The Humanities and Public Life: Celebrating 40 Years of Carolina Public Humanities

The humanities provide essential knowledge and perspectives for vital democratic societies, yet the current cultural and educational tides may be carrying humanistic studies into the backwaters of American life. Join the CPH “intellectual team” for a seminar that will recognize and celebrate 40 years of public humanities programs, debates, and special events. Carolina Public Humanities was established in 1979 to promote public discussion of the humanities, but what has changed (or stayed the same) since that founding moment? Do the humanities still matter in our nationalist political systems and global economy? Why do we now need the humanities in our schools, public institutions, and political debates? This seminar will explore these questions with specific examples in modern cultural and political life and suggest why public institutions will still need the humanities in 2059 and even in 2419.

TOPICS & SPEAKERS

How the Humanities and History Help Us Understand Democracy and Nationalism from the Age of the Atlantic Revolutions to the Age of Populist Nationalisms
Lloyd Kramer, Professor of History and Director, Carolina Public Humanities

Seeing the Present in the Past: The Risks and Rewards of Historical Comparisons
Maximilian P. Owre, Teaching Assistant Professor of History and Executive Director, Carolina Public Humanities

Why Movies Matter: Cinema and Humanity in a Screendependent Culture
Rachel Schaevitz, Associate Director for State Outreach and Strategic Partnerships, Carolina Public Humanities

The Crisis and the Endurance of the Public Humanities
A panel discussion with our speakers

9:15am-4:00pm, March 23. The tuition is $125 ($115 until January 18). Tuition for teachers is $62.50 ($57.50 until January 18). Teachers can also receive a $75 stipend after attending (click here for more information) and 10 contact hours for 1 unit of renewal credit. The optional lunch on Saturday is $15.00.

Discounts are available for UNC students, faculty, & staff. See our UNC Student, Staff, & Faculty Discounted Registration Policy here.

Co-Sponsored by the General Alumni Association.

For information about GAA discounts and other scholarships available to Humanities Program participants, click here.

Register here or call us at 919.962.1544. 

Registrants will receive a packet containing background readings, a map to the seminar location, and more about 3-4 weeks before the program date. 

After the program: Attendees can listen to recordings from the event here.