4Humanities Advocacy Projects

4Humanities and its local chapters are at work on a variety of projects to create advocacy for the humanities and also to develop innovative research and materials to help drive such advocacy. Current ongoing projects include:

* “Shout Out for the Humanities” Student Prize Contest

* Humanities, Plain & Simple Initiative

* Backpack Mini-Documentaries

* Humanities Infographics

* Arts & Humanities in the 21st Century Workplace

* Humanities Showcase

* WhatEvery1OneSays Research Project

Christopher Watts, What does it mean to be alive in the digital age?: “The Zombies Are Already Among Us”

Christopher Watts, from St. Lawrence University, created the following video for a New York Six event. The premise of the talk creatively explores how the obsession with quantifying information without qualitative considerations can lower the bar for what it means to be alive.

4Humanities “Shout Out For the Humanities” Student Prize Contest

4Humanities.org announces its “Shout Out For the Humanities” student prize contest. Prizes are offered for best undergraduate (1st prize: US $1,000 – 2nd: $700 – 3rd: $300) and best graduate student (1st prize: US $1,000 – 2nd: $700 – 3rd: $300) submissions from any nation that speak up for the value of the humanities in today’s society. 4Humanities wants to showcase student ideas and voices on such questions as: Why is studying the humanities–e.g., history, literature, languages, philosophy, art history, media history, and culture–important to you? To society? How would you convince your parents, an employer, a politician, or others that there is value in learning the humanities? Submissions will be judged by an international panel of distinguished judges for message, quality, and impact no matter the medium or format. Possible submissions include: essay (less than 2,000 words), video, digital work, poster, cartoon, song, art, short story, interview. Submissions are due March 1, 2016. Submission GuidelinesContest KitJudges (Faculty: host a student “creativity workshop” for the contest at your institution!)

New York Six students describe their projects on the value of the arts and humanities

Twelve New York Six students have received fellowships from the NY6 Think Tank for the Arts and Humanities to pursue projects that demonstrate the value of the arts and humanities. The selected projects include a Flickr and Instagram campaign to explore the intersection of the arts and social justice, a project on the use of writing and narrative in health and medicine, and the creation of a campaign called The ABCs of Being a Student.