Foundation News

Reading & Discussion Applications are Due Monday, June 28th for a Fall 2021 program!

Humanities New York's Reading & Discussion Grants help you to bring together community members for a series of thematically-linked, text-based conversations about important ideas.
In a time when it may still be difficult to meet face-to-face, HNY welcomes applications for programs that will be conducted virtually via online platforms or using local safe-distancing and reopening guidelines.  Any tax-exempt entity in New York State may apply. 

Sixteen themes are available:

• American Politics and Community Today:  What does it mean to be an American in the 21st century? What does a model American do, and what responsibilities do Americans have to their communities and each other? This theme engages with these questions and others regarding politics and the current state of civic thought, feeling, and participation.
• Place and Story: Examine the natural world that surrounds us, from New York to the West, in this series developed and introduced by award-winning author and environmentalist Rick Bass. Through poetry, fiction, and journalism, readers will engage with perspectives that capture the complicated relationship Americans have with the land and living things around them.
• Votes for Women!: 2020 marked the centennial of women’s suffrage in the United States. As part of Humanities New York’s slate of programming marking the centennial, we are proud to offer this Reading & Discussion series focused on the decades-long fight for women’s suffrage in New York and beyond.
• Serving: Why and how do we choose to serve others? What is the relationship between those who serve and those who are served? If we serve, what sustains and renews us?
• The Vietnam War: The Vietnam War remains a searing chapter in our national story, and the social conflicts the war sparked continue to blaze. What was the cost of not examining the war more thoroughly or cogently, what are scholars saying about it now, and what can we gain from discussing it today? Read the memoirs, journalism, and fiction of the era in this timely discussion series. 
• Your Silence Will Not Protect You: Audre Lorde: Explore the life and work of Audre Lorde, one of the foremost poets of the 20th century. Through the richness of Lorde's work, participants can engage in discussion about the meanings of race, gender, and sexuality in American society. 
• Reaching for the American Dream: Pulitzer-Winning Novels:  Through five Pulitzer winning novels, this series looks at how authors have depicted the striving to better oneself and achieve the American dream and how, despite our efforts, we often end of up unfulfilled or clashing with other elements of society.
• James Baldwin's America:  More than any other American author, James Baldwin speaks to both the promise and failures of American democracy. This R&D series provides citizens throughout New York State the opportunity to engage in substantive conversations about race and American society through Baldwin's writings. 
• In Cold Blood: True Crime, An American Genre: It's been 54 years since Truman Capote's In Cold Blood was first published. With the resurgence of True Crime, take a look back at some of the most terrible crimes in American history and explore how past writers thoughtfully illuminated such acts. 
• The Serious Side of Food: With books selected by noted restaurant critic and former HNY board member Mimi Sheraton, this series explores the complex, often overlooked personal, social, and cultural relationships we have with food, from the politics of food production to diet fads.
• Our World Remade: World War I: Delve into the tragic and transformative events of "war to end all wars" through literature, poetry, and historical documents. 
• Serving: Standing Down: Provides participants the opportunity to reflect on military service as well as the challenges and opportunities of transitioning from active duty to civilian life. Any tax-exempt organization in New York State can apply to host Serving: Standing Down, but Veteran-Serving Organizations (VSOs) are especially encouraged to do so. 
• Growing & Aging: How does our perception of ourselves transform as we grow older? In what ways does aging change how we view others? How has the concept of "age" changed over time?
• Lincoln on the Civil War: This series uses Selected Speeches, a volume of nine addresses delivered over the course of Lincoln's political career, to explore issues of freedom, civic duty, slavery, and the Constitution.
• Making Sense of the Civil War: This series explores different facets of the Civil War experience, informed by reading the words written or spoken by powerful voices from the past and present.
• Muslim Journeys: Explore the diverse experiences and perspectives of Muslims around the world through literature and memoir. 

How to Apply
You choose a theme, decide how many sessions to hold (between 4 and 6), and find a local humanities expert to facilitate the discussions. Once you've done so, register on our online platform and fill out the application here. Humanities New York requires registration and application through our online system.

Applications to host a Fall series are due Monday, June 28, 2021. Humanities New York trains your facilitator by webinar, and pays them an honorarium of $150 per session. Host sites agree to pay a session fee of $25 per session; a limited number of waivers are available. Books for the program are available for lending on a limited basis; please leave plenty of time for books to be sent to your organization. Fall programs must be scheduled between September 2021 and January 2022.  

Learn More

Take a look at our Reading & Discussion webpage. If you have questions, call or email Senior Program Officer Adam Capitanio (acapitanio@humanitiesny.org / 212-233-1131).

Image: Pre-pandemic, an Albany-area audience for Action Grant recipient Black Theatre Troupe in an outdoor performance.