Maine Humanities Council

Scotch immigrant family at Quebec, New York Public Library

Immigration has raised complex issues for Maine and America throughout history, affecting our society and our landscape. With new immigrants and refugees arriving every day, people continue to struggle with the profound and complicated changes that occur.

On October 29, the Maine Humanities Council will present Coming to America: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Immigration, a one-day conference in Ellsworth, that will explore the historic and contemporary challenges of immigration.

This conference will feature presentations by Professor Edward O’Donnell from the College of the Holy Cross, Professor Tomasz Herzog of University of Maine Presque Isle, and Ian Yaffe, Executive Director of Mano en Mano in Milbridge.  The day will also include several break-out sessions to enable deeper conversation about specific topics.

The conference will take place from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm at the Grand Auditorium in Ellsworth. Register online or phone (207) 773-5051.

By Victoria Bonebakker

Literature & Medicine presents in Las Vegas (or is it Venice?), credit: Victoria Bonebakker

The Maine Humanities Council and Dr. Tim Richardson, Chief of Staff at the Togus (Maine) VA Medical Center, were invited to present two sessions on the Council’s program, Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Health Care®, at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Leadership Conference in Las Vegas the end of August. It was a great honor to be invited to this conference, attended by approximately 2,500 senior staff from the VHA’ s 14,000 facilities across the country.

As the Council’s representative, I was impressed and somewhat awed by the enormity of the challenges faced by the VHA as an organization, and by the task and the high standards it has set for itself.  The theme of the conference, “Be the Change You Want to See,” suggests the level of its aspiration to provide a continuously improving level of care; it is gratifying that Literature & Medicine is considered a valuable partner in this effort.

› Continue reading

by Sheila Jans

Judy Paradis takes part in an animated discussion during the Ste-Agathe LTAI. (credit: Sheila Jans)

This was no ordinary book club. And then again, what was I comparing it to? I had never belonged to an ordinary book club. Regardless, I knew I was in the midst of something uniquely distinct this past summer. I participated in my first ever Let’s Talk About It – a book discussion program of the Maine Humanities Council.

Once a month for five months I met with close to 20 other people in the little town of Ste-Agathe on beautiful Long Lake in the St. John Valley. Yes, we read a book. Then we got together and talked about it. The five books we read were part of a thoughtfully designed series called “Defining Wilderness, Defining Maine.” And then a scholar, who is an accomplished writer and teacher of creative writing, artfully led our two-hour discussions.

› Continue reading

Maine Humanities Council grants awarded in August 2010 include:

$500 to the Maine Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee for Maine in the Civil War – 150 Years Ago Today

This grant will fund the research required to plan an online archive of brief excerpts from two Portland newspapers between the election of Abraham Lincoln (Nov. 1860) and the secession of the first southern state (Feb. 1861). If material exists, the Committee plans to expand the project and cover Maine comments for the whole Civil War.

$1,000 to Museum L-A for Shoemaking Skills of Generations

A year-long Museum L-A interactive exhibit, scheduled to launch Fall of 2010, will provide insight into the culture of work, family and life in the industrious twin cities of Lewiston and Auburn.

$1,000 to King Middle School Library for One Nation, Divided: Commemorating the Sesquicentennial of the U.S. Civil War

This year-long commemorative study of the beginning of the US Civil War will inspire students and their families to read and discuss the events that shaped our nation with a series of Humanities programs to include Socratic Book Circle titles, author visits, movies and historic field experiences. This grant will fund a school trip for students to take Boston’s African American History Walking Tour.