Public Programs and Events - National Humanities Center

Public Programs and Events

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

The Center hosts an ongoing slate of events designed to explore important topics, showcase the work of scholars, and foster greater appreciation for the value of the humanities in our lives.

Restoring Our Vitality: The Heart of the Matter and the Future of the Humanities

Coming Spring 2023

In the wake of a global pandemic, amid festering social and political divisions, and with trust in higher education and other institutions ebbing, how might the humanities meaningfully improve life in twenty-first-century America?

VIDEO

A Crisis of Caring: The Humanities and Our Health

April 11–14, 2022

This interdisciplinary conference considers the ways that knowledge drawn from humanities disciplines and methodologies can help identify the symptoms and causes of our malaise while guiding us toward a healthier, more caring future.

VIDEO

In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Humanities

April 7–22, 2021

This conference examines issues surrounding the integration of AI through a series of virtual events highlighting perspectives from leading humanists, scientists, engineers, artists, writers, and executives collectively advancing inquiry into key emerging questions.

VIDEO

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? This conversation features the perspectives of both academia and industry.

See Previous Events

Videos

Many of the Center’s public events are made available via video streaming, and recordings may be found on the Center’s channels on YouTube and Vimeo along with other Center-produced content.

VIDEO

The Pre-History—and Likely Sequels—of the Insurrection at the U.S. Capitol

Scholar-to-Scholar Talk

The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, was the most violent assault on democracy in modern American history. Nancy MacLean (NHC Fellow, 2008–09; 2021–22) explains how it was the product of decades of intentional cultivation.

VIDEO

Freedomville: The Story of a 21st Century Slave Revolt

Laura T. Murphy (NHC Fellow, 2017–18)

Freedomville is the story of a small group of enslaved villagers in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, who founded their own town of Azad Nagar—Freedomville—after staging a rebellion against their slaveholders.

VIDEO

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.

VIDEO

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.

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Podcasts

Center podcasts explore a range of fascinating topics and feature conversations with scholars discussing their work—the questions that intrigue and perplex them, the passion that drives them, and how their scholarship may change the ways we think about the world around us.

PODCAST

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?

PODCAST

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.

PODCAST

Psychoanalysis in China

Howard Chiang (NHC Fellow, 2021–22)

Tracking the emergence and adaptation of psychoanalysis in China allows us to understand the effects of cultural and disciplinary exchange on emerging intellectual discourses.

PODCAST

Imagining the Tropics: Women and Tourism in the Caribbean

Elizabeth S. Manley (NHC Fellow, 2021–22)

From the proliferation of their travel writing in the late nineteenth century to their active roles in shaping the hospitality industry, women have played a central role in establishing an image of the Caribbean.

Listen Now

Humanities in Action

humanities in action

The Center’s Humanities in Action initiative highlights perspectives from leading humanists on compelling issues; provides ​​information about public policies affecting humanities research, education, and public programs; and supports humanities advocacy with a variety of tools and resources.

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?

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Humanities Moments

The Humanities Moments project is an ongoing effort to gather and share personal accounts of the ways the humanities illuminate our lives, help us better understand ourselves and each other, and allow us to more fully appreciate where we came from and where we are going.

VIDEO

Creating Stories and Memories from Tradition

The final months of the year provide a chance to reflect on what connects us to one another. Whether it’s an heirloom recipe or an annual gathering, traditions can offer ways to remember the shared past and envision the future.

Composing Connections Through Music

Both intensely personal and communal, music is a medium through which to engage the world and one another, allowing us to forge connections across geographical and cultural borders.

VIDEO

How I Came to Oppose the Death Penalty

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Steve Earle discusses the impact of witnessing his father write a letter to the Texas governor on behalf of a condemned man in San Antonio.

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.

Read More Moments

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NHC entrance at night

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