Vermont Humanities

Kwanitekw – Sustainer of Life

In honor of World Water Day, the Vermont Abenaki Artists Association (VAAA) is pleased to present Kwanitekw (Connecticut River): The Sustainer of Life. On March 22 at 7pm, a panel of Indigenous citizens and environmental scientists share multiple perspectives on living in relationship with the Connecticut River watershed.

Ethical Implications of AI Panel Discussion

As our society increasingly relies on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, how can we understand and articulate the ethical implications of this rapidly developing field? Designed to connect more deeply with BCA's exhibition "Co-Created: The Artist in the Age of Intelligent Machines," join us for a moderated discussion with a panel of speakers who will explore the moral and social complexities of AI.

Vermont Reads: Podcast Interviews

Brownell Library 6 Lincoln St, Essex Junction, VT

Bring a friend or family member to share a short story about finding yourself in new places or situation. Your story will be edited by teens and shared with the wider community as part of our 2023 Vermont Reads Programming about "The Most Costly Journey." Prompts and easy-to-follow instructions will be available, along with help from a youth librarian.

Must Free Speech Endure Hate Speech?

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Bennington 108 School St, Bennington, VT

The First Amendment prevents Congress from passing any laws that abridge the freedom of speech. But what does that actually mean? Professor Meg Mott considers the history of speech laws in the United States, how states and municipalities have tried to curb offensive speech, and how the Supreme Court has ruled on those efforts.

Revolution in Our Time

Brooks Memorial Library 224 Main St, Brattleboro, VT

National Book Award finalist Kekla Magoon discusses her award-winning nonfiction book, Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People. The Vermont author also considers the importance of reading as a tool for social change, and our individual and collective power to transform our communities.  

In Goldleana’s Hands: Black Women and Labor Choices in North Louisiana in 1950s

Ilsley Public Library 75 Main St, Middlebury, VT

Jolivette Anderson-Douoning shares the lived experience of Mrs. Goldleana, whose story illuminates the role Black women played as laborers in the Louisiana cotton and timber industries—and in their own families—in the 1940s and 50s. She also highlights geographical differences in Black migration: some left the South while others remained. 

The Art of the Haiku

Kellogg-Hubbard Library 135 Main St, Montpelier, VT

Poet Keiselim (Keysi) Montás discusses how to read the traditional Japanese poetic form of haiku, illustrated with works from his haiku collection, Like Water.

From Red State to Blue State: Vermont’s Political Transformation

Goodrich Memorial Library 202 Main St, Newport, VT

For 100 years—from the 1850s to the 1950s—Vermont was the most Republican state in the nation. But today it is the most Democratic. Journalist Chris Graff considers some factors behind the switch from “red to blue,” including interstate highways, the arrival of IBM in Vermont, and the reapportionment of the Vermont House.