Whc Profile

PROGRAM PROFILE

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“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates

DEAR FRIENDS OF THE WHC:

CONTENTS

Letter from the WHC 3



WHC Speakers Bureau 6



2006 Grants 18



What Are the Humanities? 4



Wisconsin Book Festival 8



Support the Humanities 20



What We Do 5



Motheread/Fatheread 10



Power of Partnerships 21



A More Perfect Union 12



Major Donors 22



Between Fences 14



WHC Board and Staff 23



WHC Grant Program 16



Contact Information 24

®

Many of you who are long time supporters of the Wisconsin Humanities Council may notice that we have a brand new logo. This interlocking set of three dialogue balloons represents the meeting of multiple points of view and the lively conversations that occur within the structure of a WHC program. We think our new tag line — community through conversation — distills our mission nicely, and we hope it inspires you to look into WHC-backed initiatives in your part of the state. Better yet, perhaps you will be inspired to write your own grant proposal and design a provocative, lively public humanities program for your own community. Your support of the WHC demonstrates that you believe that the humanities help shape the civic infrastructure of our nation. Indeed, while it is our physical infrastructure—roads, bridges, borders, and public utilities—that make us a nation, it is our civic infrastructure—our stories, songs, beliefs, and values—that make us a civilization worth celebrating and preserving. We thank you for your continued support,

Dean Bakopoulos Executive Director

Karla Mullen WHC Chair, Watertown, WI

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H I S TO R Y • C U LT U R A L A N T H R O P O LO G Y • L I T ER AT U R E •

P H I LO S O P H Y A N D E T H I C S

•

F O R EI G N L A N G U A G E S

AND CULTURES • THE HIS TORY, THEORY, AND C R I T I C I S M OF THE AR T S • COMPAR ATIVE RELIGION

• LINGUIS TIC S

• F O L K LO R E • P H I LO S O P H Y O F L AW • A R C H EO LO G Y

WHAT WE DO Established in 1972 as an independent affiliate of the National Endowment of the Humanities, the Wisconsin Humanities Council is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports public programs that engage the people of Wisconsin in the exploration of human cultures, ideas, and values. We do this with the conviction that our communities are strengthened with civil and informed conversations. Each year, the WHC receives federal funding from the NEH, which we use to leverage state, individual, corporate, and foundation support at the local level. We also extend our federal dollars by forming partnerships with both state and local organizations. The WHC, for example, works closely with the Cultural Coalition of Wisconsin and the University of Wisconsin–Extension. In doing so, we help to build a stronger network among cultural institutions.

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Our library had the pleasure of having

WHC SPEAKERS BUREAU

Christopher Goetz come and give us his Talk with the Past. Not only was he well-prepared and personable, but he captivated our audience for over one hour. The passion he has for his historical character and history were clearly evident. Audience members said, ‘Bring him back; he was GREAT!’ – Jennifer Einwalter, slinger community library, on christopher goetz’s chautauqua presentation on civil war life, Talk with the Past

Since 1991, the WHC Speakers Bureau has offered educational and entertaining humanities presentations and in-character historical “Chautauqua” performances in nearly every county in Wisconsin, bringing discussions about poetry, world religions, archaeology, folklore, history, and much more to every corner of the state. The size of our Speakers Bureau audiences continues to increase. For the 2004 – 2005 catalogue years, almost 12,000 people attended one of the 267 Speakers Bureau presentations around Wisconsin. Encouragingly, one-third of these events were hosted by organizations in Wisconsin that had never before applied to host a Speakers Bureau event. These new requests came from professional groups, libraries, social clubs, middle schools, social advocacy groups, conservation groups, religious centers, museums, and churches — and attest to the growing (and glowing!) reputation of the WHC Speakers Bureau.

