Browse this complete list of our upcoming digital and in-person events. Visit the Attend page to find links to events that are sorted by program.
August 17
Vermont sent far more sharpshooters to the Union armies than any other state, on a per capita basis. Sharpshooters from this state played a little-known but major role at Gettysburg. Historian Howard Coffin will discuss his recent research into this little-recognized group and consider the reasons why Vermont may have been so well-represented in this elite group of marksmen.
August 17
The First Amendment prevents Congress from passing any laws that abridge the freedom of speech. But what does that actually mean? In this presentation, professor Meg Mott considers the history of speech laws in the United States, how states and municipalities have tried to curb offensive speech, and how the Supreme Court has ruled on those efforts.
August 17
Bill Mares, writer, and a beekeeper for 45 years, will tell of the origins and evolution of beekeeping, sometimes referred to as “farming for intellectuals,” with a particular emphasis on his new book, with Ross Conrad, and others, “The Land of Milk and Honey, a History of Beekeeping in Vermont.”
August 20
Carol Potter is a teacher, editor, and author of five books of poetry. Some Slow Bees won the Field Poetry Prize from Oberlin College Press in 2014. Her poems have been published in The American Poetry Review, Poetry, The Green Mountains Review, The Kenyon Review, among others.
August 24
New England’s longest river, the Connecticut, is rich in history. Michael Tougias, author of fourteen books about New England, offers a narrated slide presentation that takes the viewer down the entire 410 miles of the river, discussing history from the days of loggers, Indian Wars, steamships, and canals.
August 24
This series starts with the 1893 Columbian Exposition and continues on through the Gilded Age. Portrayals of inventors, entrepreneurs, artists and lawyers include Henry James, Stanford White, Clarence Darrow, George Westinghouse, Thomas Edison, D.W. Griffiths and detective William Burns. Three novels and a narrative history illustrate that spectacular time period in ways that in turn illuminate our own era.
August 25
This is a statewide training, but priority will be given to educators who live and/or work in Charlotte, Hinesburg, and Shelburne. This foundational literacy training will now be required before enrollment in subsequent Never Too Early trainings.
September 1
Vermont has been a featured location in Hollywood movies for nearly a century. It has represented many different ideals during that time, and its portrayal reflects both Vermont’s own history as well as American history. Examining those films provides interesting and fun insights into the hold Vermont has had on imagination in the media age.
September 3
Visit locations of past and present-day, immigrant-owned markets in Burlington’s Old North End to hear stories of market owners, their customers, and their communities, framed within local immigration history. Learn about their importance as sources of traditional foods, community connection, and social support.
September 8
Grant proposals should appeal to the head and the heart. Learn how to use story in your grant proposals to connect with funders. Explore best practices for incorporating poignant vignettes, testimonials, and data-driving/results-based storytelling into your grants-writing that demonstrate your organization’s values and impact.
September 8
In this series, participants explore 19th and 20th century visions – utopian to apocalyptic – of the future. Themes include repression, community, socialism, capitalism, feminism, creativity, ethics, and evolution.
September 8
Dante ALighieri’s poetic materpeice The Divine Comedy is a moving and imaginative tale exploring the human soul in the after-life. The book will be read and discussed in 3 sections.
September 10
Keysi Montás was born in the Dominican Republic and migrated to New York at the age of 16. He has published five poetry books, two collections of short stories, and two collections of essays.
September 13
Vermonters know as well as anyone the rich metaphors inherent in farming and gardening. These authors dig deep to explore the philosophical roots, family dynamics, and personal enrichment associated with tending and growing. This event features a discussion on the essay collection My Garden (Book) by Jamaica Kincaid.
September 14
A storytelling invitation – Come together to collect, create, and curate to answer this question: What is our story going forward, for ourselves and our organizations? This interactive, 2-hour virtual workshop will expand your storytelling tools and techniques; revive your current skills through new perspective; and reinvigorate your organization through storytelling team building.
September 14
Common garden vegetables have long and fascinating histories. Science and history writer Rebecca Rupp will discuss the stories behind many of our favorites, among them the much-maligned tomato and potato, the (mostly) popular pumpkin, and Vermont’s dynamic duo of kale and Gilfeather turnip.
September 15
A storytelling invitation – Come together to collect, create, and curate to answer this question: What is our story going forward, for ourselves and our organizations? This interactive, 2-hour virtual workshop will expand your storytelling tools and techniques; revive your current skills through new perspective; and reinvigorate your organization through storytelling team building.
September 20
A storytelling invitation – Come together to collect, create, and curate to answer this question: What is our story going forward, for ourselves and our organizations? This hands-on 3-hour in-person workshop will expand your storytelling tools and techniques; revive your current skills through new perspective; and reinvigorate your organization through storytelling team building.
September 20
A storytelling invitation – Come together to collect, create, and curate to answer this question: What is our story going forward, for ourselves and our organizations? This hands-on 3-hour in-person workshop will expand your storytelling tools and techniques; revive your current skills through new perspective; and reinvigorate your organization through storytelling team building.
September 20
From cave paintings and hieroglyphics, to comic books and emoji, visual expression has been a cornerstone of human communication. In this thought-provoking lecture, James Sturm, the co-founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT will explore a brief history of the language and art of comics, and the new ways that cartooning and visual storytelling are changing the world.
Poet Sarah Audsley joined us at the Taconic Mountains Ramble State Park for Words in the Woods.
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 Historic New England’s “More than a Market” project that explored the experiences of new Americans through food markets.
Our free public events help bring the power of the humanities to communities across Vermont.
