UTAH HUMANITIES NEWSLETTER





"The stories we tell literally make the world. If you want to change the world, you need to change your story. This truth applies to both individuals and institutions."

 Michael Margolis

Join our community!

 

Utah Humanities empowers Utahns to improve their communities
 through active engagement in the humanities.


Advocate for the Humanites as our Shared Web of Connection



Danielle Allen, a keynoter at the National Humanities Conference hosted in Utah last fall, has written a persuasive defense of the humanities, the National Endowment of the Humanities, and state humanities councils nationwide in an article for the Washington Post.

Allen reminds us that "nearly 40 percent of the NEH budget is disbursed through state humanities councils, touching every state in the nation, and most of these councils have invested tremendous time and energy . . . seeking to ensure that their programming spreads to rural as well as urban areas, anchoring lifelong learning for people of all backgrounds."

Read the entire article here.

To advocate for the National Endowment for the Humanities, contact your U.S. Congressmen and Senators using this link: https://www.utah.gov/government/contactgov.html

Photo: Danielle Allen, political theorist and classicist recognized for scholarly work on justice and citizenship. Photo credit: Harvard Gazette - Harvard University


Utah Humanities' Entire Beehive Archive is Now Available Online


     
Concise and Compelling Tidbits of Utah History

Tune in for a two-minute look at some of the most pivotal and peculiar events in Utah history! With all of the history and none of the dust, our Beehive Archive radio show is a fun way to catch up on Utah's past.

This award-winning radio program is broadcast weekly on Utah Public Radio and KCPW, and is now online at Utah Humanities. A project many years in the making, this collection is a comprehensive capture of every Beehive Archive episode created over the last decade. Each episode contains the script with its sources, as well as its audio recording. Historic photos will be added this year. The easy-to-navigate site is fully searchable and each episode is tagged by topic and location.



Easy Access to Current  
The Way We Worked Episodes

As part of our current Smithsonian Museum on Main Street tour of The Way We Worked, contributors are writing new Beehive Archive episodes on Utah's work history - all of which are broadcast through our radio partners and added to the online collection.

In an effort to help The Way We Worked host sites engage their visitors, we've provided a multimedia kiosk that accesses the Beehive Archive collection, including each week's new episode. The kiosk currently resides with the exhibition at Ogden's Union Station, and will travel to each host community throughout the tour. The kiosk provides a multi-sensory way to engage with Utah history and access to this new public resource.

To enjoy the entire Beehive Archive collection, visit Beehive Archive on our website, and click "Utah Stories from the Beehive Archive."

For details on Utah's tour of The Way We Worked, visit www.utahhumanities.org and click The Way We Worked logo on our home page.

The Beehive Archive is produced in partnership with KCPW Radio and Utah Public Radio, and generously supported by the Lawrence T. and Janet T. Dee Foundation.

Photo: Salt Lake newsboys welcome Noodles Fagan to Salt Lake City, 18 May 1910, Shipler #10715. Courtesy Utah State Historical Society.


Our Center for the Book Helps to Support Local, Powerful Storytelling
 
     
In an effort to reach a broad, and often underserved, cross-section of Utahns, our Library of Congress-designated Center for the Book funds opportunities to approach literature and storytelling as a more dynamic part of the cultural landscape.
 
The unconventional nature of many of the literary events we support exposes new audiences and partners to Utah Humanities. We continue to collaborate on events that push the boundaries of stereotypical humanities audiences, including events that incorporate mediums such as drama, music, and film.

By supporting both conventional and unconventional events, Utah Humanities has a role in changing the narrative as to the imperative role of humanities in modern life.

One example is our support of The Bee: True Stories from the Hive, a new and growing storytelling tradition in Utah, supported in part by Utah Humanities. The Bee has built a passionate grass-roots following since 2014 with the invitation to "Bring your friends. Have a drink. Laugh. Cry. Bee entertained."

A recent storytelling event centered on "Women's Work" and generated passionate, heartfelt, moving stories from women and their landscape of work.


Photo: Martha Castillo is one of six women who shared stories from their working lives in "Women's Work," a curated event organized by The Bee: True Stories from the Hive on Friday, Jan. 13, at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art. Photo courtesy of Anna Pocaro, The Bee.


