The Mississippi Humanities Council has created a new virtual program designed to serve Mississippians during the current COVID-19 public health crisis—and beyond. HumBox, currently in its pilot stage, allows communities to come together for relevant, humanities-based conversations in the safety of their own homes.
HumBox is a digital resource box curated and compiled by the MHC and humanities scholars that combines educational information, resources, and guides for community-based discussions. Each HumBox includes a short overview of the box’s topic, a collection of supplementary resources such as photos, articles, or graphs, and a list of discussion questions. Host organizations share the digital boxes with their community members and convene an online gathering, where a humanities facilitator guides the audience through the topic and fosters a group discussion using the provided questions.
Current HumBox topics address COVID-19’s impact from cultural, ethical, and demographic perspectives. As the program continues, more boxes will be added and topics will expand.
“We know that the COVID-19 crisis is in the forefront of everyone’s mind right now. Rather than focusing on unrelated topics, we feel that our strongest contribution can be addressing COVID-19 through a humanities lens, providing a contextualized understanding for those grappling with our new reality,” said MHC Program Officer Caroline Gillespie.
“Our hope is that these HumBox programs can help communities stay connected and in touch, despite remaining socially distant,” Gillespie added.
HumBox programs are free for organizations to host. More information on HumBox and the application process can be found on the MHC website.
The Mississippi Humanities Council is a private non-profit organization funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide and support public programs exploring our rich history and culture.
