Barbara Carpenter

Dr. Barbara Carpenter is the former director of the Mississippi Humanities Council. Much of her career has been spent studying and discussing the importance of literature, history, art, and providing insights into our own cultures and the cultures of others in creating meaningful lives for ourselves as well as understanding our roles and relationships within our own communities and society at large. Prior to joining the MHC, Dr. Carpenter taught college English for fifteen years at Southeastern Louisiana University, St. Joseph Seminary College, and the University of Southern Mississippi. As an element of programming for the Columbus Quincentenary, she developed, secured funding, and oversaw the council’s ethnic heritage project, serving as editor for Ethnic Heritage of Mississippi and coeditor for Ethnic Heritage of Mississippi: The Twentieth Century, both published by University Press of Mississippi.

Presentations

• Kiss Me, I'm Italian — and Irish, Chinese, African, French — and So Are You: Ethnic Heritage in Mississippi
• Paul Revere's Teapot or How the Arts and Humanities Give Your World and Your Life Meaning