Public Humanities connect academic research, community-based knowledge, and audiences through the creation and sharing of resonant humanistic projects. Public humanities projects live and breathe, by nature, outside of the walls of academia, though they may be led by scholars and academics working with a range of methods, including the production of artistic and creative works, cultural programming, public presentations, and oral history projects.
A group of Amherst professors talked about why they have decided to not just publish academic papers in academic journals, but also to contribute to the public discourse as op-ed writers and commentators for an impressive range of media outlets.
Public Humanities in the classroom engage students, faculty, staff and outside partners in authentic projects that will encourage students to apply critical thinking in new contexts. Course assignments may scaffold to a culminating project designed for a broad audience, such as a podcast, exhibition, illustrated timeline, school curriculum, or walking tour. Public Humanities projects value: 1) accessibility (ensuring multiple entry points); 2) polyvocality (ensuring multiple perspectives and voices); and 3) collaboration (a process that is unique to the cohort of students and partners).
Students created short documentary podcasts exploring class topics for their final project. Course: "Human Rights and National Security: Seeking Balance in the United States," Prof. Vanessa Walker
See more about the course
Semester-long project for 16 students culminating in mounting of a collaborative, cross disciplinary exhibition of art, artifacts, archives, and popular multimedia content. Course: "Eat! Exhibition Seminar at the Mead," Prof. Amy Cox Hall in partnership with Emily Potter-Ndiaye
See the virtual exhibit
Project by Sarah Edelson '23 examining the inner workings and the process of the 1903 campus planning campaign for Amherst College with particular attention to the role of the Olmsted family, pioneers of American landscape architecture. Course: "Archive Stories," Prof. Wendy Bergoffen
See the story map
Students maintained a course blog complete with hyperlinks, tags and categories to create a variety of pathways for readers to explore the blog. This type of blogging project encourages students to become creators, and not just consumers, of digital content, and connect their learning with the wider world. Course: Digital Africas, Prof. Rhonda Cobham-Sander
See more about the course
Students produce original multi-media contributions and add them to an ethnographic documentary archive. Course: "Soundscapes of the Connecticut River Valley," Prof. Jeffers Engelhardt
Visit the website
Students researched the mathematics of gerrymandering in the United States and other countries, including consideration of the historical and political context. Students then developed sections of a class website to display and visualize their research and findings. Course: "Voting and Elections: A Mathematical Perspective," Prof. Tanya Leise
See more about the course
Prof. Pawan Dhingra's opinion piece for CNN: "Her biography is, in effect, that of the anti-'model minority,' for it connects Asian Americans to African Americans and to progressive causes." Prof. Dhingra has written over 40 opinion pieces in publications such as the New York Times, CNN, and Medium.
See the full article at CNN.com
Prof. Jen Manion's article at publicseminar.org on the performance of transgender inclusion. "While faculty need to be more proactive in learning about LGBTQ communities and our language, our classrooms should not be defined by 'gotcha' moments that leave no room for learning from our mistakes, together."
See the full article
Prof. Kiara Vigil's National Public Radio interview on why it is important to highlight roles of Indigenous people in history.
Listen to the article on NPR.org
Prof. Adam Levine's investigation of history and landscape studies a site in Northfield, Massachusetts that is said to be the former council headquarters of the Wampanoag Indian leader Metacomet. Prof. Levine is a film and video artist whose work focuses on hidden histories, vernacular practices and the cityscape.
See the video at Prof. Levine's websiteAre you aware of a public humanities project at Amherst that should be featured on this page? Please let us know. Write us at chi@amherst.edu.