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Improving Civic Life
We made $121,658 in grants in our most recent round.
Nineteen organizations received funding in our latest grant-making round. Thanks to these grants, film, theater, history, literature, and many more humanities disciplines will be a staple of life in the Commonwealth this year. Preview the outstanding humanities programming soon coming your way!
LOOK AT THE PROJECTS WE FUNDED »
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Making the Humanities Public
We’re launching three public humanities centers at community colleges
We're thrilled to announce that the National Endowment for the Humanities is supporting our initiative to start planning three public humanities centers at community colleges in Massachusetts!
GET THE DETAILS »
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Engaging New Audiences
Franklin County Jail residents read Pulitzer Prize-winning writing
Eighteen incarcerated participants engage in conversation about Douglass Blackmon’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning book Slavery by Another Name and Trenda Loftin’s play “When the System Swallows You” in our Common Good Reads program in the Franklin County Jail. The residents bring their lived experiences to bear on the sessions, shaping and reshaping their stories of incarceration and empowering themselves through the humanities.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT COMMON GOOD READS »
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Putting God on the Couch
What would Sigmund Freud say to C.S. Lewis?
Science and religion both contradict and complement each other in New Repertory Theatre’s ongoing Spotlight Symposium series, funded by Mass Humanities. Theatre artists, area academics, and experts explore ideas related to New Rep’s production of “Freud’s Last Session” and how it relates to our contemporary world.
CATCH THE PLAY & SYMPOSIUM »
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Put History on the Map
What’s coming up for the 2016 Mass History Conference?
Join keynote speaker Steve Bromage, Executive Director of the Maine Historical Society, in engaging our state’s network of small historical organizations this June 13th at the annual Mass History Conference. The conference explores best practices for showcasing the complex economic, social, political, and cultural issues that dominated our past and shape our present.
ADD IT TO YOUR CALENDAR »
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The Portuguese Kitchen
WGBY celebrates the history and culture of Portuguese cuisine
The Portuguese Kitchen, hosted by Manny Lopes, introduces viewers to the Portuguese and Azorean communities of the Northeast through food. Manny prepares a seafood cataplana in the Mass Humanities-funded trailer. Visit WGBY’s website for the recipe and to show your support for the new show.
WATCH THE TRAILER »
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Record-Breaking Numbers
Droves of Douglass readers hold annual events statewide
A thousand people attended last year’s Reading Frederick Douglass events, making every one of our nine events a major success. This year we’re looking to grow those numbers even higher. Lead your neighbors in a discussion of the meaning of the Fourth of July this summer, we’ve got the funds and resources to support you.
FIND OUT MORE »
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Armed Teachers
Up to ten states around the country have already officially begun arming school workers. Good Guy with a Gun, a Mass Humanities-funded documentary, makes an inquiry into this complex and controversial topic and many of the larger social issues to which it is connected.
SEE THE FILM IN THE MAKING »
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To Have and Have Not
The Belmont World Film Festival continues this month in Belmont and West Newton with five screenings of films never before seen in New England. Films from Israel, Portugal, and elsewhere address inequality and promote cross-cultural understanding.
GET YOUR TICKETS »
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To the Moon
Neil Mahar, a public scholar with the New York Council for the Humanities, discusses a little-known dimension of both the space program and the political movements of the 1960s NASA and The Civil Rights Movement.
LISTEN TO IDEAS MATTER »
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Before the Brussels Attacks
The Brussels attacks and conflicts in the Middle East generally have roots in a history tracing back to at least the Ottoman Empire. What history contributed to current Middle East politics?
OUR PUBLIC HUMANIST FINDS OUT »
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Martin Luther King Assassinated
Boston crackled with tension on this day in 1968 after learning that Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. had been killed in Memphis, Tennessee.
READ THE HISTORY »
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Philosophy Makes Kids Smarter
STEM and the humanities may not be as divergent as traditional wisdom holds, suggests one UK study that shows math and English scores improve with philosophy studies.
FIND OUT WHY »
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Who Was Jolly Jane?
Nothing about Jolly Jane suggested she was one of our state's most notorious serial killers yet she is remembered as “one of the most notorious women poisoners” in history.
FIND OUT WHO SHE WAS »
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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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