Re-Enchanting Nature: Humanities Perspectives
July 11-29, 2022
An NEH Summer Seminar for K-12 Educators held at Carroll College in Helena, MT and Yellowstone National Park
- Depending on public health guidelines related to COVID-19, plans for a residential offering are subject to change.
We invite you to join us in this three-week NEH Summer Seminar exploring what the humanities can add to our increasingly urgent and complex discourse about nature and the environment. We believe the humanities provide rich context for reflecting on our relationship with nature and can therefore complement contemporary scientific discussion in important and necessary ways. We hope to uncover both new avenues for thinking about our place in nature and new approaches for engaging the humanities in the classroom. Now, more than ever, we need “Humanities Perspectives.”
In titling the seminar “Re-enchanting Nature,” we recall Max Weber's observation that modern science and technology "disenchant" the world. In the century since Weber's statement, several thinkers and writers have suggested the humanities "re-enchant" the natural world. Our seminar asks: what would it mean to "re-enchant" the world? Should the humanities seek to do so? And, if so, how?
To answer these questions, we cast a wide net, drawing upon cultural, historical, literary, and philosophical resources. We hope the interdisciplinary curriculum will appeal to educators from various fields. We trust you'll find it intellectually engaging. What's more, since we firmly believe that no discussion of the humanities and nature is complete without a deep sense of place, we pair our study of texts with site visits throughout Montana and Yellowstone National Park. You can find details on the Seminar Schedule page.
If you are a K-12 teacher or administrator with a love for the humanities in all its forms and an interest in either bringing more discussion of nature into humanities curricula or more humanities into curricula on nature, please consider joining us in Montana this July. This website provides essential information about the seminar, but please do not hesitate to contact us with questions.
Warmly,
Ed Glowienka and Corrie Williamson
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.