Podcasts

What will you resolve to change in the New Year? Scholar Benjamin Sax, from the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies, tells us about Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel and his philosophy of forgiveness.

How can we experience the emotional impact of history and pass on stories of heroes for younger generations? Ryan Kaiser is a Social Studies teacher at The Mt. Washington School, whose class participates in Maryland Humanities’ Maryland History Day. Through a program called Understanding Sacrifice, he traveled to the Philippines to learn more about World War II and read the eulogy of a fallen soldier.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland remains a beloved classic more than 150 years since its publication, and its readership spans generations. How have different versions of the tale reflected their environments, and what does Alice look like in 2017? We hear more from Rebecca Adelsheim, Production Dramaturg for Lookingglass Alice, now playing at Baltimore Center Stage, a Maryland Humanities grantee.

As adults, we know well the power of literacy – but how do we pass that along to our children in a way that encourages them to truly enjoy reading? Rona Sue London, children’s book curator and book adviser at the Ivy Bookshop, tells us how she shares her love of reading with children.

"Man, Image, Idea: Photographs of Men from the Mark Rice Collection,” a new exhibition from the period after the Stonewall Riots of 1969, invites contemplation of the male body and engages the complicated dynamics of looking at the male form. The exhibition is on display at University of Maryland Baltimore County Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery until December 12. The curator, James Smalls, Professor of Art/Design History & Theory, Affiliate Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies and Africana Studies at UMBC, tells us why this groundbreaking photography is so important.

Physician and bibliophile Sir William Osler, one of the four founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital said “It is as important to know the person who has the disease as it is to know the disease the person has.” Literature and Medicine is a national award-winning reading and discussion program for health care professionals facilitated in Maryland by Maryland Humanities. Dr. Moira P. Larsen, Chair of Pathology and Medical Director of Clinical Laboratories at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital and a long time participant, offers her observations about the program’s impact.

The black feminist movement has stayed in the spotlight over the last few years. Melissa Brown, a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park, delves into the history and the pioneering women behind the movement.

The years before children enter the classroom are crucial to setting a student on the path to academic success. Young parents may not know where to start, but librarians are there to help. Dorothy Stoltz, from the Outreach and Program Services Department at the Carroll County Library, tells us about the Library’s “Read at Your Library” program and its success in preparing students for a lifetime of learning. The opinions expressed by guest contributors to "Humanities Connection" do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of Maryland Humanities and/or any of its sponsors, partners, or funders. No official endorsement by any of these institutions should be inferred.

How do the historical dynamics between traditional cultures and modernity influence our contemporary beliefs about morality? Lindsay Thompson, Maryland Humanities board member and an Associate Professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, tells us more.

History tells us that many Americans, whether black or white, shared similar experiences in early America. Some of that history has been uncovered right in our backyard through the Hampton National Historic Site. Anokwale Anansesemfo, historian of the African Diaspora in America and national park ranger at Hampton, tells us more about Hampton’s history of forced servitude.