Indiana Humanities is a nonprofit organization based in Indianapolis that funds and produces

public humanities Public humanities is the work of engaging diverse publics in reflecting on heritage, traditions, and history, and the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of civic and cultural life. Public humanities is often practiced within feder ...

programming throughout the state of Indiana. It is one of 56 humanities councils in the United States and is affiliated with the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

History

Indiana Humanities Meredith Nicholson House

The first iteration of Indiana Humanities was established in 1972 when the National Endowment for the Humanities encouraged the formation of the Indiana Committee for the Humanities, a statewide grantmaking organization made up of five Hoosiers. Since its inception Indiana Humanities has been a part of many special projects around the state, including leading a task force in 1991 that resulted in the establishment of the

International School of Indiana The International School of Indiana (ISI) is an independent private school in Indianapolis, Indiana. Since its founding in 1994, ISI has grown into a Pre-Kindergarten to 12th Grade school of more than 600 students. ISI is recognized as an IB Wo ...

. Indiana Humanities has been headquartered in the historic

Georgian Revival Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Georg ...

home of Indiana author

Meredith Nicholson Meredith Nicholson (December 9, 1866 – December 21, 1947) was a best-selling author from Indiana, United States, a politician, and a diplomat. Biography Nicholson was born on December 9, 1866, in Crawfordsville, Indiana, to Edward Willis Nic ...

since 1986.

Current Activities

Grants

* Humanities Initiative Grant: provides nonprofit organizations in Indiana with funds to support humanities programs for public audiences. * Historic Preservation Education Grant: given in partnership with

Indiana Landmarks Indiana Landmarks is America's largest private statewide historic preservation organization. Founded in 1960 as Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana by a volunteer group of civic and business leaders led by Indianapolis pharmaceutical execu ...

to fund educational projects related to historic properties in Indiana.

Programs

* Next Indiana Campfires: a series of statewide programming that blends nature walks, literature and discussion with the help of local humanities scholars and naturalists. This program won the Schwartz Prize for best humanities program in 2017. * Novel Conversations: a free statewide lending library that loans more than 600 titles to reading groups across Indiana. * Historic Bar Crawl: an annual bar crawl presented in partnership with

Indiana Historical Society The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) is one of the United States' oldest and largest historical societies and describes itself as "Indiana's Storyteller". It is housed in the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center at 450 West Ohio Street ...

in its sixth year that reenacts notable scenes in Indianapolis history at surprising locations. Past themes have included the 1970s and the Cold War. * INconversation: a speaker program that brings thought leaders from around the country to Indiana for small group discussions. *

Indiana Authors Awards The Indiana Authors Awards, also known as the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards, is a literary awards program that recognizes and honors authors from Indiana and literary works about Indiana. In 2020, awards were given in eight cate ...

: a biannual book award celebrating Indiana literature. First established in 2009, The Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Awards are given to the best books by Indiana authors written in eight different categories and published during the previous two years.

Thematic initiatives

In 2017–2018, Indiana Humanities deployed a series of programming exploring the relationship between STEM disciplines and the humanities called Quantum Leap. This initiative included a slate of statewide programming around the classic novel ''

Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...

'', for which Indiana Humanities was given a $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Past thematic initiatives include Food for Thought, Spirit of Competition and Next Indiana.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* Bennett, Taylor. "Indiana to Mark Frankenstein's 200th Birthday." ''WFYI Indianapolis''. Web. 2 January 201
Indiana to celebrate Frankenstein's 200th birthday
*"Indiana Nonprofit Wins National Award For Campfires Program." ''WFYI Indianapolis''. Web. 21 November 201
Indiana Nonprofit Wins National Award For Campfires Program
*Petry, Ashley. "Beer, books, bio engineering: Indy gets frank with Frankenstein." ''Indianapolis Star''. Web. 12 September 2017
Beer, books, bio engineering: Indy gets frank with Frankenstein
*"NEH Announces $39.3 Million for 245 Humanities Projects Nationwide." ''National Endowment for the Humanities. Web. 2 August 2017.'' *Bongiovanni, Domenica. "That time the Pacers almost left Indy is just one of the stories on this bar crawl." ''Indianapolis Star''. 9 June 201
That time the Pacers almost left Indy is just one of the stories on this bar crawl
*Grossman, Dan. "TILT: It's what graffiti and wool blankets have in common." ''NUVO''. 19 October 2016

*Goins, Alexa. "Next Indiana Campfires: Good literature, thoughts and beers." ''Indianapolis Star''. 12 August 2016
Next Indiana Campfires: Good literature, thoughts and beers
*"Food for Thought: An Indiana Harvest." ''Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership''. 19 October 2012
Food For Thought: An Indiana Harvest
* "Humanities Council Announces Grant Recipients." Inside Indiana Business. Web. 5 April 2010

* Kelley, Erin, and Cassie Stockamp. "Civic Dialogue Fosters Sense of Community." ''Indianapolis Star''. 10 January 2010. Print.

External links

Indiana Humanities

National Endowment for the Humanities

{{authority control National Endowment for the Humanities Non-profit organizations based in Indianapolis