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The Festival served again as one of Madison’s most fantastic events, a five-day gathering that would make big-city dwellers 8

drop their reading glasses in awe. I heard

This was my first time at the event and it was amazing for me as a young person. Events like these are crucial for the expression and education of young people through literature and the arts. – Survey Respondent

18 authors, seven poets, and a British woman who translated a novel from

WISCONSIN BOOK FESTIVAL

I’ve been to many book festivals

Through a unique partnership between the public, private, and academic sectors, the Wisconsin Book Festival celebrates our state’s rich literary heritage, brings some of America’s finest writers to the people of Wisconsin, and encourages Wisconsinites of all ages to read widely and to read well. The Wisconsin Book Festival is the state’s largest literary festival — with annual attendance reaching 15,000 attendees — and one of the largest free literary events in the nation.

over the years and simply put, yours

Spanish to English. Bolstered by Wisconsin authors and others with significant ties to the Dairyland state, the Festival [delivered] many memorable moments. – Tom Alesia, Wisconsin State Journal

was by far the most excellent and most exciting. – Carol Houck Smith, Senior Editor ww norton, new york

Each year the Festival hosts over 100 events, including author readings, panel discussions, writing workshops, exhibitions, and youth poetry slams. In recent years, Festival presenters have included Wisconsin favorites Jane Hamilton, Lorrie Moore, Jacquelyn Mitchard, David Maraniss, Michael Perry, Denise Sweet, Mark Turcotte, and Kevin Henkes. We have also welcomed nationally-acclaimed literary stars like Michael Chabon, Isabel Allende, Edwidge Danticat, and Grace Paley; U.S. Poet Laureates Billy Collins and Ted Kooser; nationally-acclaimed poets like Martín Espada, Sam Hamill, and Luis Rodriguez; National Public Radio reporters Anne Garrels and Noah Adams; historians Howard Zinn and Joseph Ellis; and graphic novelists Chris Ware and Marjane Satrapi.

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Motheread/Fatheread ® has truly touched the hearts of many families in the La Crosse School District, both 10

through the power of the group and the power of the

MOTHEREAD

stories themselves. Parents leave feeling empowered

Family Literacy Program

and motivated to read with their children, and have a true understanding of how reading together not only QUOTE

benefits their child academically, but also brings them closer as a family. – Sandy Brauer, Director of Curriculum & Staff Development, la crosse school district

FATHEREAD

®

Motheread/Fatheread® is a family literacy program that does something amazing: it helps parents who are poor readers become confident and excited about reading aloud to their children. And because it has been shown that the most important predictor of a child’s success in school is whether he or she is read to at home, parents who participate in Motheread/Fatheread® are breaking the generational cycle of school failure. As the exclusive Wisconsin provider of the Motheread/Fatheread® Family Literacy program, the WHC trains teachers, literacy instructors, librarians, and other literacy professionals in this nationally acclaimed instructional approach and curriculum. Motheread/Fatheread® introduces parents with limited literacy to high quality children’s literature and encourages families to read together. The curriculum appeals to a very powerful motivation in parents: the desire to help their children learn.

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A More Perfect Union offers

A MORE PERFECT UNION

themed book discussions to

Book Discussion Series

our library’s book club. We often talk about the future of the United States in our discussions. Going back to our roots as a nation with this series is a unique experience for the club.

The books dealt with difficult subjects, sometimes horrible events. But we need to face these things. Good change is possible. We need to be hopeful and active. – 2005 AMPU participant in Janesville

I read all the books, understood a little, and learned much more from the discussions. It was well worth my time. – 2005 AMPU participant from Presque Isle

– Cecilia Wiltzius, Library Director, karl jungunger memorial library

Since its inception in 2004, hundreds of Wisconsin residents each year have joined our free book discussion series. A More Perfect Union prompts readers to examine various aspects of the U.S. Constitution—both its ideals and its realities. We lend fifteen copies of the books and accompanying discussion guides to any group in Wisconsin that meets in a public space and publicly advertises its meetings. We will even pay for a scholar to join the group to enrich the conversation about one or more of the books. Taking its inspiration from the Constitution’s Preamble, the WHC structures each year’s theme around its phrases. In 2005 the theme was “The Common Defense.” In 2006 it was “To Establish Justice.” The theme in 2007 is “To Ensure Domestic Tranquility.” The WHC has also proudly hosted A More Perfect Union authors (including Marge Piercy, Tim O’Brien, Anthony Grooms, and Jonathan Harr) at the Wisconsin Book Festival.

