Speakers in the Humanities
Notice
Due to the high demand for Speakers in the Humanities events in 2013, applications will no longer be accepted until September 2013 for event bookings beginning November 1, 2013.
Commemorative Lectures
Explore the Council's list of lectures commemorating the anniversaries of:
Launched in 1983, the Speakers in the Humanities program brings the best in humanities scholarship to thousands of people at hundreds of cultural organizations in virtually every corner of New York. To host a lecture in your town, just select a topic, contact the Speaker, and apply for funding through the Council. Any not-for-profit organization in New York State is eligible to use the program. Speakers events must be open to the public and free of charge. If your application is successful, the Council covers the cost of the Speaker's honorarium and travel expenses.
How to apply to host a lecture
Confirm Your Eligibility
Speakers in the Humanities is available
to not-for-profit organizations.
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more >
Select a lecture
Search or browse presentation listings to find the right topic for
your audience.
Find a lecture >
Contact the Speaker to arrange a date and time
Get in touch with the Speaker you have selected, using his or her
listed contact information.
Browse Speaker
directory >
Apply to the Council for Funds
Once you have completed steps 1 through 3, apply to the Council for
funding.
Apply now >
Plan and Promote Your Event
Start publicizing your lecture as soon as you receive notice of Council
funding approval.
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>
Submit Follow-up Evaluation
Within three (3) weeks of your event, it is required to submit the Host Organization Evaluation to report on aspects of your Speakers event.
Host Organization Evaluation >
Speakers in the Humanities lectures are made possible with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
View answers to Frequently Asked Questions >
Celebrate the Fourth of July with an American History Topic
Leadership in AmericaFrank M. SorrentinoThis lecture investigates how America's Founding Fathers, as well as early Presidents and political thinkers, promoted leadership, while also navigating the culture's emphasis on individualism and democracy. |
In the Good Old Colony Days: Songs of Early AmericaLinda RussellBalladeer Linda Russell presents a look at the 18th century America through ballads, broadsides, love songs, marches, drinking songs and dance tunes. |
Offer a series of Medicine, Science and Technology lectures in August
Kings of Capital and Knights of Labor: A History of Work and Industry in New YorkJ. Ward ReganThe union movement arose as a response to changing work conditions, brought on by industrialization from the 1830s to the 20th century. No American city was as central to the creation of this new social order than New York. |
Life Speeds Up: Robert Fulton and a Changing New YorkRobert W. Arnold IIIWhen Robert Fulton docked his steamboat in Albany in 1807, he hadn't made just a voyage; he'd made history. The advent of steam-driven machinery meant that people need no longer rely solely on "natural" forces - muscle, wind, and water - to power their lives. |
Don't see what you're looking for? Apply for funding to create your own program. Read more >
Become a humanities supporter! Your generous contribution to the New York Council for the Humanities will help benefit over one million New Yorkers eager to engage with ideas that shape who we are and how we live.