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Utah Humanities Council Newsletter
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Spring and the Hero's Journey
 March is the month of Spring, regeneration, possibilities; a journey of new life just beginning. It is also, appropriately enough, Joseph Campbell's birthday month and seems a perfect time to consider the "hero's journey" in literature, mythology, comparative religion, and our own lives.
Folklorist and author Joseph Campbell is well-known for his works on comparative religion and mythology. Campbell is perhaps best known for his work on the "hero's journey," found in so many pieces of literature and legend. This cycle of heroic adventure is the basis for a number of classic stories. The hero's journey is summarized by Campbell in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. He says, "A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder; fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won; the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man." The hero's journey includes a series of standard features, typically found in legends and myth of all cultures. What's interesting about the hero's journey is that it's not only found in classic literature or mythology, it has become a staple of modern storytelling as well.
In honor of Spring and the adventure of our individual hero's journeys, Joseph Campbell himself describes the value of considering ourselves through a humanities lens when he says : "We're not on our journey to save the world but to save ourselves; but in doing that you save the world. The influence of a vital person vitalizes."
Deena Pyle
UHC Public Relations Manager
E-Newsletter Editor
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Food for Thought...
"The adventure of being a hero is the adventure of being alive." - Joseph Campbell
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Literature Landscape: Why Humanities Matter  After wrapping up the 2011 Utah Humanities Book Festival, the festival's director, David Pace, wrote an Op-Ed that was featured in the Deseret News. It serves as a reminder that literature, as well as the humanities in general, serve to deepen and strengthen our ties as human beings. Here is an excerpt, or you can read the entire piece: "We are a country that needs not only new ideas and new thought leaders, but methodologies and practices that allow us to arrive at a place where we re-imagine who we are and what we can be as Americans. The humanities are not only content - the history and literature of this place we call home - they are a practice and a way of thinking, correlating and communicating to others."
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Historical Milieu: "The Road to School" Bridges Generations Freedom Preparatory Academy, located in Provo, hosted a tea honoring participants in the "The Road to School", an oral history grant project conducted by Freedom Academy students and funded by the Utah Human  ities Council and Utah State History. The project documented literacy acquisition, academic training, and school memories of ten Utahns during their childhoods in the 1920s - 1940s. This project involved junior high and elementary school students who worked as partners to interview local senior citizens. In the process, students were exposed to the history of that period, the experience of interviewing senior citizens for history, and the successful mentoring by junior high school students of elementary school students.
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Essential Education: Venture Graduations Approaching!
After a year-long adventure in the humanities, the 2011-2112 class of Venture students will graduate next month!
 | Salt Lake Venture Students
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This Venture course has included sections in literature, American history, art history, philosophy, and writing/critical thinking. These successful students of Venture in Salt Lake City will receive credit from Westminster College in Salt Lake City. In Ogden, Weber State University provides credit for Venture. In southern Utah, Venture students receive credit from Southern Utah University. Venture in the News!
Be sure to catch Jean Cheney, Director of Venture, on Comcast Newsmakers during the month of April. Comcast Newsmakers is a news program featured during CNN Headline News that highlights people making a difference in Utah. Comcast digital cable customers can also view it On Demand through the first week in May. You can find it by going to Channel 1 > Utah On Demand > Your Community > Newsmakers. We're Accepting Applications for Next Year's Course!
Each of the three locations for Venture is accepting applications for the 2012-2013 school year. If you or someone you know would like more information about Venture, this free college course for people living on low incomes, call Jean Cheney at 801.359.9670. |
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Make a Gift, Make a Difference: Donate this Spring!
You'll be receiving an extra email message from us in a couple of weeks. It will be an invitation to become more involved with us by making a fully tax-deductible donation to our organization. Individuals like you are making a significant difference in helping the Utah Humanities Council to thrive.  A simple, secure, online transaction will promote our programs and civil discourse at this time when they are most needed. OR, why wait for the email when you can donate NOW? Simply click the button to send your support during this refreshing, springtime season!
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Highlights: Humanities in the News and on the Web
Tradewinds
Salt Lake Tribune - Mar 28, 2012
The Utah Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit offering free programming to the public, has elected five people to its board of directors.
U. S. News article on The Clemente Course in the Humanities
By carecenter
Now the Clemente Course is offered in a 28-week format at about 20 organizations across the country, such as the Utah Humanities Council...
College Notes
Daily Herald
The Oral History of Utah Peace Activists is made possible by generous support from the Utah State History and Utah Humanities Council, the Utah Valley ...
Bessinger lecture « Philosophy@Utah State
His talk will be about a project for which he was awarded a grant from the Utah Humanities Council.
Utah History Fair Recognized by Utah Legislature
The History Fair was founded in 1980 by USU history professors Errol Jones and Ross Peterson with support from the Utah Humanities Council. The intent was ...
A Historian: Rock climbing culture becomes lonely | The Daily Utah
By Megan Gessel
The American West Center and the Utah Humanities Council presented the lecture, which was co-sponsored by the Marriott Library's Special Collections. Short URL:
Salt Lake Symphony and Utah Voices will present an all-Beethoven Concert
Salt Lake Tribune
These lectures are sponsored, in part, by the Utah Humanities Council. Huff is the Artistic Director and Conductor of Utah's newest choir, Utah Voices and ...
Salt Lake Community College's Speakers Bureau and The Grand Theatre
Broadway World
SLCC's Speakers Bureau, the Grand Theatre Community Institute, SLCC's School of Humanities and Social Science and the Utah Humanities Council. |
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About Us
Our Mission:
The Utah Humanities Council enriches our cultural, intellectual, and civic life by providing
opportunities for all Utahns to explore life's most engaging questions and the
wonders of the human experience.
202 West 300 North
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
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