Join Vermont Humanities online, and then in person, at the 47th annual Fall Conference to take a clear-eyed look at the theory and practice of democracy.
We’ll pay special attention to the current state of civic engagement in the United States. How can we work to bring people together when we are so divided?
Weekly free digital programs begin on August 19, ending with small gatherings statewide in October and a capstone event at the State House after Election Day (if safety guidelines allow.)
*DIGITAL* Women’s Suffrage: Moral Advancement or Politics as Usual?
August 19
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
The suffrage movement operated under two very different principles. Elizabeth Cady Stanton saw women’s suffrage as a right that had been unfairly denied to women, while Frederick Douglass saw women’s suffrage as a means to save the country's soul. Professor Meg Mott considers both of these visions. Read More »
*DIGITAL* Democracy, Social Change, and Representation in N’dakinna (Our Homeland)
August 26
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
Deviating from the common format of solo keynote presentations, this lively discussion will include contributions from several Abenaki voices. Beginning with a greeting and historic overview of democracy in N'dakinna (Abenaki for Homeland), the panel will consider the threads of place, home, belonging, and representation in a time of great social change. Read More »
*DIGITAL* Democracy Knitting Circle
September 2
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
Knit or crochet pieces of a state capitol sculpture while discussing contemporary political issues via Zoom. Individual pieces will be assembled into a finished whole by artist Eve Jacobs-Carnahan. Read More »
*DIGITAL* Vermont’s Temples of Democracy: A Tour with State Curator David Schutz
September 9
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
Vermont State Curator David Schutz explores the architectural symbolism of Vermont’s beautifully-restored state capitol and connects the State House with the civic buildings—such as town halls and courthouses—that enable us to govern ourselves. Read More »
*DIGITAL* Cartoonists: Still Foot Soldiers of Democracy
September 16
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
Political cartoonist Jeff Danziger will speak about his role in a French documentary film, “Cartoonists, Foot Soldiers of Democracy,” and about creating editorial cartoons during this time in American history. Read More »
*DIGITAL* The Original Model of Athenian Democracy and America Today
September 23
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
While we might consider elections to be the cornerstone of democracy, the Athenians who coined the term actually employed a lottery system to choose most of their politicians. Melissa Schwartzberg describes the ins and outs of Athenian democracy, and considers some ways in which a lottery system might benefit us today. Read More »
*DIGITAL* My Brigadista Year: A Democratic Ideal Amidst a Movement
September 30
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
Join us for a conversation between Katherine Paterson and Vermont Humanities Executive Director Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup about Paterson's trips to Cuba and what compelled her to write about the Cuban literacy brigades of the early 1960s. Read More »
Merely Bystanders: The Psychology of Courage and Inaction
October 7
7:00 pm
Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro
Amherst College psychology professor Catherine Sanderson examines the factors that lead most of us to stay silent in the face of bad behavior, and how this tendency to stay silent allows such acts to continue. Sanderson will provide practical strategies that we can all use to speak up and take action. Read More »
Alexander von Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture
October 14
7:00 pm
Renowned Prussian naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt was one of the most influential figures of the nineteenth century. He visited the United States in 1804 and met with our leading thinkers. Eleanor Jones Harvey, senior curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, illuminates Humboldt's lasting impression on American visual arts, sciences, literature, and politics. Read More »
*DIGITAL* The Reporter: A Preview of the Vermont International Film Festival 2020
October 21
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
In partnership with the Vermont International Film Festival (VTIFF), we present a preview of VTIFF's Global Roots Film Festival: The Reporter, which features 12 films focused on the importance of journalism to democracy. Join us for previews and clips from the films and a discussion with director Orly Yadin. Read More »
*DIGITAL* Getting it Right: Reseach and Diligence in Reporting
October 28
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
Author and longtime Vermont journalist Yvonne Daley interviews David Moats, her former colleague from the Rutland Herald, about Moats’ series of Pulitzer Prize-winning editorials on the divisive issues arising from civil unions for same-sex couples, and about the importance of research and depth in journalism. Read More »
*DIGITAL* Say Their Names, A Personal Story of Artistic Activism
November 4
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
In May 2020, Dr. Matthew Evan Taylor began a composition in response to the escalating uprising in the wake of the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Ahmaud Arbery. Including selections from his recorded work, Dr. Taylor will discuss his journey towards using music as an avenue for advocacy and activism. Read More »
*DIGITAL* The Presidents vs. the Press: The Endless Battle Between the White House and the Media
November 13
7:00 pm
Vermont Humanities Digital Channels, Online
How did we go from journalism as a trusted form of information to an era of “fake news” and “alternative facts”? Presidential historian Harold Holzer examines the tension between chief executives and their chief critics, from George Washington to the present. Read More »