Calendar of Events
Humanities for Everyone
January 2020
The History and Structure of Stone Walls
New England has thousands of miles of stone walls. Author and builder Kevin Gardner discusses the history of stone walls and how they became a significant element of our landscape, all while building a miniature New England wall in the library. Read More »
February 2020
Refugee Theater: Kurdish and Yazidi Women Speak Out
Rojava, a revolutionary experiment in Kurdish Syria, attempts to create an inclusive democracy safe from ISIS, Turkish incursion, and Syria’s civil war. Smith College professor Ellen W. Kaplan discusses the process of interviewing women, activists, refugees, and fighters from the Rojava region, and transforming their experiences into theater. Read More »
March 2020
Come and Listen
In this interactive “listening party,” archivist Andy Kolovos and producer Mary Wesley share audio clips from the Vermont Folklife Center’s archives that showcase Vermont’s past and present diversity. Read More »
April 2020
Mindfulness: Its History, Practice, and Meaning
Marlboro College professor William Edelglass traces the history of mindfulness from multiple traditions, starting with early Buddhist texts and ending with the secularization of mindfulness in contemporary American society. Read More »
May 2020
The Salt of the Earth: The Rhetoric of White Supremacy
In 2014 in Grand Saline, Texas, a 79-year-old white Methodist minister named Charles Moore set himself on fire as a final protest against the community’s racism. Drawing from his documentary film Man on Fire, Middlebury professor James Sanchez discusses the rhetoric of white supremacy and suggests ways communities might address bigotry. Read More »