BETWEEN FENCES A Smithsonian “Museums on Main Street” Exhibition

I was really impressed by the applications 14

we received,” said Jessica Becker, Senior

We live between fences—personal, national, geo-political, conceptual. And as we dismantle boundaries we no longer need, we also erect new barriers. From picket fences to chain links to barbed wire and beyond, fences imply security, decoration, ownership, and industry. They dictate our behavior and cement property lines. But who defines that property? How have rivals negotiated boundaries in the past? And how do we reinforce our borders today?

Program officer at the WHC and coordinator for the Between Fences tour. “Clearly these issues are extremely relevant in Wisconsin today and the exhibition tour is a wonderful

“Support from the WHC allows the

opportunity for communities throughout

River Arts Center to bring a Smithson-

the state to explore their history, celebrate

We appreciate this unique opportunity

their unique stories, and break down fences that are no longer needed.”

ian exhibition to our small town.

Beginning in the fall of 2007, Between Fences, a traveling Museums on Main Street exhibition from the Smithsonian Institute, will spend six weeks each in Waupaca, Hales Corners, LaFarge, Sauk Prairie, Clear Lake, and Cable. The exhibition will be hosted by small museums, community centers, libraries, and historic sites that were selected through a competitive application process. Each community will celebrate the Smithsonian coming to town with related events and programs.

to explore our community’s history and enhance our cultural programs.” – B. Tracy Madison, Sauk Prairie Between Fences Coordinator

Designed for communities of 10,000 residents or less, Between Fences reveals how central the fence is to the American landscape. The exhibition’s assemblage of tools, images, literature — and, of course, fences—prompt us to reflect on the role of the fence in our lives and see a common icon in new ways.

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“There would be no DC Everest Oral History program without the financial support of WHC… This support has

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allowed students at DCE to link integrally

in

2006 the

WHC awarded one or more

with veterans, elderly folks, and business and political leaders of our community. WHC has created an opportunity for our students to learn history through the people of our community. The ability to actually publish and share the end results has given our community a lasting record of its history.” –Paul Aleckson, Social Studies Coordinator, d.c. everest area schools

GR ANTS in

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counties

and hosted one or more council - conducted

WHC GRANT PROGRAM The WHC’s grant program provides support for public humanities programs that encourage audiences to converse, connect, and reflect upon our world through the lens of the humanities. From museum exhibitions to library book discussion programs, from media projects to programs that enhance humanities education for children, WHC grants enrich the civic and cultural life of the state. WHC-funded programs are designed for a public audience and involve at least one scholar from a humanities discipline.

PROGR AMS in

46

counties

across wisconsin.

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SELECTED GRANTS AWARDED IN 2006 New Berlin Public Library

Kickapoo Valley Friends (Quaker) Meeting

$350 for A More Perfect Union: The Common Defense

$10,000 for Vanished: German-American Civilian Internment, 1941–48

Friends of the Dwight Foster Public Library $600 for A More Perfect Union: The Common Defense

Eau Claire County Sesquicentennial Commission

Urban League of Greater Madison

$8,500 for Eau Claire County: Changing Roles In Changing Times, 1856-2006

$1,650 for City of Madison-Dane County Martin Luther King, Jr. Coalition

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Wisconsin Veterans Museum Foundation $2,000 for Disentangling the Iraq War: History, Politics, the Media, and the Veteran Experience

Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures $2,000 for Wisconsin Englishes

Kennedy Heights Community Center $2,000 for Many Cultures, One Community Exhibit

$4,000 for International Conference on Rivers and Civilization: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Major River Basins

The Sterling North Society $4,425 for Edgerton Book Festival

The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System $5,000 for Production and Promotion of Literature of the Indian Nations of Wisconsin

Telemark Educational Foundation, Inc.

