Community Conversations

Illinois Humanities’ Community Conversations center curiosity and active listening; encourage us to embrace fresh perspectives; and remind us of the wealth we have and gain from remaining connected.

Our focus this year is “A Place in the World.” What does it mean to live in a town or neighborhood, perhaps for generations, while staying connected to the rest of the world? What does it mean to leave one’s home and create a new life in an unfamiliar place? How can we learn from our neighbors, welcome new ones, grow our understanding and perspective, and become more interconnected? 

In partnership with eight Illinois communities, we will explore these questions and others through local, facilitated conversation and humanities-driven activities that help us explore our own relationships to ideas, people, resources, histories, and events around the world.

About our Theme, "A Place in the World"

The phrase “A Place in the World” reminds us that the places where we live and work shape and are shaped by ideas, people, resources, histories, and events around the world – often in unexpected and curious ways. This is not a feature limited to the 21st century. It is one that has always defined human existence even as the concept of “the world” continues to expand. Together, we want to think about change over time and the ways that places, including our own hometowns, can have different identities for different people in different moments. 

Consider the United States itself. For nearly 300 years, the regions that would become the United States were home to multiple nations, most of which were indigenous to the land and others of which were colonies of nations far away. By 1776, people around the world watched as a new nation on the very same land, the United States, announced itself on the global stage. Over time, the place we now call the United States has had differing “places in the world” and different meanings for both its inhabitants and observers. And the people who have identified as Americans over time have brought – and still bring – knowledge, cultures, practices, and even language from other parts of the world that enrich the American way of life. How do we celebrate this special American history in our personal “places,” while also embracing change? 

Partners

• Artspace 304, Carbondale 
• Little Village Public Library, Little Village, Chicago 
• National Public Housing Museum, Near West Side, Chicago 
• Naper Settlement, Naperville
• McHenry County Historical Society & Museum, Union 
• Kuumba Lynx, Uptown, Chicago 
• CIRCA Pintig, Palmer Square, Chicago 
• Fortunehouse Art Center, Bronzeville, Chicago