Humanities Scholars Spotlight:

Humanities Scholars Leave "Home" and Go "Away" to the Chicago Humanities Festival!

Twenty-seven Ohio State Humanities Scholars traveled to Chicago November 4-6 to explore the city and attend the annual Chicago Humanities Festival (CHF). The CHF is a three-week series of performances, lectures, book discussions and cultural events that bring the best and brightest international scholars, artists, historians, journalists, and performers, among others, to examine issues through the lens of the arts and humanities.

Each year, the festival develops its programs around a special theme. The 2005 theme was "Home and Away" through which the CHF examined historical and present-day issues of human migration, exile, refugees, empire, and homelands.

The OSU Humanities Scholars attended a performance session featuring the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago Children's Choir entitled "Music from Home...and from Away." The scholars learned about the historical and cultural relevance of each song before it was performed, and received English translations for songs performed in languages such as Chechen and Zulu. The Scholars found the concert to be awe-inspiring, amazing, and uplifting.

In addition to visiting the festival, Scholars spent the weekend exploring the famed Art Institute of Chicago, admiring the modern sculptures of Millennium Park, viewing the city's well-known architecture from atop the Hancock Building, spending time at the Shedd Aquarium and enjoying the Windy City's Magnificent Mile.