SARAH G. CARNEY APPOINTED CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Sarah G. Carney will lead the organization’s Board of Directors as it enters a new phase of programming, which includes working with populations affected by mass incarceration, and the celebration of the centennial of the 19th Amendment (2020) and the fifty year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots (2019). HNY also continues its grant-making and direct programs that encourage in-person engagement with issues and challenges in our democratic society; all are available to tax-exempt entities in New York State. Sarah is the founder of Sarah G. Carney LLC. In nearly 28 […]
Cultural Field Survey
Humanities New York first circulated its Cultural Field Survey in 2016, in order to complement other data sets important to the public humanities (these include Data Arts and the National Humanities Indicators). This year’s survey used both quantitative and qualitative questions to build on the previous year’s survey in order to help HNY better serve its grantees and program partners. A printable version can be found here. Method The survey data was collected in January and February of 2018 using data from 376 responses, with 208 complete and 168 partial (responses that were less than 50% completed were not tabulated). […]
Excerpt: “Making Mass Incarceration”
The following is an excerpt from Elizabeth Hinton’s From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime. Elizabeth is Assistant Professor in the Department History and the Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Hinton’s research focuses on the persistence of poverty and racial inequality in the 20th century United States. If you’d like to explore the broader historical context of mass incarceration, you may watch After Attica: Criminal Justice and Mass Incarceration on our YouTube channel. In the century between the end of the U.S. Civil War in 1865 and Johnson’s call for the War […]
Further Readings from Turning the Tide: Communicating Climate Science
From Adam Rome: Climate scientist Mike Hulme’s Why We Disagree About Climate Change (2009). Historian Joshua Howe’s Behind the Curve: Science and the Politics of Global Warming (2014). Psychologist Mary Pipher’s The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in Our Capsized Culture (2013). Howe also has edited a wonderful collection of documents, Making Climate Change: Documents from Global Warming’s Past (2017). The documentary I mentioned about the implications of climate change for national security and international order is “The Age of Consequences” (2017). For a sense of the likely impacts of climate change more generally, I still like a 2008 book by […]
The Genius of Earth Day
In 2017 the Buffalo Humanities Festival’s theme was “Environments;” HNY’s panel event “Turning the Tide: Communicating Climate Science” included Adam Rome, Professor of History at the University at Buffalo and the author of The Genius of Earth Day. Humanities New York provided initial funds for the Buffalo Humanities Festival in 2014 and has been a proud sponsor for each year since. The Festival is produced by the Humanities Institute at the University at Buffalo in cooperation with Buffalo State College, Canisius College, Niagara University, and SUNY Fredonia as well as cultural institutions including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Burchfield […]
Interview: Bierman and Thompson, Leaders of The League of Women Voters of New York State
Interview conducted by Nicholas MacDonald, Humanities New York HNY: How did you each get started with the League of Women Voters? Laura: I joined the League in 1982, when I moved from Washington D.C. to Albany. I was worried about not being as involved in politics, that turned out to not be a concern! Dare: I was pretty apolitical for the first 25 years of my life, but then I accidentally got a job teaching middle school social studies. Having to teach the Constitution really opened my eyes to civic responsibility; after that, I became involved with the League of […]
Call to Action: Humanities New York Facing Cuts
Dear Friend, Thank you for participating in the work of Humanities New York! Like you, I am dismayed by reports that the initial budget being proposed in D.C. calls for the elimination of the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities, among others. The NEH is the largest source of HNY’s revenue and provides the funds for our popular grants program. Our second largest funding source is New York State, also crucially important to defend. So we ask you to add your voice to the chorus of support for the NEH nationwide, and as a New Yorker, to […]
Dec 16: Application Deadline for R&D Programs
Applications are due Friday, December 16 for a Spring 2017 program! Open to any tax-exempt organization in New York State, Humanities New York’s Reading & Discussion Programs for Adults bring together community members for a series of thematically-linked, text-based conversations about important ideas. Click here to see all available themes. How to Apply You choose a theme, decide how many sessions to hold, and find a local scholar to facilitate the discussions. After you’re awarded the program, you then select readings from our themed book lists that work best for your community. Sample syllabi can be found on HNY’s website. Applications […]
We are now Humanities New York
Dear Friend, On the occasion of our 40th anniversary, the New York Council for the Humanities is updating our brand, look, and name: we are now “Humanities New York.” A new website contains links to our programs, grants, and events–which have been changing all along to keep up with our changing communities. Now these resources are even more user-friendly. The site also features some of the luminaries whose work we have supported through 40 years of leadership in the public humanities. Creating a graphic identity for the organization presented a challenge, as the humanities are not easily boiled down to […]