Making Meaning

Since the pandemic struck in 2020, we’ve all been through a lot, but we’ve found ways to move forward in strength and community, to connect and tell stories—this is the work of the humanities. Making Meaning is a podcast from the Federation of State Humanities Councils that shares that work. In this series, host Sydney Boyd hears stories from our nation’s humanities councils and leaders across the greater United States about the role the humanities have played during the pandemic and are playing in our recovery.
For more information, visit us at  https://www.statehumanities.org. 

What is Making Meaning?

The humanities played an important role during the pandemic and in the ongoing recovery. Host Sydney Boyd introduces stories and leaders from the country's humanities councils that highlight just how pivotal the humanities are to our society. (From the Federation of State Humanities Councils.)

Sydney Boyd:

I'm Sydney Boyd from the Federation of State Humanities Councils. Over the past year and a half, we've all felt the effects of this pandemic. We've had to get more creative and adapt quickly to meet the needs of the moment. We found ways to move forward in strength and community and to connect. This is the work of the humanities.

Sydney Boyd:

Making Meaning is a podcast that shares that work. In our first season, we'll learn what our nation's humanities councils have been doing during the pandemic and the role they're playing in our recovery.

Speaker 2:

So many of these things that we struggle with are not precisely new. They've been issues for sometimes years, decades, sometimes centuries.

Sydney Boyd:

Through these deeply personal conversations, we'll explore all the different ways leaders in the humanities have stepped up this past year.

Speaker 2:

I'm not a scientist. I'm not a public health professional. I'm not a politician. I'm a humanist scholar. And my job is to establish the conditions for my students, my peers, my community to make meaning.

Sydney Boyd:

Making meaning brings the humanities to life. It shows how in moments of crisis, empathy and history can be shared through things like storytelling or poetry.

Speaker 3:

Poetry can heal specifically for communities of color that have not been able to prioritize mental health and expressing emotion because of cycles of generational trauma that we constantly have to overcome.

Sydney Boyd:

Join me on November 9 and hear how and why the humanities are an essential part of our everyday lives, even in a pandemic. Subscribe and listen to Making Meaning wherever you get your podcasts. For more information, go to our website, statehumanities.org.