)
Literature—specifically comedy—can help us recognize our shared humanity and help us find ways to transcend our differences.
Discovery and Inspiration
Podcast Series
What makes scholars so passionate about the subjects they pursue? What is it like for them to make a new discovery? To answer a confounding question? And what can we learn by taking the time to ask scholars about the research they are doing?
Nerds in the Woods
Podcast Series
A series of virtual audio journeys through the intellectual woods, surveying some of the compelling topics being studied by historians and philosophers, scholars of literature, art, and other fields who come to the Center from all over the world.
Videos
The Price of Injustice: A Scholar-to-Scholar Conversation
Panel Discussion
Though these three scholars focus on different periods and places, their work illuminates the myriad ways that racism and systemic injustice affect us all.
“Local Color” Artists’ Panel
Moderated by William Ferris
Ferris, esteemed Southern folklorist and former chairman of the NEH, talks with photographers Joel Elliott and Richard Schramm about their experiences traveling around the region taking pictures.
Educating Citizens and Reforming Generations
Alan Taylor (NHC Fellow, 1993–94)
In the wake of the American Revolution, republican reliance on popular sovereignty complicated efforts by elites to improve voters through education.
An Evening with Seymour Hersh
NHC Public Event
Seymour “Sy” Hersh, one of our nation’s most important investigative journalists, discusses his most recent book, Reporter: A Memoir.
Humanities in Action
Individual Rights vs. Social Responsibilities in a Pandemic
In a pluralistic society committed to personal freedom, how can the humanities help us take action to ensure the common good?
Healing Rifts and Restoring Civility
What role do the humanities play in resolving conflicts, establishing justice, and fostering unity?
Addressing Structural Racism in the Academy
We must pay attention to those whose experiences of the academy have been shaped by encounters with racial bias if we are to have hope of correcting it.
Pursuing Justice and Preserving Open Debate
How do we balance our pursuit of a more just and equitable society with our desire to protect freedom of expression?
Humanities Moments
Creating Stories and Memories from Tradition
The final months of the year provide a chance to reflect on what connects us to one another. By participating in trans-generational acts of memory and storytelling, we can bring humanities moments to life and ensure they will be passed into the future.
La Fiesta de La Tirana: Integrating Spirituality, Corporality, and Tradition
The more we learn about divinity, the more we learn about our own transcendence and significance. The closer we get to our reality, the closer we get to unraveling the mystery of divinity.
A National Reckoning
Contributors to this collection reflect on the long, and often overlooked, history of racial inequality with an eye towards how the humanities can help overcome past injustices.
Creating Shelter: Moments from Home
In this collection of moments, contributors imagine home as a place, a feeling, a set of relationships, and as a site of learning and personal growth.
