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Haunted by Homer’s Sirens

“About seven months ago, our son was in a tragic ski accident, and was in a coma for close to a month. And during that really painful time,…

“I was dragged, kicking and screaming, to a van Gogh exhibition”

In what I believe was the latter part of the 1980s, I was dragged, kicking and screaming, to a van Gogh exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum. And for…

How Korean Fan Dancing Helped Me Connect with My Adopted Son

As a middle-aged American Caucasian woman with an adopted son from South Korea, I had a longing to understand my son’s heritage and feel more connected to him….

Can You Imagine a World Without Birdsong?

In this video recollection, author and conservation activist Terry Tempest Williams describes her first encounter with Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and the ethical questions shared by her grandmother…

Only Connect

Over the years I have been blessed by many humanities moments, but there is one that I especially cherish. Some fifteen years ago, I happened upon an article…

The Streets of New York are Like a Library

In this video submission, artist Carter Thompson discusses how a recent exhibit on the Harlem Renaissance revealed some of the fascinating history of the century-old building in which…

Coming to Terms with the Experience of War

National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman William “Bro” Adams shares how philosophy professor and World War II veteran Glenn Gray and his book The Warriors: Reflections on Men…

How Do You Get to the Stories We are Not Told?

Bernier shares how her lifelong interest in the history of slavery was sparked by curiosity about the stories that seemed to be missing in the account of the…

Growing Up with the Humanities

Mirah Horowitz describes the lessons imparted from her mother, an English professor, on reading and writing as ongoing practices of critical inquiry. Building on their shared love of…

A Quiet Desperation

In my late 20s, I knew that I wanted to make a vocational shift, but I struggled to find the courage to do so. One day, I came…

A Timeless Description

I feel robbed that I did not get the opportunity to ask my Great Uncle Burl what it was like to train in North Africa or share stories…

Meeting the Last Man on Planet Earth Who Could Speak Latin

A single question changed the course of my life. When I first began studying Latin in 1996, it was a dead language, no doubt about it. It was…

Witnessing the Effects of Near-History in Iraq

I was a newspaper reporter covering the War in Iraq in the late 2000s. My assignment was exciting, but often lonely. I bounced from town to town, usually…

A Scientist Appreciates the Humanities

During college I was on my way to becoming a scientist when I decided to get my education license on the side. During my student teaching internship, I…

Resilience, Humility, and Picnics

I like picnics. Picnics take us outside, to share food with people we like. Those are my three favorite things, and picnics offer all three with a minimum…

Origin Stories: Or, Making Sense of Surprises in the Family Tree

My Humanities Moment happened when my husband and I received the results of the genetic testing kits we’d ordered. The stories that my husband’s DNA told matched up…

“For the Sake of a Cloud”

While taking Latin in high school, I became fascinated by the story of the Trojan War. I loved the interconnected perspectives of soldiers, royalty, deities, and ordinary people….

A Few Lines of Poetry Might Be All We Need…

I remember seeing the images on the television, in newspapers, and in magazines. It was such an epic event. The Berlin Wall was coming down, something I never…

Visiting the Art Museum

My family always visited art museums when I was a child. I’m not quite sure why, as we never talked about the art, and I wondered, in secret,…