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Humanities Tennessee is pleased to partner with the Nashville Public Library and Parnasssus Books for a conversation between General Colin Powell and Jon Meacham. The event will take place Wednesday, May 30, at 7:00 p.m. at the Massey Auditorium at Belmont University. It is a free event, and the event is sold out.
We have two tickets that will be given out via random drawing. Click here to enter the contest! Deadline to enter is Monday, May 21st, 9am (CDT).
Colin Powell was born in New York City in 1937. He is a retired four-star general in the United States Army and has earned numerous military, civilian, and foreign honors. He has served four presidential administrations in a variety of roles, most recently as Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He lives in Virginia. His new book is It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership.
Jon Meacham is executive editor and executive vice president at Random House. A former editor of Newsweek and a Pulitzer Prize winning bestselling auth
The Way We Worked, the seventh Smithsonian traveling exhibit sponsored by Humanities Tennessee, arrived in Jamestown on Saturday, April 28th for the final stop along its tour of Tennessee. Hosted by the Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation in partnership with the Progressive Savings Bank and the Fentress County Historical Society, the exhibit will remain in Jamestown through June 2nd.
The exhibit opened to a festival atmosphere including artists, demonstrations, exhibitor booths, and live music. Along with the Smithsonian exhibit, the Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation created an impressive companion exhibit called The Way Fentress County Worked. Covering the 100 year period between 1860 and 1960, the companion exhibit includes hundreds of historical photographs and artifacts related to the mining, timber, agricultural, manufacturing, and tourism industries in Fentress County. There are also plenty of hands-on activities for children and students.
And it’s a good thing they incorporated children's activities. Within three days of their grand opening, the Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation had more than 1,500 school children booked to see the exhibit. According to one local resident, "I haven't seen the community come together over a project like this in a very long time. It’s exciting, energizing, and gives me hope for what the future may have in store." You can read more about the exhibit and see photos of the opening by clicking over to the Fentress County Courier (photo credit, top).
As part of a yearlong project devoted to the work of painter Thomas Hart Benton, Doris King's art students at Clarkrange High School trained to become docents for a travelling exhibit King brought to the school as part of her 2011 Award of Recognition for Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities. Over 900 students and adults from the town saw the exhibit during its stay at Clarkrange. And like the best museum educators, King's classes surveyed their audience to gauge the effect of their work. According to King, "Only 32% of students at the high school level have ever been to an art museum. Most students knew about the Great Depression, but had no idea it influenced the production of art. Very few recognized art could or should be used to study history."
The intersection of art and history was the focal point for the student project, which culminated in the unveiling of a mural at the school's entrance depicting the history of Clarkrange. "As Benton said about his paintings and their roots, our painting is intended to spark curiosity about where we live and the activities of history that made [Clarkrange] become what it is today," said King during a presentation to students, fellow teachers, and parents.
Though the materials for the mural itself were privately funded, Humanities Tennessee supported a multifaceted student research project that was truly school wide in nature. Students, along with scholars from Tennessee Tech, researched their local history through visits to archives and the local register of deeds. According to one student, this method of discovery was "more interesting than listening to a lecture." Students also visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville to study the last mural painted by Thomas Hart Benton and explore the themes and subject matter visible in his work. Finally, with the arrival of the traveling exhibit in Clarkrange, the students put their studies to the test as they led groups through guided tours of Benton’s work.
Projects like this make clear the value of an education in the humanities, and we salute Doris King for her dedication to making the humanities an important part of her students' lives.
Humanities Tennessee is pleased to announce the grant awards for the 2012 General Grant Program, which include the following projects:
Civil War at Home: Families Divided, Battles Waged, and Communities Occupied in East Tennessee, sponsored by the East Tennessee Historical Society. The project provides professional development for history teachers concerning the Civil War in East Tennessee. Over the next two summers, teachers will attend workshops and visit local history sites in six areas of the region to explore the experiences of people in the Civil War era, and learn about the local history resources for students.
Emissaries of Peace: Timberlake in the Overhills, 1762-2012 is sponsored by the Fort Loudoun Association. Grant funds will provide a series of nine lecture/discussions about Henry Timberlake, whose 1762 travel among the Overhill Cherokee Nation will be commemorated at Fort Loudoun, June 23-24, 2012. Timberlake was an important chronicler of Cherokee life and culture. In addition to the lecture program, the weekend also features cartographic demonstrations and driving tours of the Cherokee sites in the Overhill. See a schedule of events and learn more about Timberlake’s journey and significance.
Slaves and Slaveholders: The Washingtons of Wessyngton is sponsored by the Tennessee State Museum. The records of the Wessyngton Plantation in Robertson County are among the most intact and comprehensive. The museum will use grant funds to plan an exhibition telling the story of slavery in Tennessee through research and interpretation of these records. The exhibit is slated for February-August, 2014.
Join residents of Cowan, TN, in exploring the history and evolution of work in Franklin and surrounding counties through an exhibition, The Way We Worked, that uses local artifacts to tell the stories of agriculture, transportation, and industry around the area, and the significance of sweeping occupational changes over time.
In addition to the local project, The Way We Worked, our traveling Smithsonian exhibit, marks its fifth stop on a statewide tour, and explores the history of work on a national scale.
The exhibits are open to the public and free of charge through April 21, 2012, at Cowan Center for the Arts: Wed-Fri from 4:00-7:00 p.m., Saturdays from 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m., and Sundays from 1:00-04:00 p.m. Visit the Cowan Railroad Museum's website for additional information.
The 2012 Tennessee Young Writers' Workshop will be July 8–14 at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Workshop is open to students in grades 7-12 with an interest in creative writing. The TYWW gives young people the opportunity to explore that interest and to devote time to their work in a unique environment with an outstanding staff, faculty and supportive peers.
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