IHC Road Scholars Speakers Bureau provides a wide array of public humanities programming throughout the state.
CHICAGO – Looking for a way to help engage Illinois communities in discussions about Illinois history, literature, architecture, or any humanities discipline? If you would enjoy making connections and exercising minds throughout Illinois, the Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) wants to hear from you. The IHC is seeking scholar-applicants for its 2009–2010 IHC Road Scholars Speakers Bureau. Humanities scholars affiliated with Illinois colleges and universities and independent scholars are eligible to apply. The deadline for applications is June 15, 2008. Interested scholars should download an application from www.prairie.org/roadscholars by clicking on “Application & Forms” in the blue box to the right, or call 312.422.5580.
This year, the IHC is particularly interested in speakers who might address topics of immigration or emigration, environmental history, or literature that relates to oil and water and the history of science.
For a small processing fee, the IHC Road Scholars Speakers Bureau program places humanities scholars in diverse communities throughout the state where they give presentations on a variety of topics related to the humanities that encourage reflection on the human condition from a range of perspectives. As branches of learning, the humanities include the study of history, literature, linguistics, music history and appreciation, politics, anthropology, philosophy, jurisprudence, and comparative religion. Interdisciplinary areas such as folklore and Women’s Studies are also considered humanities disciplines.
Speakers will receive an honorarium of $150-$300 and an expense reimbursement. Speakers typically have two or three different presentations listed on the roster on the IHC’s website. All presentations proposed should be roughly 45-60 minutes in length and should include time for audience discussion. All must employ the perspectives of the humanities.
The IHC welcomes proposals for presentations beyond the traditional lecture/discussion format, including multi-media presentations, first-person characterizations of historical figures, musical performances, and even walking tours. Programs may address topics related to issues of local, state, national, or international concern. The IHC will also accept proposals for team presentations. Please note that the National Endowment for the Humanities guidelines under which the IHC operates prohibit support of presentations directed at persuading an audience to a particular political, philosophical, religious, or ideological point of view.
The Illinois Humanities Council is a nonprofit educational organization [501 (c) 3] dedicated to fostering a culture in which the humanities are a vital part of the lives of individuals and communities. Organized in 1973 as the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the IHC creates programs and funds organizations that promote greater understanding of, appreciation for, and involvement in the humanities. The IHC is supported by state, federal, and private funds.
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