Press Release

CALLING ALL SPEAKERS! ILLINOIS HUMANITIES COUNCIL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR NEW MEMBERS OF SPEAKERS BUREAU

IHC Road Scholars travel Illinois speaking at museums, libraries, and more.
Applications due April 15.

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 2011-2012 IHC Road Scholars Speakers Bureau. Humanities scholars affiliated with Illinois colleges and universities and independent scholars are eligible to apply. The application deadline is April 15, 2010. Interested scholars can download an application at www.prairie.org/roadscholars or request one at 312.422.5580.

This year, applications are encouraged from speakers who can present on:  

  • The Freedom Rides and Civil Rights
  • Work as a meaningful part of American identity
  • Reflections on issues related to the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks.

Presentations on these topics will also potentially be integrated into other Illinois Humanities Council programming.   

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. Scholars are encouraged to develop and present programs to public audiences in diverse communities throughout the state of Illinois. IHC Road Scholars strives to have an eclectic offering of subjects that audiences will find interesting, edifying, and accessible.

Subject matter and format are not limited; programs that do not follow the traditional talk-plus-questions approach are particularly welcome. Speakers may offer programs on any topic as long as it is addressed from the perspective of the humanities. Programs may address topics related to issues of local, state, national, or international concern. The IHC will also accept proposals for team presentations.

All programs should be roughly 45 to 60 minutes in length, including a segment of audience discussion and participation. Speakers are paid an honorarium and are presented with reimbursement for mileage, per diem, and lodging, if necessary. Honorarium is determined by roundtrip mileage per program.

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 (IHC) 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 (NEH), the IHC creates programs and funds organizations that promote greater understanding of, appreciation for, and involvement in the humanities by all Illinoisans, regardless of their economic resources, cultural background, or geographic location. The IHC is supported by state, federal, and private funds.

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