Supporting Scholarship

Nurturing Intellectual Community

When Fellows arrive at the Center each year, they discover not only an ideal space in which to pursue their research but a community where their work is transformed in unexpected ways. Working alongside passionate scholars from other disciplines, sharing meals, taking part in seminars and writing groups, Fellows form bonds both personal and professional that enrich their lives long after their fellowship experience.

Fellows form bonds both personal and professional that enrich their lives long after their fellowship experience.

In March of 2020, though, the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated the closing of the Center’s facilities, abruptly upending the peaceful, productive status quo that Fellows typically enjoy. Recognizing the burden this placed on its Fellows, the Center’s staff improvised a host of ways to help scholars continue their research, including remote library and technical assistance. Of nearly equal importance, the Center employed digital tools, including the now ubiquitous Zoom meeting platform, to allow Fellows to stay connected with one another and nurture their intellectual community remotely. In the difficult weeks that followed, the esprit and productivity of these scholars spoke volumes about their resilience, commitment to their work, and the importance they placed on supporting one another.

In (The Midst) of Crisis

Calling on Humanities Insights

The Center is devoted to advancing the work of humanities scholars and to making their insights and discoveries available to others, both inside and outside the academic world. Through a variety of public programs and digital initiatives, the Center offers audiences opportunities to engage with scholars and their work, consider pressing topics through a humanistic lens, and to reflect on the importance of the humanities in their lives and the world around them.

In the wake of cascading crises in 2020…the pressing need for humanistic perspectives was readily evident.

In 2019–20 the Center continued to build on these efforts by updating and enhancing the Center’s website to provide greater access to the work and thought of NHC Fellows and highlight the ways that humanistic thought supports a vibrant, pluralistic society.

In the wake of cascading crises in 2020—a deadly pandemic, widespread protests over racial injustice, and increasingly polarized political discourse—the pressing need for humanistic perspectives was readily evident. The Center, in response, produced its first series of “virtual” book club events, roughly organized around the theme of “Loss and Upheaval,” exploring how the humanities provide comfort, meaning, and human connection in the midst of tragedy and inspire us to transcend ourselves. Based on the success of this series, which drew lively participation from viewers across the United States, plans were made to continue the series, exploring other pressing themes into 2020–21.