Vermont Humanities
Painting of Jewish immigrants arriving in New York by boat

How Yiddish Changed America and How America Changed Yiddish

Yiddish is imprinted in American English in terms like chutzpah, kosher, bagel, and schmooze. And the work of Sholem Aleichem, Anzia Yezierska, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Grace Paley, and Irving Howe shows the deep impact of Jewish immigration on the United States. Amherst College professor Ilan Stavans surveys the journey.

Young woman walking into lit-up library building

Libraries in the Time of Covid

In the wake of the pandemic, libraries have had to both evaluate and rapidly respond to the changing world. Librarian Jessamyn West helps us to understand the role of the library in these unusual times.

Man in turban looking at North American city

Religious Literacy is Social Justice

UVM professor Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst describes religious literacy—knowing what religion is, how religions work, and who religious people might be—as a social justice issue. Morgenstein Fuerst explores who is allowed to be religiously illiterate, who has to be religiously literate, and how to learn more about religion.

Memory of the Garden at Etten (Ladies of Arles) by Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)

Vincent Van Gogh and His Language of Compassion

Despite his reputation for madness, Vincent Van Gogh was a compassionate and faith-filled man. Art historian Carol Berry explains how Van Gogh depicted the sacredness of life in ways that touched and comforted people around the world.