Humanities New York’s Reading and Discussion Program – James Baldwin’s America Mondays, March 20th, April 3rd, April 17th and May 1st, from 4-5:30 p.m. In HNY’s Reading & Discussion Programs, participants read a series of thematically linked texts over the course of several sessions. At each session, participants come together with others in their community to discuss what they’ve read in a conversation facilitated by a trained local scholar. In the series James Baldwin’s America, participants will read works by Baldwin and be led in discussion by Stony Brook University Distinguished Teaching Professor Georges Fouron each session, which will take […]

By reading excerpts of popular new autobiographies in conversation with scholarly essays, this program investigates contemporary Blackness and the impact the Obama family has had on how we envision it.

Inspirational stories about women who confront insurmountable odds. Can the young women in these four novels ‘beat the odds’ life presents to them to make a better life for themselves and others?   April 12 How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue May 3 The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré May 24 The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd June 14 The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

This will be a six-session series hosted by writer Sheila Isenberg and sponsored by HumanitiesNY and the Woodstock Public Library. We will read and discuss selected essays from Collected Essays by James Baldwin. And we will examine Baldwin’s collaboration with Richard Avedon, Nothing Personal. The aim of these readings and discussions will be to gain a deeper understanding of Baldwin’s America: his thoughts on slavery, racism, relations between black and white citizens, and the continuance of social and cultural behaviors that separate black and white communities.

The Erie Canal Museum along with Humanities New York presents “Land, Liberty and Loss,” an exploration of our nation’s founding and how its history—or, more pointedly, misapprehensions of that history—often serves as an obstacle to full democratic and civic flourishing. The project is grounded in the historical and ongoing intersections between racial justice, including the centuries-long deprivations endured by Indigenous and Native-Americans, and the evolution of the American landscape. “Liberty, Land, and Loss” is meant to prompt reflection on assumptions about the human connectedness between the natural and built environments, and to allow us to reconsider in a holistic sense […]

Through five Pulitzer winning novels, this series looks at how authors have depicted the striving to better oneself and achieve the American dream – and how, despite our efforts, we often end of up unfulfilled or clashing with other elements of society.

By reading excerpts of popular new autobiographies in conversation with scholarly essays, this program investigates contemporary Blackness and the impact the Obama family has had on how we envision it.

The Best of Simple and Series Introduction ─ March 22, 2023 The Best of Simple ─April 5, 2023 The Return of Simple ─ April 19, 2023 Simple’s Uncle Sam ─ May 10, 2023 The Langston Hughes Reader ─ May 24, 2023 The Ways of White Folk ─ June 8, 2023

This will be a six-session series hosted by writer Sheila Isenberg and sponsored by HumanitiesNY and the Woodstock Public Library. We will read and discuss selected essays from Collected Essays by James Baldwin. And we will examine Baldwin’s collaboration with Richard Avedon, Nothing Personal. The aim of these readings and discussions will be to gain a deeper understanding of Baldwin’s America: his thoughts on slavery, racism, relations between black and white citizens, and the continuance of social and cultural behaviors that separate black and white communities.

  Join us for this short-term book discussion about food! Working with histories, novels, and journalism, this series exposes some of the issues that lie on our plates. Discussion will be led by Avalon Gupta VerWiebe of the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance (SOFSA). VerWiebe holds a Masters in Food Science from Syracuse University. The program may also include guest speakers and hands-on experiences. Texts include: The Jungle by Upton Sinclair Diet for a Small Planet by Francis Moore Lappe In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan The Third Plate by Dan Barber We will take a look […]

Howland Stone Store Museum will draw on its own history in the struggle for women's suffrage as we discuss readings from "Votes for Women".

What does it mean to be an American in the 21st century? What does a model American do, and what responsibilities do Americans have to their communities and each other? How have the answers to these questions changed over the history of the United States? The participants in the reading and discussion program "American Politics and Community Today" will engage with these questions and others regarding politics and the current state of civic thought, feeling, and participation. online via Zoom The League of Women Voters of Albany County and Albany Public Library invite you to participate in a four session […]