Become a Speaker

The New York Council for the Humanities has suspended its "Call for Speakers" applications for the 2010 calendar year. Thank you for your interest in becoming a Speaker with the Council's Speakers in the Humanities program. Please refer back for notice on when the "Call for Speakers" will be reopened and applications will be accepted.

For more information, please read through these Common Questions.

What is the New York Council for the Humanities?
The New York Council for the Humanities is an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency. The Council is neither a state nor a federal program, but instead is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to ensuring the presence of the humanities in the state's cultural and intellectual life. The Council implements its own education and public programs. In addition, each year the Council re-grants federal funds to hundreds of programs at museums, libraries, universities, historical societies, and other educational and cultural organizations.

What are the Humanities?
The humanities encompass the range of human experience: who we are and what our lives mean. The humanities represent ways of thinking about this meaning, as set forth in scholarly disciplines such as literature, history, philosophy, ethics, comparative religion, linguistics, jurisprudence, archaeology, history and criticism of the arts, and certain aspects of the social sciences that employ a qualitative approach.

The humanities, of course, should not be confused with particular philosophies, such as humanism, or social movements, such as humanitarianism. They should also be distinguished from the arts. If you are talking about the arts, that is humanities; if you are performing or teaching an art, that is not.

Humanities scholars who reside or work in New York State are eligible to apply. Applicants should hold an advanced degree (M.A. or higher) in one of the humanities disciplines listed above. Affiliation with a college or university is customary but not necessary. The Council also recognizes that scholarship and knowledge gathering are defined differently in different cultures, and respects such diversity of training and preparation as consistent with our understanding of the humanities as fields and methods of inquiry. Scholars need not be employed, may be retired, or may be on temporary leave from a professional position. Applicants must be genuinely interested in addressing public audience and be available during their entire tenure with the program.

We encourage applications and participation from women and members of minority and ethnic groups. If you have questions about eligibility, please contact the Council at (212) 233-1131, ext. 23.

If you have participated in our Speakers in the Humanities program before, it will still be necessary for you to re-apply for inclusion in the online catalogue at the end of your tenure with the program. Your proposed presentation need not differ from your previous offerings, though you may choose to apply with additional or different presentation topics.

Regardless of the subject area, you will be talking to a general audience and perhaps even to high school students, not to scholars or graduate students. Therefore, lectures should assume little, if any, prior knowledge of the subject on the part of the audience. In all cases, presentations should be grounded in the humanities. The Council encourages Speakers to select topics that are specific rather than general.

The Council cannot support presentations which advocate specific political, social, or public policy stances. Lectures may, of course, examine different political, historical, or philosophical perspectives of an issue, but the speaker should be an unbiased presenter. The lecture should be rooted firmly in the humanities (not social or public policy), and it should be a balanced consideration of the issues to be addressed.

Finally, we will not fund presentations used as fund-raising vehicles.

Speakers may commit to either a one-, two-, or three-year tenure upon being accepted to the program. At the end of his or her tenure, each Speaker will be invited to re-apply to the Speakers in the Humanities program.

Complete and submit this application to apply to renew your lecture tenure with the program.

No. Organizations requesting presentations are always reminded that programs are scheduled at the Speakers' convenience. The Council understands that Speakers' schedules and the distances to some activities will sometimes limit participation. You certainly are not required to accept every request for your presentation. We only ask that you make yourself as available as possible.

Please do not apply if you know you will only accept invitations from your immediate community.

All accepted presentations will be described in the Council's on-line Speakers in the Humanities program catalogue. The catalogue will provide brief biographical and contact information for each Speaker, followed by descriptions of their presentations. Information regarding the online catalogue is sent to thousands of libraries, historical societies, museums, and schools, in addition to other educational, community, and cultural groups in New York State. Speakers are welcome, of course, to promote their own presentations as well.

Over the years, the Council has refined the program so that it operates with great efficiency. Organizations learn how to apply for Speakers by reading our online catalogue, and general guidelines are provided for all accepted Speakers.

Organizations requesting Speakers are instructed to contact the speaker first to arrange an agreeable lecture time, date, and location, and then submit an application to the Council. The hosting organization's project coordinator works directly with the Speaker to plan the activity; the Council handles the application process with the organization.

Speakers receive honoraria and payment for travel expenses directly from the Council. Payment is always made promptly after receiving the Speaker's reimbursement form.

The per-lecture honorarium for Speakers is $300. We also reimburse up to $300 in travel expenses, including lodging, if necessary.

The Council receives many more applications than can be accommodated. A committee of Council staff and members of the Board of Directors review and make decisions on applications. Applicants will be notified within eight (8) weeks of Council receipt of application.

In reviewing applications, the committee will consider not only the applicant's background and expertise; it will also take into account the Council's desire to present a varied roster of speakers and subjects to organizations throughout New York State.

If you have additional questions regarding the Speakers in the Humanities program, please e-mail them to speakers@nyhumanities. org.