|
|
|
 |
|
| MHC is a private nonprofit corporation funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi.
MHC sponsors, supports, and conducts a wide range of programs designed to promote understanding of our cultural heritage, interpret our own experience, foster critical thinking, encourage reasonable public discourse, strengthen our sense of community, and thus empower Mississippi's people with a vision for the future. |
 MHC Staff |
| Letter from the Chairman |
| Letter from the Director |
| History of the Council |
| MHC Council Members |
| MHC Statement of Objectives |
|
 |
|
The 4 Ws: Walker, Welty, Williams and Wright is an enrichment
institute exploring the works and lives of four of Mississippi’s
greatest authors. The authors -- Margaret Walker, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams and Richard Wright – offer clear voices for understanding life in our state over the last century. They are writing treasures whose lives and work offer a cross section of the Mississippi experience, representing
different regions of the state, and bringing perspectives from men, women, African Americans, whites, folks who were poverty-stricken and those who were middle class. The institute is designed to coincide with centennial celebrations of the birthdays of Richard Wright and Eudora Welty.
The 4 W's An Enrichment Institute
4 W's Registration Form
|
|
|
|
Throughout its history, Mississippi has seen a small, steady stream of immigrants, and those identities – sometimes submerged, sometimes hidden -- have helped shape our state. Amid revived interest in identity, MHC is revising Ethnic Heritage in Mississippi to offer stories of heritage overcoming obstacles,
immigrants newly arrived, and long-settled groups witnessing a revitalized claim to membership.
The volume, to be published by University Press of Mississippi, is the first ever publication to focus exclusively on Mississippi ethnic groups in the 20th century.
“In this book we are trying to not only talk about history – how people came to Mississippi – but also our current culture: how people are coming to our state, looking for opportunity and building their lives. These stories are compelling and most are not being told,” said MHC executive director Barbara Carpenter, who edited the first volume of Ethnic Heritage and secured the funding for the revised edition. “Many people do not realize, when they think about Mississippi, that there are dozens of cultures living here, and we want to make sure that the general public is aware of the diversity that is often hidden in our state.” |
 |
| Joe Martin Erber, left, a long-
Time employee of the post office, and Meyer Gelman, a retired local clothier, are keepers of the last Orthodox shul, Congregation Ahavath Rayim, in Greenwood. Photo-graph by Bill Aron. Courtesy of Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, Utica, MS. 1989.
|
|
|
Please go here to view a entire article. |
|
|
| (JACKSON, MS) - Rod Risley, chair of the Mississippi Humanities Council, welcomes six new members: |
 |
Luther Brown, Cleveland, is founding director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University. Born in Illinois, Brown was educated in Illinois and Ohio, earning a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Zoology. In addition to directing the Delta Center for Culture and Learning, he also teaches biology and physical science courses at Delta State. Brown has worked with the Mississippi Humanities Council on numerous projects, including a 2007 summer teachers institute exploring Mississippi’s musical heritage and programs related to recent traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibits, New Harmonies: Celebrating American
|
| Roots Music and Between Fences. He also serves as a popular member of the Mississippi Humanities Council Speakers Bureau and is a past recipient of the Council’s Humanities Educator of the Year award. |
|
 |
Jeannie Gillespie, Hattiesburg, is associate dean for academics and assessment at the University of Southern Mississippi. Before advancing to her current position, she taught Spanish and Portuguese and several Hispanic culture courses including Mexican drama and Latin American poetry. She also serves as director of women’s studies at USM. Gillespie received degrees from Purdue University and the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Spanish from Arizona State University. She has authored numerous publications examining women’s issues, Spanish literature and Latin
|
| American culture, among other subjects. She is a past recipient of a Mississippi Humanities Council minigrant. |
|
 |
Vicksburg photographer Melody Golding holds one of four Council positions appointed by the Governor. Golding was born in Tennessee and attended the University of Mississippi, Mississippi College and Mississippi State University. She is a nationally recognized photographer whose most recent collection, Katrina: Mississippi Women Remember, is touring Mississippi and Louisiana after opening with critical acclaim at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Golding is currently partnering with the Mississippi Humanities Council to offer her exhibit at no cost to Mississippi sites.
|
|
|
 |
Preston Hughes, Kosciusko, served 27 years in the United States Army before retiring in the rank of colonel in 1992. He served two tours in Vietnam and was a trained specialist on Turkey, serving 13 years in various assignments in Turkey. After retiring, he received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in political science from the University of Mississippi and currently serves as an adjunct professor at Holmes Community College teaching American government. He is co-founder of The Club, a biracial men’s civic club in Kosciusko. He also co-founded The LEAP Center, an after school tutorial program, and he serves as chairman of the Defense and Security Affairs Committee of the American-Turkish Council.
|
|
|
 |
Candice Love Jackson, Jackson, holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in English from the University of North Carolina. She is chair of the English Department at Tougaloo College where she directs the Honors Program, teaches English and literature courses and conducts research in African American literature and Southern literature. Jackson has authored numerous research publications and is a frequent presenter at educational conferences. She is a 2006 recipient of a Mississippi Humanities Council Humanities Teacher Award.
