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Utah Humanities empowers Utahns to improve their communities
through active engagement in the humanities
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Clemente Humanities Camp Actively Involves Students in Justice
How Do You Empower Students with a Voice on the Topic of Justice?
In June, 12 high school students kicked off summer by attending the annual Clemente Humanities Camp on the campus of Westminster College. In an intense 3-day humanities experience focused on the topic of justice, the students engaged in college-level work based in literature, art history, and philosophy.
Individually and collectively, students grappled with deep philosophical questions, connecting Aristotle to their own lives. They learned the origins of performance art and its effectiveness to fight injustice. Finally, they studied the powerful elements of effective writing - ethos, pathos and logos - by examining Dr. Martin Luther King's letter from Burmingham, watching and discussing modern poetry, and engaging in writing prompts.
In the safe space that Clemente Camp provides, students bonded quickly with each other and shared their ideas, voices, and perspectives openly. They learned how to harness their voice to stand up for justice. Ultimately, students explored their own power to change the world through the humanities.
Here is how students talked about their experience . . .
"My personal understanding of justice transformed over the days at camp...I didn't know what the camp would be like, if I was going to feel uncomfortable, or if I was even going to like it at all. When I arrived I felt the sense that everyone was here to learn, to gain knowledge, and that no one would be rude about the topic I chose. My personal understanding grew when we all talked about one topic and I got to hear everyone's perspectives and thoughts about justice. I gained more perspectives that influenced my own thoughts." -2017 Clemente camper
"My thoughts about social justice have been influenced by the camp because I gained different perspectives on various topics. I believe that my thoughts are more valuable and are full of more knowledge now that I have had an amazing experience at the Clemente Humanities camp." -2017 Clemente camper
"The writing portion of the camp helped me understand my own thoughts by looking at different styles of poetry and writing. The support from all of the teachers, counselors and everyone at the camp really helped me understand my thought process and helped me put my thoughts into words." -2017 Clemente camper
For more information on the annual Clemente Humanities Camp, contact Josh Wennergren, Director of the Center for Educational Access, at [email protected] or 801.359.9670 x106.
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Utah Humanities Book Festival Kicks Off Soon...and Celebrates 20 Years of Inspiring Utahns
Celebrate the 20th Anniversary With Us
Over the past 20 years we've inspired Utah communities by offering the state's largest annual book festival. Our inaugural festival, known then as The Great Salt Lake Book Festival, started in 1998 and was a one-day event featuring 30 authors at Westminster College. Twenty years later, our annual Utah Humanities Book Festival now spans two full months each September and October. We've grown to 122 events in 16 communities, and consistently feature over 100 authors. We've expanded our reach by partnering with libraries, community centers, cultural organizations, and more to serve upwards of 12,000 Utahns every fall.
Each year, we hear very personal stories about how an author or book has generated conversation, insight, and understanding. We hear about communities coming together and collectively immersing in books of all types - everything from historical fiction to comedy to poetry. We listen to individuals talk about how their personal or professional lives were affected in life-changing ways by talking with an author who inspired them. We hear about how we've helped to improve Utah communities through books, reading, and the resulting conversations . . . in short, through the humanities.
Join us for this year's statewide festival in celebration of all things bookish and our milestone 20th anniversary!
Check our Book Festival Calendar
Be sure to catch this year's terrific lineup of authors and events that will include Zadie Smith, Brandon Mull, Bruce Campbell, Michael Chabon, David Baker, Luci Tapahonso, Kaveh Akbar, Mark Sundeen, Jennifer Nielsen, Literary Death Match, Live Wire!, Margot Singer, Ian Doescher, Ashley Wolff, Ally Condie, Shannon and Dean Hale, Kwame Alexander, Debra Monroe, and many more.
Share Your Book Festival Story
If you have a story to share about how the Utah Humanities Book Festival has influenced you or your community, please contact Deena Pyle, Utah Humanities Communications Director, at [email protected] or 801.359.9670 x111.
For more information on how to partner with Utah Humanities to build literature and humanities content into your events, or for more information on how to get involved with this year's book festival, contact Michael McLane, Director of the Center for the Book, at [email protected] or 801.359.9670 x104.
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Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition The Way We Worked Continues its Tour of Utah with a Stay at Two Venues in Fillmore
The Way We Worked exhibition continues its year-long Utah tour with a stay at the Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum in partnership with President Millard Fillmore Library. The Fillmore portion of the tour opened on Saturday, July 15th, at the Fillmore Library and will also have a stay at the Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum.
Fillmore's Companion Exhibits Focus on Local Work History
To accompany and complement the Smithsonian exhibition, Fillmore is also curating two companion exhibits: Faces of Fillmore celebrates the people of Fillmore and their work in many different fields. Come see some familiar faces and learn what they do and why they love it at the Fillmore Library. Mountain View Mushrooms: A Fillmore Staple explores how this company has provided work for a diverse group of employees and been a community fixture since 1974. See it at the Territorial Statehouse. In addition to these exhibits, visitors can enjoy a variety of other family-friendly events.
