Virginia Humanities

The Saving Grace of Spring Rolls

A Q&A with Kim O'Connell & Sarah McConnell

By Nora Pehrson Growing up in the 1970s in College Park, Maryland with a Vietnamese-born mother and an American-born father, Virginia Humanities Fellow Kim O’Connell’s experience of identity has always been complicated. How can immigrants assimilate into a new place without sacrificing their heritage? What does citizenship mean in a state that includes nearly one […]

Desperately Seeking Scarlett

Searching for Tara in the Land of Gone with the Wind

Since the release of Margaret Mitchell’s bestselling novel in 1936 and its blockbuster film adaptation three years later, Gone with the Wind has sparked a desire to find Tara, the fictional home of Scarlett O’Hara. In this presentation, Virginia Humanities Fellow Philip Mills Herrington, will guide you through the physical and imagined spaces of “finding […]

Bay to Belly

A Grantee Q&A

By Nora Pehrson Thanks to a grant from Virginia Humanities, the Watermen’s Museum in Yorktown, Virginia is developing a traveling exhibit devoted to the food systems of the Chesapeake Bay region. By looking at a wide range of topics including keystone species, sustainability, and the stories of indigenous peoples, the exhibit—Bay to Belly—teaches participants how […]

Announcing the Rosel Schewel Fund

Uncovering and Celebrating Stories of Women in Virginia

Scheduled to Launch with October 2020 “Women and Democracy” Events in Lynchburg During the Centennial of the Ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment Virginia Humanities announces the establishment of the Rosel Schewel Fund, an endowed fund of $100,000 that will support public humanities programming that amplifies women’s stories—many of them as yet untold—and their ongoing contributions […]

Singing the Nation Into Being

The ‘Black National Anthem’ and the Politics of Performance

What can videos and metadata tell us about Black subjectivities, nation, and diaspora? What might we gain by considering performances as part of an ephemeral archive? Virginia Humanities Fellow Sonya Donaldson (New Jersey City University) will discuss a digital humanities project she’s working on that curates performances of James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and […]

One Community, Una Comunidad

Join us and Roanoke Valley Points of Diversity for an evening of shared food, stories and conversations centered on Hispanic Roanoke. Learn the long history of Hispanics in the area and the diversity within that community. Brainstorm ways to truly become One Community,Una Comunidad. You must rsvp to [email protected] or [email protected] by November 8. This […]

Learn from This Place

Bringing Arlington to Halls Hill

Learn the history of Arlington’s Halls Hill and other African American neighborhoods at this free panel discussion and performance. The event includes a panel moderated by Arlington County Board Chairman Christian Dorsey, with panelists comprised of former and current African American community residents and educators and performances by the Phil Wiggins Blues House Party and […]

A Conversation with Sarah McConnell

At Sweet Briar College

Sweet Briar College will host a conversation with Sarah McConnell, executive producer and host of With Good Reason. The event is part of the College’s “At the Invitation of the President” series and is free and open to the public. “Sarah McConnell’s long history at With Good Reason makes her a walking, talking encyclopedia of […]

Unmasking Hampton Roads

Watch Live Streams

Unmasking Hampton Roads is a three-part learning series designed to help residents of the region take off their masks, be candid with each other about race and racism, and work together to make our communities more equitable and inclusive spaces for everyone. The series is inspired by the poem “We Wear the Mask” by African […]

The Cultural Cost of Unbelief

What Irreligiosity Means to Minority Millennials in the 21st Century

Aprilfaye Manalang teaches Interdisciplinary Studies and research methods at Norfolk State University. Her current research project seeks to investigate how minority millennials perceive, interpret, and construct unbelief: put short, why are minority millennials leaving the church? Moreover, she wants to learn how that unbelief influences their civic engagement and political outcomes, and how it is […]

VA Folklife Area at Richmond Folk Festival to Showcase Car Culture

Virginia Humanities joins the Richmond Folk Festival in announcing the Virginia Folklife Area theme for the 2019 Richmond Folk Festival: “Hot Rods and Hot Licks.” When: The 15th annual Richmond Folk Festival takes place Friday, October 11, beginning at 6:00 PM, through Sunday, October 13 at 6:00 PM. The Virginia Folklife Area will be open […]

Tastes & Tales from Tangier

Live stream available

Watch the live stream of this event from Oct. 24 in Norfolk at The Hermitage Museum and Gardens.