My humanities moment is about a brilliant encyclopedia which covered the vastness of world history from the prehistoric times to the present day in a concise and engrossing manner. I remember seeing the encyclopedia as a 5th grader in my neighbourhood bookstore. I was entranced by the picture on the book jacket. I think it … Continued
Author, educational advocate, and entrepreneur David Bruce Smith recounts how his passion for reading biographies as a child instilled in him an enduring love of history and allowed him to overcome scholastic pressures he faced to deviate from his intellectual path. This exercise also connected him more strongly to a shared literary tradition within his … Continued
Author, educational advocate, and entrepreneur David Bruce Smith discusses a transformational moment in his education, during which a high school teacher showed him the revelatory truth that history, at its core, is a collection of stories and gossip. Smith believes strongly that by presenting history to students as a series of exciting and illuminating stories, … Continued
In any successful international business venture, you need to understand another culture. That’s the advice that James Hackett gives to his students. In this video, he reflects on how theology school—especially the study of the Bible—prompted him to investigate the intricate connections between religion, history, and culture.
I read this quote in a Starbucks cafe two weeks before final exams. I was completely focused on the overwhelming cluster of due dates standing in between me and graduation. One of the deadlines that was rapidly approaching was my annotated bibliography for my Senior Seminar. I had chosen the Rwandan genocide, thinking I would … Continued
I encourage everyone to watch novelist Chimamanda Adichie’s 2009 TED talk “The Danger of A Single Story.” Adichie uses her personal experiences to illustrate the importance of sharing different stories about people. She warns of the consequences of a single story and how it can rob people of their dignity, create stereotypes, and make difficult … Continued
The most literal definition of the word humanities as always fascinated me. What could be cooler than getting to the very crux of what it means to be human by studying all the unique, beautiful, and awe inspiring things humanity has created? Humanists get to study the “whoa” and the “wow” moments of the human … Continued
I was born in Boston and raised in New England. I attended an elite, all-girls, private school in New England, which was established in 1854 with the mission of turning out highly educated, capable young ladies, even before college was an option for all. So by the time I got there in the 1960s and … Continued
In front of the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta you’ll find this statue of Mohandas Gandhi. For years I have used a photograph of this statue to introduce our Indian Independence unit to my 7th graders with the prompt “Why is this statue of Gandhi in front of the King Center?” My students are … Continued
The image of this colorful sign is obviously meant to be “fun” and perhaps even funny. When I took this picture while traveling with fellow teachers and educators in Barbados, it honestly was because I thought the sign was kind of cute. But later on that day, when I thought about the sign and about … Continued