Fox Cities Children’s Museum

UW-Marathon County

$800 for Jefferson County Reads, 2006

$1,951 for Northwest Wisconsin Children’s Book Conference

$10,000 for En Mi Familia: Celebrating Family Traditions

$10,000 for Shared Reading/Shared Thoughts: A Campus/Community Dialogue about Affluenza

Milwaukee County Historical Society

Labor Education & Training Center

Literary Arts Committee, Eau Claire Regional Arts Center

UW-Parkside Benevolent Foundation

Friends of the Dwight Foster Public Library

$2,000 for Miss Annie Mae’s Hats Public Programs

Justiceworks, Ltd. $1,440 for Jail in the Justice System: A Symposium on Incarceration in Our Community and Alternatives

Ashland/Bayfield County League of Women Voters

$2,000 for Madison Sesquicentennial Labor Mural

Rusk County Community Library

$600 for A More Perfect Union: To Establish Justice

Superior Public Library $800 for A More Perfect Union: To Establish Justice

UW-Oshkosh

$600 for A More Perfect Union: To Establish Justice

$9,807 for “Black Thursday” Remembered: An Oral History of the 1968 African American Student Protests at Wisconsin State University-Oshkosh

Viterbo University

The Center for the Humanities (The Board of Regents of UW-System)

Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center at UW-La Crosse

$9,900 for Don Quixote in Wisconsin

$2,000 for Archaeology Day at Silver Mound

D.C. Everest Junior & Senior High Schools

Neillsville Public Library

$9,875 for The 1920’s

$400 for A More Perfect Union: To Establish Justice

Forgotten Wisdom, Inc.

$1,955 for The River in Literature and History: A Children’s Poetry Writing Project

Jane Morgan Memorial Library

$400 for A More Perfect Union: To Establish Justice

Portage County Public Library

River Falls Community Arts Base

$10,000 for The Racine Odyssey Project, a Clemente Course in the Humanities

$2,000 for The Viterbo Women’s Studies Symposium, “Women Speak: Listening to Women’s Voices Within & Beyond the Academic Disciplines”

$2,000 for Toward A More Perfect Union: League of Women Voters as a Champion of Good Government and Participatory Democracy in Two Rural Wisconsin Counties, 1956-2006

$1,100 for Frank Belanger Settlement Project

$8,795 for Chippewa Valley Book Festival

Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters $2,910 for Wisconsin’s People on the Land

Heritage Hill Foundation $10,000 for Chief Oshkosh on Trial

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HELP SUPPORT THE HUMANITIES 20

Here are examples of what your donation can contribute:

$50: Travel expenses for one in-state humanities scholar to visit with a book discussion group. $100: Ten books for the ongoing A More Perfect Union statewide book discussion series.

POWER OF PARTNERSHIPS Perhaps your organization should consider a WHC partnership pool.

Please make a tax-deductible contribution to the Wisconsin Humanities Council today.  Your donation helps us make the humanities $2,000: One mini-grant to support a cultural event or exhibition at one part of everyday life for everyone in Wisconsin.  of Wisconsin’s hundreds of vibrant cultural centers.

We truly appreciate your support.

$5,000: Events with nationally renowned authors at the Wisconsin Book Festival $10,000: A grant partnership pool to the district or interest area of your choice.

in Appleton, sponsors our newest partnership pool: “The Future of Farming & Rural Life in Wisconsin.” This initiative encourages organizations in smaller cities and towns to generate creative public humanities programs that examine the changing nature of

$500: All expenses for one WHC Speakers Bureau event in one of hundreds of towns around Wisconsin. $1,000: Three scholarships for literacy instructors to be trained in the nationally acclaimed Motheread/Fatheread® Family Literacy curriculum. (In turn, each of these instructors reaches upwards of 100 Wisconsin families per year.)