|
|
|
 |
Hilliard Lackey, Jackson, is assistant professor of history and assistant to the executive vice president for external affairs at Jackson State University. Born in Marks, MS, he received degrees in history and political science and education administration from Jackson State, as well as an M.A. in historical geography from the University of Arkansas and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in higher education administration from the University of Mississippi. He is a columnist for the Mississippi Link, St. Louis American, Clarksdale Press Register and The Scoop. He is also a television program host for Scope and news director of WMPR radio. He is a writer and in 1998 published a history of the mule train
|
| entitled Marks, Martin and the Mule Train. |
|
Two Council members were elected to second terms, Dr. David Beckley, president of Rust College in Holly Springs, and Rod Risley, executive director of Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. |
Council officers include Risley, chair; Dr. Charles Sallis, Jackson, vice chair; Pamela Pridgen, Hattiesburg, secretary; and Dr. Harold Fisher, Jackson, treasurer. |
The Mississippi Humanities Council is funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi. |
Twenty-two Mississippians serve four-year terms on the Council as volunteers. Five Council members are appointed by the governor and the others elected by the Council. Half of the members are public and half academic, and every effort is made to maintain balance by race, gender and geographic distribution to assure representation for all Mississippians. |
Any Mississippi resident may nominate persons to serve on the Council. Calls for nominations are regularly announced in the Council’s publications and at Council-supported events. |
The Mississippi Humanities Council does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age. |
|
|
| |
| The Mississippi Humanities Council invites applications for a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit, Journey Stories. Developed
for rural audiences and small museums, libraries, community centers and other non-profit organizations with limited access to traveling exhibits, Journey Stories addresses migration and immigration as they relate to the American experience. In that these topics are directly
| related to mobility, transportation history and the development of transportation technology play important roles in this presentation.
Journey Stories is the account of immigrants coming in search of promise in a new country; the story of individuals and families relocating in search of fortune, their own homestead, or employment; the harrowing journeys of
Africans and Native Americans forced to move; and of course, fun and frolic on the open road. These topics are told by way of engaging images, audio and artifacts that illustrate the critical roles travel and movement |
 |
| have
played in building our diverse American society. Additional information on this exhibit is available at the Smithsonian Institution website: www.museumonmainstreet.org. |
|
| Journey stories... |
|
|
|
|
(JACKSON, MS) – The Mississippi Humanities Council is delighted to announce recipients for its annual Public Humanities Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions by Mississippians to the study and understanding of the humanities.
The 2008 awards ceremony and banquet were held Feb. 22 at the Hilton Hotel in Jackson.
The Humanities Scholar Award went to Chris Goertzen, a University of Southern Mississippi ethnomusicologist who served as the lead scholar for the Mississippi Humanities Council’s touring Smithsonian Institution exhibit, New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music.
|
| | Public Humanities Achievement Award was presented to Delta State University's Delta Center for Culture and Learning for its multiple partnerships with the Council over the years to bring top-quality humanities programming to Mississippi, including the highly successfully Mississippi
Music Teacher Workshop last summer which focused on Mississippi-bred music styles. A second Public Humanities Achievement Award will be given to Mississippi Public Broadcasting for its support of the national opening ceremony in Meridian last March for the Mississippi Humanities Council's New Harmonies
exhibit and the ongoing "Mississippi Moments" radio segments. |
| entire article...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
In spring 2005, Dr. Henry Outlaw of Delta State University began a project to collect the oral
histories of individuals who had been involved in the Emmett Till trial set in Sumner, Mississippi, in 1955. |
|
Through a grant provided by the Mississippi Humanities Council, Dr.
Outlaw collected the oral histories and along the way discovered several rich
material collections. From a collection of personal correspondences to a
scrapbook of newspaper articles, an idea was formed and an exhibit was
developed. The original Emmett Till exhibit opened in the Delta State
University Archives and Museum in fall 2005. After several dozen school groups
and special interest groups toured the exhibit, there were
several requests form other institutions to borrow the exhibit. Now, through
another |
|
| grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, the DSU Archives and
Museum is able to offer a traveling version of the original Emmett Till exhibit.
This new version includes a Gallery Guide and Teacher’s Aid booklet which
allows teachers to prepare their classes for the experience, as well as offers
several lesson plans for teachers to utilize in follow-up classroom activities.
The exhibit debuted in Tupelo
in January 2007 at a noon
reception. Later in the evening, more than 200 guests viewed the exhibit in the
Tupelo Library. The exhibit is scheduled to visit more than a dozen other local
libraries and repositories through spring 208. To inquire about the
availability of the exhibit, please contact DSU Archives and Museum at 662-846-4780, or
visit www.deltastate.edu/pages/2757.asp.
|
|
|
|
|
(JACKSON, MS
)
– The Mississippi Humanities Council has revised its deadlines for grant
applications exceeding $2,000. Applications for Regular Grants will now be
accepted September 15 and April 15 annually. Decisions will be announced
November 15 and June 15.
The Mississippi Humanities Council mission
is to promote understanding of our cultural heritage, interpret our own experience,
foster critical thinking, encourage reasonable public discourse, strengthen our
sense of community, and thus empower us with a vision for the future. A
principal means of achieving this goal is awarding grants to nonprofit
organizations which plan and sponsor humanities activities for the benefit of
citizens throughout the state. |
|
| more details.... |
|
|
|
MHC awards grants to nonprofit organizations to sponsor projects and public programs which use the knowledge and insights of one or more areas of the humanities to increase understanding of any aspect of human experience.
Mini Grants up to $2,000 are awarded six times per year. Regular Grants over $2,000 are awarded twice per year. |
| more details.... |
|
|
|
| The Mississippi Oral History Project is a joint venture by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the University of Southern Mississippi, and MHC to document and preserve the history and culture of our state. |
| more details.... |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
