How Extraordinary Partnerships with the Arts and Humanities
are Transforming America

~ a forthcoming edited volume ~
co-authored by Christine Henseler and Yasmine Van Wilt

      
Jenny Gottstein, Director of Games at The GoGame, a company that builds interactive experiences and high-tech adventures around the world, recently remarked that, "Studying Arts & Humanities engenders a healthy sense of curiosity and wonder - not only with regards to how the world actually is, but how it might be. Some might call those who chose this path of study ‘dreamers’ but the truth is, they are ‘futurists.’ And having produced interactive games for thousands of companies around the world, I can tell you, the best ones are powered by futurists."
 
This edited volume seeks to shift national conversations about the crisis in the arts and humanities to one that bespeaks of rise and renaissance. Toward this goal, contributors are encouraged to portrait the “futurists” of our time, individuals, groups, organizations and businesses transforming the way we think, live, and work. The volume encourages portraits or case studies from any field, but especially from fields not traditionally associated with the arts and humanities like science and mathematics or business and athletics. Who are these individuals or groups who are reimagining our futures? How do they apply artistic or humanistic principles? And what perhaps surprising partnerships are allowing them to challenge assumptions, ask new or revised questions, disrupt old practices and ways of thinking, and create alternative paths, structures, and opportunities?
 
In this book, the voices of artists and writers, educators, community members and professionals from all backgrounds enter into dialogue to showcase how deeply social and responsible transformations are being driven in partnership with the arts and humanities. This is an arts and humanities in which deep scholarly knowledge is put into practice not only to envision “how the world actually is, but how it might be.”


Seeking proposals that examine questions such as:

• Who are the “futurists” of our time and how are they applying artistic or humanistic principles to transform the way we think, live or work?
• What unusual partnerships are leading to creative and perhaps new ideas, products, or structures that are challenging assumptions, questioning the status quo, and reimagining priorities?
• How are the arts and humanities in motion and spreading into different spaces among various communities and demographics? What are the implications of these movements?
• Which voices and perspectives have not been heard and could serve to reshape national conversations about the “crisis” and “demise” of the arts and humanities? To what effect?
• What is the role of the arts and humanities in the critical restructuring and challenging of our societies?
• How are individuals applying artistic or humanistic principles to adapt, change, and reshape everyday values, from the neighborhoods in which we live, the food we consume and the business in which we work?
• What exciting and transformative programs and opportunities reach out to middle school and high school students?
• How might the arts and humanities allow for more access points into higher education in general and STEM education in particular?
• How are strong programs between colleges, communities and professional schools transforming the minds and opportunities of the next generation?
• What can inter-, cross- multi- or trans-disciplinary initiatives tell us about the value and future of the arts and humanities?
• What models of education and public outreach have worked for areas of teaching, learning, and doing that are outside the traditional areas of arts and humanities?
• What is the future role and value of the arts and humanities among young people seeking professional opportunities “that matter”?

Accompanying Interviews in
The Huffington Post

We are currently publishing a series of interviews in The Huffington Post with extraordinary people who are using their skills and training as artists and humanists to improve their communities, challenge assumptions, and advance our understanding of the human condition.

These interviews, either in part or in whole, will be included in the book.