Our Speakers Bureau provides informative and thought-provoking presentations by scholars and experts on diverse humanities topics. These rich experiences are accessible for Vermont non-profit organizations to present in their community for a $75 program fee. Please note some speakers ask for additional compensation such has covering mileage.
We have re-opened Speakers Bureau bookings only for Vermont Reads 2026: Charity and Sylvia and America 250th related programs. In September, we plan to re-open the entire Speakers Bureau catalog for bookings in 2027.
Contact Jacob Pelletier at jpelletier@vermonthumanities.org.
On December 27, 1831, after Charles Darwin and Captain Robert Fitzroy shared a final lunch of mutton chops and champagne ashore, the Beagle got underway. Darwin’s firsthand account of the journey, The Voyage of the Beagle, is one of history’s greatest true adventure stories. The voyage was supposed to last two years, but it ended up stretching out to five.
While George Washington aimed to curb his own influence and image lest the citizenry come to view him as a monarch, he frequently indulged romantic ideas around his manliness. Jasper Craven shows how the figure he allegedly cut – as the “political savior of our nation” who bravely “conducted the Americans’ thro seas of blood” – helped form America’s foundational warrior archetype, and its closely related, ever-evolving masculine mold.
Join musician and historian Sara Grey for a presentation on a genre of old songs that are rarely sung or talked about from the expansions of railroads across the US. Using some excellent images to coincide with the songs, Grey will focus on many aspects of the west and westward expansion.
The U.S. has been at war, in one form or another, for all but about 18 of the past 250 years of the county’s existence. What does this mean if this is a constant in our lives? How do we invite the conservatives and progressives into the room to talk together?
Much of current American culture seems divorced from the realities of ordinary (and especially, rural) life. The images of “country life” for so many Americans alternates between Oh, isn’t this charming and rustic! and Oh, how rural and backward! Sometimes it is patronizing and infuriating. Other times it just seems disappointing and sad. Join Scudder Parker for an exploration of these topics.
CALLING is a participatory, interdisciplinary humanities offering that invites communities to reflect, create, and reimagine what it means to be American at the threshold of our nation’s 250th anniversary.
Classical music has been used to enhance many of our favorite films. Join Rick Winston as he explores how music makes these films, and experience clips from these films and others.
Join Will Eberle as he helps individuals and communities identify the lingo and phraseology that so often “triggers” people of differing viewpoints and prevents real communication and understanding.
You probably pass by your local cemetery every day—but did you know that the images carved into those stones contain secret messages? Vermont Book Award Winner and folklorist GennaRose Nethercott will teach you to crack the codes hidden in old New England gravestone art.
What does it take to turn a creative spark into something sustainable—and maybe even life-changing? In this engaging and practical talk, collage artist and creative entrepreneur Michael Sjostedt shares how his creative side hustles evolved over the years, helping him navigate economic downturns and career transitions while building community through art.
Some of Ernest Hemingway’s novels and short stories are considered among the greatest ever written. He’s also remembered as an international man of letters, a famous expatriate and macho outdoorsman spending all the right seasons in all the right places: Paris, Pamplona, Key West, Havana, Sun Valley, on safari in Africa. But Hemingway’s life was more complicated than the glamorous image that lives in the popular imagination.
Deliberation is the practice that holds our democracy together, but does it always lead to better decisions? When citizens only talk to like-minded citizens, the thinking gets stuck and the decisions tend to be more extreme. Presenter Meg Mott gives participants a chance to find new ways to think about a contentious issue using two fundamental principles of the Constitution: separation of powers and free speech.
On the 75th anniversary of The Catcher in the Rye, Jasper Craven chronicles the life of J.D. Salinger from a young cadet at Valley Forge Military Academy to an interrogator during World War II, including via unpublished writings provided by his estate, to illuminate the fiercely anti-war sentiments of his most famous novel.
This project will bring together Vermonters from across the state to discuss the founding principles and future of the Vermont National Guard, its relationship to the U.S. Constitution, and criteria for deployment to combat around the world. Veterans, service members, and their family members are particularly encouraged to participate in this discussion.
