Phantom Border: A Personal Reconnaissance of Contemporary Germany
By Jacob Pelletier | March 10, 2026
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.
Public Art, Monuments, and What We Choose to Remember
By Jacob Pelletier | February 3, 2026
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.
CALLING: Reclaiming Shared Humanity in America’s 250th Year
By Jacob Pelletier | February 3, 2026
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.
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.