Changing the Leopard's Spots:  East High Clemente Students Become Historians of their School


    
Over the past 50 years the faces at East High School have changed dramatically.  The school evolved from a predominately white institution, with most students coming from adjoining neighborhoods, to one of the most diverse schools in Utah.  What happened? 


Led by Westminster History Professor Gary Marquardt, Westminster honors student Debbie Samaniego, and East High teacher Cate Praggastis, Clemente Humanities students at East are examining over 50 years of data, mostly from East High's yearbooks, to determine what changes have occurred and to hypothesize what has caused them. 


They have found that, yes, faces have changed, but so have women's participation in sports, the number of clubs at the school, the graduation rate, and the diversity of the faculty and administration.  What hasn't changed as much is the make-up of students in advanced classes, which are still predominately white. Why? 

After gathering data from these primary sources, students will divide into groups to focus on questions raised by the data and delve into historical changes in Salt Lake City and the U.S.  that may help them arrive at answers.
 
The Clemente Course is being piloted at East High by Utah Humanities, in partnership with the Salt Lake City School District, the Honors Program at Westminster College, the Honors College at the University of Utah, and University Neighborhood Partners.

Photos: Clemente student Craig Malik Miller involved in researching data.  Graph categorizing East High School sports data. Photos courtesy of Jean Cheney.
 

Congratulations!
 
Jean Cheney of Utah Humanities Honored with Utah Academy of Arts and Sciences Award
 
This award is given every spring to honor an individual for exceptional service to education or academic service to citizens in Utah. Recipients are typically academics who have gone above and beyond the normal efforts of their positions to ensure that the citizens of Utah have access to the education and information they seek.
 
Jean, Director for our Center for Educational Access, will accept the award at a ceremony in April.

Peggy Battin Honored with Utah Academy of Sciences Gardner Prize

Margaret Pabst Battin is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Ethics, at the University of Utah.
 
This prize is awarded to men and women of special note in regards to their work in the field of natural sciences "in recognition of a most significant contribution to the humanities, or for the betterment of mankind..."

Utah Humanities Board Member, Nan Anderson, Accepts New Position

After many years of service, Nan Anderson, currently serving as the Fiscal Officer on our Utah Humanities board, is transitioning from Executive Director position at the Utah Tourism Industry Association. She has accepted a position in Rural Development at the Governor's Office of Economic Development where she will be focusing on all aspects of rural economic development.



Former Utah Humanities Board Member, Jackie Thompson Receives Award

Jackie Thompson, a former Utah Humanities board member, has just been honored with 2017 Outstanding Humanitarian Award from the Inclusion Center for Community and Justice.

We congratulate Jackie for this well-deserved honor.
 



We're Hiring!
 

Job Opening for Center for Educational Access Program Manager

Utah Humanities seeks a Program Officer for its Center for Educational Access for an opening available April 1, 2017. This person will oversee two multi-site, statewide educational programs offered in partnership with school districts and institutions of higher education: the adult Venture Course in the Humanities and the high school Clemente Course. The Program Officer will also work with UH staff to identify new opportunities to use the humanities to improve access to education for all people. Other duties include collaborating with communications and development staff to promote the Center and reporting to and working with UH's Executive Director and nonprofit board of directors.


Click the State Icon to See Our Humanities Events Near You
 


Our events calendar is organized by month, date, and region of the state.

Click the icon to visit our calendar, and remember  to check back often.

There are always new humanities events to attend!


Many Thanks


Huge thanks to all of our friends who participated in the FaceBook Challenge funded through the Gates Foundation where we raised over $1,200 to support the humanities in Utah! Your generosity in these online campaigns is critical to our success and we appreciate everyone who gives to UH and other causes they believe in.
 
Don't forget to mark your calendars for Love Utah Give Utah on March 30!
 
What if, in one day, you could empower Utahns to improve their communities through active engagement in the humanities? On March 30, you can!
 
Love UT Give UT is our community's biggest day of giving. Every gift is tax deductible and individuals may choose to make their donations in advance (starting March 1), while still having it count toward the giving day.  Join Utahns from all over the state to support local nonprofits, like Utah Humanities, and make a positive impact in your community.
  
 

Utah Humanities is grateful for the generous support of many individuals, foundations, and corporations, and for public funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Utah, and the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks Fund.