Carl Aldrich, Project Director and Ranger at Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum remarks that "This project has been an exciting way to build new partnerships in the community and to rejuvenate local interest in the Territorial Statehouse State Park Museum. I have brought together school groups, citizens of Fillmore who are currently unrepresented in our museum, and several local businesses to pull this off. Our local labor exhibition is a project involving over 75 people--which in a small community like Fillmore is a significant percentage of the population. I hope that when people come to see The Way We Worked and our local exhibit that they will realize that our museum is not just a place to visit once in a lifetime. We are always doing new community activities and putting together new exhibits for people to learn about our territorial and local history."
 Stephanie Aleman, Librarian at Fillmore City Library adds that "Fillmore City Library is excited to co-host The Way We Worked for the first half of its time in Fillmore. We have a lot of fun activities planned for people of all ages to learn about different kinds of work. Our partnership with Territorial Statehouse State Park has spawned so many great ideas for our community. Many of them may never get to travel to the great museums in our country, so having a Smithsonian exhibit in town will be a huge benefit.
Bart Adams, Owner and CEO of Mountain View Mushrooms says "Mountain View Mushrooms is committed to supporting our community. When we were approached about this project, it was a no-brainer. Partnering with Territorial Statehouse State Park on this exhibit is an opportunity to show off our great employees and show our community how we 'work.' Like the State Park, the mushroom farm has played an important role in Fillmore for many years and we are excited to share this with the visitors of the State Park. As always, we encourage you to 'Eat More Mushrooms!'"
Photos: Scenes from The Way We Worked exhibition installation at the Fillmore City Library.
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Utah Humanities' Annual Board Retreat at Snow College
Over three days this July, we held our annual Utah Humanities Board Retreat. This year's retreat was held in Ephraim and featured a community reception hosted at the Granary Art Center.
Our board meeting was held on the lovely campus of Snow College. David Allred, who has served as our board chair over the past year organized a well-run and effective retreat. David is the chair of the Snow College English department as well as an English professor, and has provided inspiring leadership to the board. Our work revolved around a review of our mission and how to measure our success in fulfilling various aspects of it, such as empowering our partners, improving communities, and engaging actively with the humanities.
A Fond Farewell
We said a bittersweet goodbye to three outgoing board members, all of whom have served two terms for a total of 6 years each. Nancy Bentley (Price), Ami Comeford (St. George), and Bob King (Tooele) have all worked tirelessly to move Utah Humanities forward in our important statewide work. Ami Comeford served as a recent board chair, while Nancy and Bob both spearheaded critical committee work. Each of them was actively involved in helping to define our new mission and supporting our recent re-branding process. We will miss their consistent, effective work and their individual personalities, humor, insight, and friendship.
A Warm Welcome
As is our opportunity at each annual retreat, we were pleased to welcome five new board members to our ranks. Ken Crossley (Spanish Fork), Julie Hartley (Grantsville), Melissa Marsted (Park City), Scott Sprenger (Ogden), and Randy Williams (Logan) each bring a diversity of expertise in their fields and individual passion for the humanities. They have already begun actively participating in our board work and we look forward to working with them as we strive to finetune our efforts and how we meet our mission.
Photos:
1. A few board and staff members pose for a photo in our new Utah Humanities shirts before leaving for
Gunnison for Casino Star Theater and Clarion humanities field trip led by Diana Major Spencer.
2. The beautiful Snow College campus made for a quiet and productive board retreat.
3. Outgoing board members from left to right: Nancy Bentley, Ami Comeford, Bob King.
4. Incoming board members from left to right: Ken Crossley, Julie Hartley, Melissa Marsted, Scott Sprenger, Randy Williams.
Photos courtesy of Utah Humanities board and staff.
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Making "In Honor of" and Memorial Gifts to Utah Humanities
 Do you have a mentor, colleague, friend, or family member who had a positive impact on your life? Would a memorial gift be of comfort to a grieving family? Or is there a special occasion being celebrated or remembered, like a birthday, anniversary, or graduation?
Commemorate the event or celebrate someone's life by making a gift to Utah Humanities.Your generosity is a meaningful way to express gratitude or recognize important life events while helping people around Utah improve their communities through active engagement in the humanities.
We will send a personalized letter to the honoree or family member notifying them of your kind gesture. Additionally, you will receive a letter documenting your tax-deductible contribution.
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Click the State Icon to See Our Humanities Events Near You
Our events calendar is organized by month, date, and region of the state.
Click the icon to visit our calendar, and remember to check back often.
There are always new humanities events to attend!
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Many Thanks
"What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference
you want to make" - Jane Goodall
Utah Humanities would like to thank the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for its recent generous grant to support our annual Book Festival. This year we will be celebrating 20 years of engaging Utahns in reading and discussions of the ideas brought to us through literature.
We also thank the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for its significant annual support of Utah Humanities and our programs.
These two federal agencies are instrumental in providing quality programming across the state. Their ongoing investment helps UH empower Utahns to improve their communities through active engagement in the humanities.
Utah Humanities is grateful for the generous support of many individuals, foundations, and corporations, and for public funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Utah, and the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks Fund.
Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed on this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Utah Humanities empowers Utahns to improve their communitiesthrough active engagement in the humanities
Celebrate the 20th Anniversary With Us
Utah Humanities is grateful for the generous support of many individuals, foundations, and corporations, and for public funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Utah, and the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks Fund.Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed on this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
