Dear Friends,

I hope this note finds you and yours well.

This second weekly roundup of  #HumanitiesInTheAgeOfSocialDistancing offers ways to connect our civic and cultural lives during this unprecedented public health crisis. We will continue to share resources on social media—Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @rihumanities and here, each Friday, where we’ll highlight our top picks from the week. 
We’re all in this together,
Elizabeth Francis
Executive Director
and the Humanities Council Team
Listen Up: This week, we've taken a deeper dive into the podcasts that keep us listening deeply and thinking critically about the humanities and the world around us. A few favorites include:
Careers in the Public Humanities from the University of Rhode Island features interviews with people doing outstanding public work. Catherine Winters’ i nterview with Taylor Polites , 2017 recipient of the Public Humanities Scholar Award, reveals how he does so much—he’s a writer, historian, educator, and artist!—and why it matters. Taylor talks about his own journey, including his upbringing in the Deep South and a career in finance in New York, and his decision to embrace risk in order to follow his interests, in the process adding immeasurably to historical engagement here in Rhode Island. 
OnBeing is a national independent, nonprofit media and public life project founded and hosted by Krista Tippitt , a Brown University alumna and 2014 recipient of the National Humanities Medal. A longtime favorite of Rachael Jeffers’ for their Civil Conversations Project , we also truly appreciate their recently released Listening Care Package for Uncertain Times , “a collection of podcasts and poetry for however you’re processing or experiencing Covid-19.”
Mosaic from our friends at The Public’s Radio. The first season of the Mosaic podcast includes 30 episodes about the American immigration experience past and present. The hosts are Alex Nunes and Ana Gonzalez , who was also a project director of The RI Hip Hop Project , a documentary film that was supported by a Council grant and is available to watch online .
Readings – a sampling of pieces to keep you inspired and connected:

This project was supported by our neighbors at Connecticut Humanities in partnership with Connecticut Public Television. As we’re all inundated with information on an hourly basis, this offers a clear way to think about our civic responsibility to truth. 

Are you searching for ways to keep your children and student(s) engaged and inspired? Our nation’s leading museum network is here to help with resources for teachers and parents with activities broken down by grade and subject.

Elizabeth Francis took a break from the marathon of conference calls this week and explored the RISD Museum’s Raid the Ice Box online exhibitions.

The “Games of Chance” exhibit by Beth Katleman , which includes an intriguing video tour of Pendleton House, is “So, so fantastic!” 
Upcoming Virtual Opportunities & Educational Materials

Monday nights 6:00 - 8:00pm

The Playful Actor is a weekly, drop-in class that uses joy-based games and acting exercises to explore the actor’s capacity for truth, joy, enthusiasm, and generosity.

Thursday, April 2nd at 6:30pm

Join The RI Center for the Book and the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy on April 2nd at 6:30pm for a Facebook Live conversation with author Elizabeth Rush . Rush’s book, Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore , was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Her work explores how humans adapt to changes enacted upon them by forces seemingly beyond their control, from ecological transformation to political revolution.
Resources for the Humanities Sector During the Pandemic : This list will be added to as the Humanities Council is made aware of resources available to the sector as we weather this storm together. Check back often.
The Humanities Council is proud to join hundreds of our nonprofit colleagues across the state in 401GivesDay, the largest ever state-wide day of giving on Wednesday, April 1st. As you support the many nonprofits that enrich our lives in the Ocean State, we hope you'll consider a gift to the Council – every gift makes an impact on our community.