Humanities in Action

The recently appointed chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) made his first official visit to Maine on June 13, greeting 125 friends of the humanities at an event co-sponsored with the Round Top Center for the Arts in Damariscotta. Bruce Cole, a distinguished scholar of Italian Renaissance art, made a special plea for increased emphasis on American history, especially in schools but also in book discussion groups and other humanities programs. The NEH has launched a new initiative, "We, the People," with that goal in mind.

The Maine Humanities Council was among the first organizations to be affiliated with this initiative, through its two-year, NEHfunded teacher professional development institute, Longfellow and the Forging of American Identity. Designed to help bring a long neglected but once world famous poet back into the classroom, the institute will result in a Longfellow module on the Maine Memory Network.

Thirty teachers selected from Maine and Massachusetts met at Bowdoin College in July to visit Longfellow-related sites, look closely at his life story, hear guest lecturers, and discuss such subjects as the relation of sentimentality and art and the ways in which nations create their iconic images and tales. The teachers will continue to meet for "Saturday Club" sessions through the school year and will re-assemble at Bowdoin next July to carry out independent research projects for the module, which will offer a rich array of resources for classroom use.

The Council’s other major teacher program this summer was Views of the East: China, Japan, and Korea in Maine Schools, co-sponsored with the World Affairs Council of Maine with funding from the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia. Now in its fourth year, the program brought 20 teachers from around the state to Bowdoin for 30 hours of intensive study in East Asian history, politics, economy, and culture. Participants receive a stipend, $200 in books, and a $300 grant for their school libraries.

They studied subjects ranging from Japanese woodblock prints from "The Floating World" to China’s controversial Three Gorges Dam Project and, this year, paid particular attention to Korea. This included reading Richard Kim’s novel Lost Names and being briefed on North Korean strategy by World Bank consultant Bradley Babson, one day after he had briefed Congress on the subject.

And, speaking of global studies, in May 110 child care and early education providers heard a keynote talk by David Smith, author of the acclaimed children’s book If the World Were a Village: A Book About the World’s People. Using his book as a starting point, Smith spoke about "world-mindedness" and explained how caregivers can help even very young children find their own place in the global village.

Held at the University of New England’s Westbrook College Campus, the one-day conference, Early Literacy in a Changing World, was sponsored by the Council’s Born To Read program. The six other presenters offered workshops on subjects including physical theater, music to grow with, creating an anti-bias environment, and linking storytelling to a love of reading.