Vermont author Kerstin Lange considers the 870-mile-long border—now a unique nature preserve called the Green Belt—that divided her native Germany during the Cold War. Over 1200 rare animal and plant species found refuge in the highly militarized border strip.
In this lively, hands-on presentation, participants will be introduced to the fundamentals of cartooning as both an art form and a communication tool. Drawing on the past, present, and future of the medium, the session expands how we think about comics—not just as entertainment, but as a flexible language capable of conveying complex ideas with clarity and emotional impact. No prior drawing experience required!
The publication of Tillie Walden’s recent graphic novel Charity and Sylvia–and its selection as the 2026 Vermont Reads choice–was a wonderful impetus for the Henry Sheldon Museum to rethink how we might feature the story of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake in the museum galleries.
What can ordinary people do when democratic norms feel fragile, federal power expands, and communities most affected by conflict and climate disasters struggle to be heard? This presentation explores a continuum of nonviolent strategies available to communities seeking to protect their families and their voices—from calm, local acts of solidarity to election-related engagement, state-level legislative initiatives, and coordinated multi-state efforts.
Join artist and educator Jen Berger for a presentation that places monuments within the broader field of public art, examining how objects in shared space shape memory, belonging, and power, and how monuments, often permanent and officially sanctioned, are mistaken for neutral history.
Join musician and historian Sara Grey for a presentation on the evolution of old songs and ballads. They often are more akin to the old songs from the British Isles as they migrated into these regions first and did not lose their characteristics as much as they did when they migrated further south.
From “Birth of a Nation” to “Gone With the Wind,” harmful stereotypes of Black life were the rule in Hollywood. After World War II, there was some progress in showing a more realistic picture on the screen, due to the efforts of younger, more progressive Hollywood screenwriters – many of whom wound up on the Hollywood Blacklist.
Devastating recent rain events, including in July 2023 and 2024 and Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, have demonstrated that many communities in Vermont are vulnerable to damage from flooding. Historian Alan Berolzheimer examines how the development of settlement patterns over time have contributed to the problem of flooding in Vermont. Presentations will be adapted with town-specific content to the extent possible.
The First Amendment protects the free exercise of religion. The Fourteenth Amendment affords all persons equal protection under the law. What happens when those two rights collide? Constitutional law scholar Meg Mott considers whether protections for religious liberties must come at the expense of non-discrimination statutes.
In Vermont’s Constitution, citizens are urged to develop the civic virtues of justice, moderation, temperance, industry and frugality. This presentation considers the role Vermont’s five civic virtues hold in our current moment.
In response to concerns about election tampering in the 1850s, New Yorker Samuel Jollie proposed a novel solution: a ballot box made of glass. Emphasizing glass’s transparency and purity, Jollie suggested that his box would ensure fair and just elections. Middlebury professor Ellery Foutch illuminates the contemporary resonance of Jollie’s invention.
Join musician and historian Sara Grey for a presentation showing the changes that occurred when old songs migrated into various regions of Canada and the United States from Great Britain.
New York Times bestselling author M. T. Anderson, whose National Book Award-winning novel The Pox Party explored this history, will discuss some of the lost and overlooked stories of that revolution within the Revolution, and why they’re important to remember in this celebratory anniversary year.
National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson, author of Vermont Book Award Finalist Nicked, will talk about the historical St. Nicholas and the theft of his corpse, pulling from medieval accounts, the modern archaeological evidence from his tomb, and the forensic evidence of his body, which now lies beneath a floor in Apulia.
Part of the traditional allure of military service was that it promised romantic interest. This was typified at West Point’s Cadet Hostess Office, composed of military wives who taught etiquette to cadets and fielded love letters from girls at Vassar College and other nearby schools. But as the feminist and Vietnam anti-war movements coalesced, the uniform lost its luster.
A hurricane will never surprise us again. But that’s what happened to the people of New England on September 21, 1938. Without any warning, the most destructive weather event ever to hit the Northeast pummeled the coast and blasted its way to Vermont and New Hampshire with torrential rain, flooding, and sustained winds over 100 miles per hour.
