In March, humanities advocates converged on Washington, D.C., for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to advocate in person for funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities. Elizabeth Meadows, associate director of the Robert Penn Warren Center, was joined by two undergraduate students and members of the RPW Student Advisory Council—Coco Randolph and Shunnar Virani—to discuss how the humanities are shaping their education.
The NEH provides essential support for humanities programs at universities like Vanderbilt. From the Challenge Grant that helped establish a permanent endowment for the Robert Penn Warren Center in 1989 to the recent Connections grant that is supporting innovative curriculum development, NEH funding at Vanderbilt supports the university’s humanities research and teaching endeavors.
“The NEH ensures that we all have the resources necessary to understand the world around us,” said Heather Bloemhard, associate director of federal relations, who organized the meetings and accompanied the group on the Hill. “Our students are phenomenal advocates for how NEH funding directly connects to their education and professional development. We are grateful for RPW’s partnership and the students’ hard work on this advocacy.”
When asked why they chose to participate in the advocacy day, Randolph shared: “As a student who aspires to work in a space where change is created, my beliefs in what it means to act intentionally have been deeply shaped by the humanities. Working on the Student Advisory Council of the Robert Penn Warren Center inspired me to advocate on the Hill this spring.”
Virani echoed this sentiment and explained: “The humanities span a great range of subjects from history and economics to art and music; these disciplines dive into inquiries and analysis of humans and how their societies function. I appreciate the opportunities the Robert Penn Warren Center and the NEH have given me, and I was glad to have a chance to explain why the humanities matter for me.”
The Vanderbilt Office of Federal Relations organized meetings with staff in the offices of Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Reps. Mark Green (R-TN), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX). In these meetings, the group shared their stories about what federal support for the humanities has meant to them and why federal funding for the NEH is so critical. The humanities advocacy community, including Vanderbilt, is asking for $225 million for the NEH in fiscal year 2024, which would be an increase of $18 million over the fiscal year 2023 funding level.
“In our meetings, Nar and Coco told policymakers how their coursework in philosophy, history, literature and other humanities disciplines prepares them to apply their learning in computer science or psychology to complex problems in our world today. Our students were pleased to discover that many of the staff we met had also taken humanities courses in their college years,” Meadows commented. “In addition to providing a point of connection, this confirmed their belief that the interpretive and cultural skills developed in humanities courses are valuable in careers where people can have lasting public impact.”
As part of their preparation for this advocacy, Randolph and Virani prepared four short videos that compile their peers’ responses to the prompts “Humanities are …,” “Humanities changed my perspective by/on/about …,” “Humanities taught me …,” and “Humanities help address ….”
“Nar and Coco argued that although science and technology can offer tools for creative problem-solvers, the problems we face are not merely scientific or technological; they are problems that stem from and impact human behavior and cultures,” Meadows explained. “Our students know this, and they are eager to use what they’ve learned in humanities courses and programs in conjunction with the skills they are developing in STEM fields.”
