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November 2015

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Go dinosaur hunting, explore racial utopias, learn traditional blacksmithing, celebrate Veterans’ Day, glimpse the inside of an immigration detention cell, and, of course, give thanks for a bountiful harvest—these options and many more await you on our November events calendar.

tweet welcome to Abbye

A Warm Welcome

Abbye Meyer joins our staff as our new Program Officer.

We were overwhelmed by the number and the quality of applications we received for the new Program Officer position – nearly 100. Abbye Meyer stood out. She brings with her a PhD in English (with a specialization in Young Adult Literature and Disability Studies) from the University of Connecticut, an M. Phil. in American Studies from the University of Glasgow, a BA in English and Creative Writing from Dartmouth College. Abbye taught and developed curricula for Boston-area youth at College Bound Dorchester and The Writers’ Express (now Summer Ink), where she was the founding director. Abbye shares our commitment to improving civic life in the Commonwealth, as in her words, “Such a mission, I know, leads to social change and growth in our communities.” Welcome aboard, Abbye!

TWEET A WELCOME MESSAGE TO ABBYE »

Facing Race

We took a profound and productive look at race relations in the U.S.

The Mass Humanities fall forum, Citizenship, Justice, and Racial Conciliation brought Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Douglas Blackmon, political theorist Danielle Allen, law professor James Forman, Jr., and philosopher Tommie Shelby together at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute in Boston for a far-reaching conversation about the causes and consequences of racial injustice in America. The take-away from the event was best expressed by James Forman – “Bring it home.” Laws alone cannot achieve racial justice. Each of us needs to do everything we can to promote racial justice in our neighborhoods, in our work places, and in the organizations we support.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS »

Common Good Reads

Mass Humanities puts Pulitzer-winning books in your hands.

The common good is an elusive concept that communities across the state aim to pin down in the coming year with a new grant opportunity from Mass Humanities. Common Good Reads grants will fund reading and discussion groups in adult basic education settings, prisons, and libraries thanks to a joint venture between the Pulitzer Foundation and the Federation of State Humanities Council. Applications accepted now through September 2016 and awards will be announced on a first come, first served basis.

FIND OUT HOW TO APPLY »

Reaching Out, Touching Home

Our Social Media Outreach Grant delivers for Touching Home in China.

A Mass Humanities Social Media Outreach Grant enabled the filmmakers behind the multimedia work Touching Home in China to launch an expanded website and social media campaign. The site chronicles two Chinese-American girls who, having been abandoned as newborns, return to China as teenagers. Their story, historical context, and much more is now available in many formats.

BROWSE THE NEW SITE »

The Lure of the Spindle

Sheer serendipity brought Portuguese history to light in Lowell.

A chance discovery in the attic of Lowell City Hall inspired the Mass Humanities-funded exhibit “The Lure of the Spindle.” The unearthed historical collections of photographs, maps, city records, and other artifacts have drawn city councilors, historians, and families with deep ties to Lowell to the Boott Cotton Mills Museum for the exhibit, which highlights the Portuguese community’s history and influence in Lowell, and comes down December first.

CATCH THE EXHIBIT »

Russian Icons, American Excellence

A Massachusetts museum receives the highest national award.

The American Alliance of Museums awarded the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, MA, the highest possible accolade for an American museum, full accreditation by the Alliance. Headed by former Mass Humanities board member Kent Russell, the Museum houses the largest and finest collection of Russian icons outside of Russia, the only one of its kind in the United States.

READ MORE ABOUT THE AWARD »

We, the Peoples

Giving educators a more accurate account of American colonization.

The shortest route to encountering the past is through primary sources, which also happen to enable a better understanding of the lenses through which history is viewed. Teachers who attended the Mass Humanities funded “We, the Peoples” training program examined artifacts and approaches alike using the collection of the Robbins Museum and open-ended discussions with indigenous communities. The result was a learning experience that transformed the teachers’ understandings and curricula.

FIND OUT MORE »

Life on the Inside

Listen as detained immigrants tell their stories and explain their detentions through recorded interviews in the Mass Humanities supported effort, Community Bonds: Life Inside Immigration in Massachusetts. A discussion with an immigration lawyer and the project founder will follow each screening this November.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY BONDS »

Ideas Matter

Herencia Latina on Air

Raul Gutierrez, Professor of Spanish at Holyoke Community College, and Cliff McCarthy, President of the Pioneer Valley History Network, discuss their nine-month program to foreground Latino history in western Massachusetts.

LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW »

The Public Humanist

Powerful Black Women

When Viola Davis shared her spotlight at the Emmys with Harriet Tubman, she joined a long line of black women challenging power, our Public Humanist Barbara Lewis explains.

READ THE PUBLIC HUMANIST »

Mass Moments

River Power

Countless factories tapped the abundant water power available in the Blackstone Valley and the turbines they used powered the American industrial revolution. Many of these sites were given national heritage status on this day in 1986.

GET THE HISTORY »

Mass Humanities on Facebook

Black Deaths Matter

Historic black cemeteries have devolved into trash dumps and overgrown forests, while tidy Confederate memorials still draw public funding, Seth Freed Wessler writes for the Nation.

READ THE ARTICLE »

Mass Humanities on Twitter

Truth and Reconciliation

One of the first Truth and Reconciliation Commissions in the US addressed the question of what happened to Wabanaki children and families involved with the Maine child welfare system. A Mass Humanities grant helped the Upstander Project to tell this story.

WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY »

Humanities Calendar

We list the best humanities programming in the Commonwealth on our event calendar. See what is happening this month at Mass Humanities.

FIND EVENTS»

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Mass Humanities is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the use of history, literature, philosophy, and the other humanities disciplines to deepen our understanding of the issues of the day, strengthen our sense of common purpose, and enrich individual and community life.

The National Endowment for the Humanities and the Massachusetts Cultural Council fund Mass Humanities grants. Encourage your state and federal legislators to support these agencies.

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