On August 4, 1929, the Queen City’s street car era went up in literal flames. More than 5,000 attendees witnessed the spectacle of an unforgettable farewell party that made headlines worldwide. Author and filmmaker Jim Jones shares Burlington’s public transportation story, beginning with a horse-drawn street railway in 1885, followed by a state-of-the-art electrified system just eight years later.
Lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and even rain gutters teem with life you can easily observe. With an investment of less than $20 you can see many more of our fellow travelers. Declan McCabe, an aquatic ecologist and professor of biology at Saint Michael’s College, discusses and shares photographs of the stunning and fascinating organisms found in Vermont’s waterways.
Nineteenth-century Americans often saved or exchanged locks of hair, constructing jewelry or keepsake wreaths of their kinship networks. Delicate braids of hair also interlace to frame the famous silhouette of Charity Bryant and Sylvia Drake. In more recent decades, hair has become a powerful political medium. Middlebury professor Ellery Foutch shares research about hair-based works in local collections and explores the meanings of hair in American culture, past and present.
Experience with author and filmmaker Jim Jones the colorful ups and downs of Vermont’s famous “Island Line” railroad featuring four drawbridges, three causeways, breathtaking scenery, and fascinating anecdotes.
Historian, naturalist, professor, and minister, Zadock Thompson (1796-1856) played a significant role in how nineteenth-century Vermonters viewed their state’s heritage and appreciated its natural resources. Kevin Graffagnino looks at Thompson’s life and career, with particular emphasis on how his work shaped several generations of Vermont attitudes toward our state’s eighteenth-century beginnings.
1816 has long been known as the year without summer. This talk by Howard Coffin includes scores of anecdotes about the dark year of failed crops, scarce food, and religious revival.
Michael Tougias narrates the rich history of the Connecticut River, discussing the days of loggers, Indian Wars, steamships, and canals.
Vermont is not immune to issues like addiction, housing insecurity, and poverty. In recent years these overlapping problems have strained resources across the state, and can divide communities as they struggle to find solutions. Join Will Eberle as he explores how to surmount the effect of bias and stigma so we can improve the health, happiness, and sense of belonging for all Vermonters.
William Edelglass traces the intellectual history of the concept of race in the West, from its prehistory to today.
On December 27, 1831, after Charles Darwin and Captain Robert Fitzroy shared a final lunch of mutton chops and champagne ashore, the Beagle got underway. Darwin’s firsthand account of the journey, The Voyage of the Beagle, is one of history’s greatest true adventure stories. The voyage was supposed to last two years, but it ended up stretching out to five.
“We The People” are invited to learn the history of printing the American Revolution! Join letterpress printer John Vincent in conversation around an old printing press, pull a broadside, and imagine what the Next Revolution could be.
Rob Mermin explores the metaphors of mime technique—what mime master Marcel Marceau called “the silent language of the soul.”
Mary Fillmore examines the choices faced and decisions made by the people who lived alongside the Jewish population as persecution in Nazi-occupied Europe intensified.
Over 25 years ago, Peter Harrigan and Stan Baker were one of the three plaintiff couples in Vermont’s Freedom to Marry lawsuit. The Vermont Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in Baker v. State in 1999, which led to Vermont’s Civil Union law the following year.
Join musician and historian Sara Grey for a presentation on a genre of old songs that are rarely sung or talked about from the expansions of railroads across the US. Using some excellent images to coincide with the songs, Grey will focus on many aspects of the west and westward expansion.
Saint Michael’s College Theater professor Peter Harrigan has collected Barbies for over three decades, amassing a personal collection of over 500 of the figurines. In this talk, he takes a dive into the fantastic world of plastic and how it echoes our own world.
The U.S. has been at war, in one form or another, for all but about 18 of the past 250 years of the county’s existence. What does this mean if this is a constant in our lives? How do we invite the conservatives and progressives into the room to talk together?
Our seasonal “Words in the Woods” program allows Vermonters and visitors to enjoy our state’s natural beauty while listening to and reading literature in the outdoors.
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 the Chandler Center for the Arts’ Global Connections Youth Outreach program, which highlights artists from around the world.
Our free public events help bring the power of the humanities to communities across Vermont.