The Boldt Company, a Wisconsin construction services f irm based

agriculture and community life in rural Wisconsin. Thanks to the

For more information, contact Dean Bakopoulos, Executive Director, at 608-265-5594.

Boldt Company, the WHC will award grants in 2006 and 2007 to organizations based in communities with populations of 5,000

The Wisconsin Humanities Council works with a number of businesses and organizations to expand our services across the state. Most notably, the WHC arranges “partnership pools” that match private donations with federal funding, thus expanding the capacity of our grant program and channeling resources into specific areas of interest.

residents or less, whose programs explore the rich and diverse histories, stories, and values of Wisconsin’s evolving rural and agricultural heritage. Another of our partnership pools pairs resources from the WHC and the Jeffris Family Foundation to create a special fund to support “Historic Preservation Program Grants.” These funds are set aside specif ically for projects that enhance our appreciation of historic preservation, and increase public awareness of the importance of particular historic buildings or decorative art works in Wisconsin.

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donors to the WHC in the 2005 and 2006 fiscal years include:

Major Donors & Sponsors

Federation of State Humanities Councils

David Brostrom

Stephen J. Books

Steve Klaven and Merija Eisen

Joseph Rodriguez

Friends of the UW-Madison Libraries

Elaine Burke

Bonnie G. Buchanan

Constance Klotz

Jane Roeber

Henry Drewal

Roger Buffett

Mary Knapp

Janet Ross

Deborah Buffton

Heidi Stibbe Knight

Mike Russell

The Boldt Company

Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops

Joyce and William Erickson Peg and Dan Geisler

Glenna Carter

Mary Knight

Martin and Melissa Scanlan

Borders Group, Inc.

Herbert H. Kohl Charities, Inc.

Terry Haller

Martha and Charles Casey

Renie Shapiro

Cyberius’ Network

Madison Arts Commission

Max and Ann Harris

Alison Jones Chaim

Robert J. and Barbara B. Knowlton

Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission

Madison Area Reading Council

Jacqueline and James Klimaszewski

Jack and Beverly Christ

Distillery Design Studio

Madison Community Foundation

Nancy and Arthur Laskin

($10,000 or more) Argosy Foundation

The Evjue Foundation (the charitable arm of The Capital Times)

The Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club

IMS

Madison Public Library

Isthmus

Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies

Jeffris Family Foundation National Endowment for the Arts Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation Verizon Foundation VQR: The Virginia Quarterly Review Wisconsin State Department of Tourism

Kathleen McElroy and David Newby

Carol Cohen Anne M. and Timothy J. Connor Donald Cress

Karla and Bill Mullen

James P. Danky

Stephen Myck

James DeLine

Ellen Nelson

M. DeMatties

Shepherd Express

Shawn Schey

Jerome K. Dombraski

Starbucks

Carol Smart

Janet Dykema

The SWC Group

Lynde B. Uihlen

Joseph and Joann Elder

Target

Daniel and Selma Van Eyck

Karen Faster

University of Wisconsin Press

Gerald Viste

Reggie Finlayson

Arthur and Clarice Wortzel

Julie Frankl

UW-Extension

Don Kynaston Ann Lacy Marvin G. Lansing Ed Linenthal Connie Loden Eddie R. and Astride H. Lowry

P.M. and Carrie Sherrill Carol and Dean Schroeder Judith L. Strasser Steven M. Taylor Libby Temkin Carol Tennessen

