Speakers
Speakers

Speakers in the Schools

The New York Council for the Humanities’ Speakers in the Schools program offers FREE top-notch lectures by a renowned and diverse group of scholars on a wide variety of humanities subjects to high school communities across New York State.

If your application is successful, the Council will cover all costs associated with the program, including the Speaker’s honorarium and travel expenses.

Commemorative Lectures

Explore the Council's list of lectures commemorating the anniversaries of:

How to apply to host a lecture

Select a Lecture/ Speaker
Browse lecture listings to find the right topic for your students, school community and curriculum.
Find a Lecture/Speaker >

Contact the Speaker to arrange a date and time
Directly contact the Speaker you have selected to establish a mutually agreed upon date and time for the lecture presentation.
Browse Speaker directory >

Apply to the Council
Once you have selected a lecture and confirmed a date and a time with the Speaker, submit the Speakers in the Schools application.
Apply >

Plan your event
As soon as you receive notice of Council approval, start planning your event, including pre- and post-lecture activities.
View Planning Tips >

Submit Follow-Up Evaluation
It is required to submit an online evaluation within three (3) weeks following your event.
Program Evaluation >

Need more information about Speakers in the Schools?
View answers to Frequently Asked Questions >

 

Speakers in the Schools is made possible by funding from the New York State Legislature.

The Council is proud to partner with the New York State Historical Association's New York State History Day to support the humanities and education in schools and cultural institutions statewide.

Celebrate the Fourth of July with an American History Topic

Learning About Islam and Reaching Across Faith Divides: Americans Respond to 9/11

Allison Stokes
What is "jihad"? Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, most Americans discovered how little they knew about Islam. This lecture focuses on the many remarkable initiatives in the last decade to increase multi-faith understanding.

Gilded Age Psyches: An Epic of Victorians Run Wild

Robert Spiegelman
From the American Revolution to the Indian Wars of the Wild West, the love story of John Adair and Cornelia Wadsworth is interlaced with the history of America's first 100 years. Follow this brilliant -- but haunted -- Victorian couple as they romance in Manhattan, hunt buffalo on the Great Plains, and found a Texas cattle empire.

Offer a series of Medicine, Science and Technology lectures in August

Feet, Hooves, and Rails: Transportation in Nineteenth Century America

J. Ward Regan
This lecture follows the development of transportation technology from the pre-industrial period to the combustion engine in the early twentieth century. The Transportation Revolution, as it is sometimes called, encompassed a wide range of successes and failures. Accordingly, the talk examines the multiplicity of changes wrought in America's transportation infrastructure.

Techmerica Today: Technology and American Identity

Gregory Young
One of the most enduring concepts in American history and contemporary culture is technological change. This conversation examines the role of technology in our lives.