Using the humanities, we connect with people across Vermont to create just, vibrant, and resilient communities and to inspire a lifelong love of learning.
Dive into our two humanities podcasts to engage and learn about new perspectives.
September 24
New England’s longest river, the Connecticut, is rich in history. Michael Tougias, author of fourteen books about New England, offers a narrated slide presentation that takes the viewer down the entire 410 miles of the river, discussing history from the days of loggers, Indian Wars, steamships, and canals.
September 24
Defeated, humiliated, and in chaos, Germany after World War I was imperiled by leftist revolution and right-wing violence. Jack Mayer recounts the origins of the Third Reich through the story of Ernst Werner Techow, a member of the para-military Free Corps and the murderous Organization C, who was recruited into a clandestine assassination network trying to bring down the fledgling Weimar democracy.
September 26
Explore a multi-generational novel of personal stories, difficult issues and historical events set in 1950s San Francisco. Scholar Suzanne Brown leads the discussion. Copies of the novel are available at both the Quechee and Wilder Libraries. The hybrid discussion will be hosted at Quechee Library, with refreshments. Zoom link is available upon request.
September 26
For this special edition of Evening Book Group, we’ll discuss VT Reads 2022: The Most Costly Journey (El viaje más caro). Illustrated by New England cartoonists in a variety of styles, each short chapter describes aspects of life as an immigrant farm worker in Vermont: crossing the southern border, struggling with English, adapting to winter, growing gardens, raising children, dealing with health crises, and working long hours.
September 27
Paradoxically, the Internet has made it both easier and harder to find “truth.” Almost everything we could ever want to know is available online, but how can we tell the good sources from the bad ones, discern fact from assumption, and distinguish “fake news” from the real thing? And how can we effectively communicate with others when discussing or debating public issues in the news? Veteran journalist and educator Mark Timney will explore these questions and share strategies for evaluating news sources in the rapidly changing digital information age.
September 27
During the pandemic, workers fought back against dangerous workplaces, low wages, and polarizing politics. Jamie McCallum examines the long shadow of labor militancy and workplace organizing that began during the pandemic, building on hundreds of interviews with workers and a mountain of other data to look at the pandemic through the eyes of the American working class
September 30
SVAC’s exhibition features award-winning illustrator and author, Ashley Bryan, who is widely respected for filling a void in children’s literature through centering stories of Black life and African folk tales.
September 30
1816 has long been known as the year without summer. Vermonters still call it “1800 and Froze to Death,” a year of frosts every month, dark skies, and mysterious lights that caused a widespread belief that a higher power was displeased. In this talk, historian Howard Coffin includes scores of anecdotes on the dark year of failed crops, scarce food, and religious revival.
October 1
PURPLE is a 7-piece (and often bigger) “booty shakin’, sweaty, stinky, funky good time dance party” led by frontman Craig Mitchell who navigates through Prince’s seemingly endless catalog of music.
October 1
Music has the tradition of bringing community together, especially in the rural regions of the country. Join us for food and music by and for farmers, farmworkers, and their communities.
October 2
The Pulitzer-winning novels in this series examine not only relationships, but the ways difficult chapters of a family’s past are revealed by the passing of time. The next book read will be The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx.
October 4
Each one of us has a story that is valuable. Rajnii Eddins utilizes spoken word as a tool for engagement in conversations about race, culture, equity and the richness to be found in each of our stories. In this presentation, Eddins will share his poetry and the historical context in which it was created. He will discuss how our stories can be used to confront racism and other injustices, affirm diversity and equity, and initiate community dialogue. He will conclude with a conversation about how attendees can share their stories as a way to create healing and to grow mutual understanding.
We recently gave a $5000 project grant to the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction to print and distribute a comic to schools and literacy organizations throughout Vermont.
How We Read, A Graphic Guide To Literacy will help kids experience the joy of reading and overcome the stigma of struggling to read.
Learn more about our Project Grants
Image courtesy Center for Cartoon Studies
Vermont Humanities has developed a broad range of programs that serves Vermonters of all ages and backgrounds. In 2021, 31,365 people took part in 562 activities hosted by us or by our community partners.
The Anne Commire Fund for Women in the Humanities supports projects that focus on women writers. Anne (at far left) is shown with the cast of her play “Melody Sisters” in 1984.
The fund was created through a legacy gift of $125,000 from Anne’s estate, one of the largest individual gifts ever made to Vermont Humanities.
By giving to Vermont Humanities, you support education for people of all ages through early literacy programs, Humanities Camps for middle-school children, and programs held in libraries, community centers, schools, and correctional facilities.
Poet Sarah Audsley joined us at the Taconic Mountains Ramble State Park for Words in the Woods.
Humanities Camps are filled with reading and writing projects, field trips, and outdoor activities.
We won a 2020 Schwartz Prize for best public humanities programming in the U.S. for Vermont Reads 2019: “March: Book One.”
We supported Historic New England’s “More than a Market” project that explored the experiences of new Americans through food markets.
Our free public events help bring the power of the humanities to communities across Vermont.
