As we emerge from a year of social distancing and greater isolation into one where gatherings may be long-awaited or still tenuous, the West Virginia University Humanities Center chooses “The Agora,” a public meeting space, as its 2021-22 annual theme. All lectures are free and open to the public.
While in ancient Greece people gathered to engage in religious, political, judicial, social and commercial activity, where the agora served as a physical meeting ground, the Humanities Center is expanding that idea apply to modern times to explore the agoras in which we live, work and play, in both physical places and in the virtual arena.
Throughout the academic year, featured speakers may push us to consider how our central meeting places and how our central meeting grounds can galvanize artistic, philosophical, spiritual, political, cultural and social aspects of our lives. Speakers may also offer insights into our modern agoras and how they may contribute to our sense of meaning.
How we navigate through these times will look different from person to person and place to place. Regardless, the need to discuss and debate ideas continues. More than ever, the humanities are necessary for identifying, analyzing, providing context and interpreting human actions and creations of the past and present.
The Center encourages students, faculty, staff and community members to join these conversations throughout the year in respectful, thought-provoking dialogue around The Agora.
Upcoming events:
Sept. 4, New Books About the Mine Wars: A Reading and Discussion with Authors
2 p.m., Taylor Books, Charleston
Cosponsored by the WVU Humanities Center and WVU Press as part of the Blair 100 events around the centennial of the Battle of Blair Mountain.
Sept. 27, Blind Man’s Bluff: Reading with Author and Alumnus James Tate Hill
7 p.m., Gold Ballroom, Mountainlair
Oct. 1, Lunchtime Looks: A Sense of Place in Art and Writing
Noon, Art Museum of WVU
Sponsored by the Art Museum of WVU, Landscapes.
Oct. 29, NEH Support for (Digital) Humanities Projects: What and How
1-2:30 p.m., via Zoom
Registration required. Visit the Humanities Center website for details.
Nov. 16, Campus Read Author Visit with Francisco Cantú
7 p.m., Mountainlair Ballrooms
Part of the WVU Festival of Ideas
Dec. 6, Appalachian Writers of Color Series, featuring Neema Avashia
7 p.m., via Zoom