| WHAT
IS FREEDOM? 30th ANNIVERSARY SUBSCRIBER SERIES In September and October 2003, RICH celebrated its' thirtieth anniversary with a series of special events that explored this important question. Click here to view and read copies of the talks given by author, Scott Russell Sanders and Harpers Magazine publisher, John R. MacArthur. |
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In
early 2003, The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH) was
pleased to announce the awardees for their grants initiative In
Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness: What Does Freedom Mean To
Us? With this special one-time grants initiative, RICH called for humanists and non-academic organizations to work together to develop projects that critically and creatively examine the nature of freedom today and how our notions of freedom have evolved, been challenged, and been reshaped over time. The response to the initiative was tremendous and proved to be very competitive. The number of creative and community-driven program ideas that local scholars and organizations conceived and planned together impressed RICH board members and staff. Six awards of $5,000 each were available to the pool of applicants. The roster of award recipients represent diverse organizations and scholars and a variety of innovative programs that will have a broad public reach across the state. Funded jointly by the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities and the Verizon Foundation, this initiative is part of RICH’s 30th anniversary inquiry into the question What is Freedom? View a list of 2003 Awardees View the Freedom Talks Click here to view the Freedom Talks, a series of talks developed in conjunction with this RICH funded special grants initiative. |
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| What
Is Freedom?: Stories of Life, Love, and Struggle in America. As a part of our year-long examination of What is Freedom?, the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities will offered seven evenings of film and video that explored questions about cultural identity in an effort to inspire dialogue, to connect with our community’s diverse cultural experiences and to explore the different ways that "freedom" and "America"are understood in Rhode Island today. As a community founded on immigration, Rhode Island, and the United States as a whole, provide a home to growing populations with a multiplicity of identities constantly changing and redefining what it means to be an "American." But how familiar are we with the histories and stories that make so many of these experiences unique? How have understandings of cultural identity shifted over time? Who is included and excluded from "American", when and why? What liberties and restrictions come with embracing an American identity? As they entertain or inform, films retell our myths, take us on journeys and challenge our assumptions. Films provide a provocative way to communicate our stories, helping us make links between our own experiences and those of others quite different from us. It was RICH’s goal to present a collection of films that explore notions of local and national identity and how these experiences are in concert or in tension. Following each screening, we hosted a discussion panel with the filmmakers and/or scholars to help audiences analyze the program content further. The series sought to foster understanding through discussion with distinguished scholars, filmmakers, and community members in exploration of issues such as racism, cultural conflict, and national and cultural identity. 2003 Film Schedule |
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| Freedom
and the American Experience In 2003, the RICH Summer Book Club investigated the question of freedom through a discussion series on literature by new American voices. Gloria-Jean Masciarotte, an independent scholar/ writer with a PhD from Brown University returned by popular demand to help us explore a variety of literary genres that included African-American, Latino, and immigrant literature. For more details about RICH Book Club events, please contact Program Director Risa Gilpin at risa@rihumanities.org. |
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Islanders: Tell Us What Freedom Means to You! Please take a minute to give us your response. |
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WSBE "Freedom: A History of Us" http://www.pbs.org/wnet/historyofus/index.html |
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