Anne Lucke

Mr. and Mrs. L. William Teweles

Nancy O. Lurie

Sara Toenes

Lesleigh Luttrell

Sandi Torkildson

Esther Mackintosh

Michael and Carol Troyer-Shank

Helen H. Madsen Richard Magyar Kathy Engen Malkasian

Gail Geiger

Denise Marino and Herbert Paaren

Harry Van Camp Masarah Van Eyck Linda VandenBerg Peg and Ron Wallace

UW-Madison Libraries

Friends of the WHC

Harlan and Elaine Grinde

Tilney Marsh

G. Lane and Linda Ware

Wal-Mart

Seymour and Shirley Abrahamson

Joan and George Hall

Susan McLeod

Norma and Ralph Wehlitz

Jane Hamblen

Charlotte Meyer

George Wells and Sally Hammond

Other Corporate & Organizational Support

Webcrafters, Inc. Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters

Dwight Allen

John Hanson

Lynn Archer

Judith Claire Mitchell

Wayne and Janet Hanson

Alliant Energy Foundation

Wisconsin Public Radio

Richard and Elizabeth Askey

Judy Moore

Bev Harrington

George and Patricia Bakopoulos

Steven Nadler

Standish and Jane Henning

Robert and Janice Baldwin

Kathleen Orosz

Rebecca Holmes

Jessica Becker

Joseph L. and Mary D. Ousley

C.J. Hribel

Maurice and Sybil Better

Lloyd W. and Margaret T. Page

Margaret Banta Humleker

David K. and Karen M. Williams

Bennett Berson

Kay Plantes

Oscar C. and Patricia H. Boldt

Dena Wortzel

Allan G. and Margaret R. Bogue

Hannah Pinkerton

Tom and Renee Boldt

Barbara and Thomas Hulseberg

Margarita Zamora

Paul and Ann Boyer

Jane Bowers

Beverly Jambois

All Writers Workplace & Workshop American Family Insurance Group Cooperative Children’s Book Center The Country Today Douglas Stewart Company

Director’s Circle ($300 or more) Dean Bakopoulos and Amanda Okopski

Agnes Posbrig Charlie P. Ries

Kris Adams Wendt Amanda Werhane Robin Whyte

WHC Board Members * Governor’s Appointee

Karla Mullen, Chair watertown

*Mary Knapp Madison Public Library

Raúl Galván, Vice-Chair Milwaukee Public Television

*Connie Loden Heart of Wisconsin Business and Economic Alliance wisconsin rapids

Steven M. Taylor, Treasurer Marquette University milwaukee David Brostrom Waukesha Public Library Henry John Drewal UW-Madison Janet Dykema Wisconsin Historical Society eau claire *Joyce Erickson kenosha Reginald Finlayson Milwaukee Area Technical College Jean M. Fleet Riverside University High School milwaukee John Hanson Northern Pictures, Inc. bayfield Jacqueline Klimaszewski Appleton Area School District

Stephen R. Myck The Douglas Stewart Company madison

WHC Staff

Dean Bakopoulos Executive Director Dena Wortzel Associate Director, Director of Program Jessica Becker Senior Program Officer Alison Jones Chaim Director, Wisconsin Book Festival

Wayne Patterson St. Norbert College de pere

Michael Kean Director of Administration & Finance

Joyce E. Salisbury UW-Green Bay, Emerita

Shawn Shey Administrative Specialist

*Kou Vang Cardinal Stritch University milwaukee

Masarah Van Eyck Director of Development & Communications

*Bobbi Webster Oneida Nation Kris Adams Wendt Rhinelander District Library Susanne Wofford UW-Madison Margarita Zamora UW-Madison

Ralph and Jo Wickstrom

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contact information: 222 South Bedford Street, Suite F Madison, Wisconsin 53703-3688 P: 608.262.0706

F: 608.263.7970

E-Mail: [email protected]

www.wisconsinhumanities.org

For more on how the humanities help us “examine our lives,” please see the special WHC section, “The Humanities in Our Lives,” in each issue of Wisconsin People & Ideas.

This publication was produced with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the NEH.

community through conversation Non-Profit Org.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

MADISON, WI PERMIT NO. 2361

222 S. Bedford St., Suite F

Madison, WI 53703-3688