Humanities Moments

Humanities moments occur daily in the lives of human beings. We access them through stories that reveal our complexities, our aspirations, and our tragic flaws. Whether we reflect on our personal experiences or our national history, it is the humanities moments that are most resonant, most epiphanic, to which we continually return to mark who we are as individuals and as a culture and why.

The Humanities Moments Project was created by the National Humanities Center in partnership with the Federation of State Humanities Councils in an effort to gather, store, and share personal accounts about how the humanities illuminate our lives, help us better understand ourselves and each other, and give us tools for more fully understanding where we came from and where we are going.

By illustrating the critical role the humanities play in contributions from individuals of all ages and from all walks of life, the Humanities Moments project seeks to reimagine the way we think and talk about the humanities.

And by highlighting the humanities’ transformative power, ​the Humanities Moments project illuminates how our ​encounters with the humanities fuel the process of discovery, how they encourage us to connect with one another, to think and feel more deeply, and to recognize that imagination and reflection—fed by the humanities—provide the means for us to solve problems as individuals and as a society.

You are invited to share your favorite humanities moments. And, you can visit the Humanities Moments collections to view stories that others have shared.