Humanities Institute 2017 Festival, Festival News

Save-the-Dates: Sept 28-30/2017

The 2017 Buffalo Humanities Festival will be held Sept 28-30 / 2017.

Thursday, Sept. 28, 6 PM
Humanities New York event, details forthcoming

Friday, Sept. 29, 8 PM (7 PM VIP reception)
Environmentalist author and social activist Bill McKibben, “The Desperate Climate Fight: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Moment”

Saturday, Sept. 30, 10:30 AM
Rockwell Hall, Buffalo State College
A full day featuring talks, music, performances, community debates, and other activities on the theme of “Environments,” focusing on issues of environmental justice and economic sustainability, local and regional activism and planning, and the global climate change crisis.

Humanities Institute 2017 Festival, Uncategorized

2017 Spotlight Speaker: Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben is an author and environmentalist who in 2014 was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the ‘alternative Nobel.’ His 1989 book The End of Nature is regarded as the first book for a general audience about climate change, and has appeared in 24 languages; he’s gone on to write a dozen more books. He is a founder of 350.org, the first planet-wide, grassroots climate change movement, which has organized twenty  thousand rallies around the world in every country save North Korea, spearheaded the resistance to the Keystone Pipeline, and launched the fast-growing fossil fuel divestment movement.

OilAndHoney-LowResThe Schumann Distinguished Scholar in Environmental Studies at Middlebury College and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he was the 2013 winner of the Gandhi Prize and the Thomas Merton Prize, and holds honorary degrees from 18 colleges and universities. Foreign Policy named him to their inaugural list of the world’s 100 most important global thinkers, and the Boston Globe said he was “probably America’s most important environmentalist.”

A former staff writer for the New Yorker, he writes frequently for a wide variety of publications around the world, including the New York Review of Books,National Geographic, and Rolling Stone. He lives in the mountains above Lake Champlain with his wife, the writer Sue Halpern, where he spends as much time as possible outdoors . In 2014, biologists honored him by naming a new species of woodland gnat— Megophthalmidia mckibbeni–in his honor.

Humanities Institute Festival News

On a Budget? Check Out These Festival Freebies

piggy bankWhile lots of you are ramping up for back to school season, we’re putting the finishing touches on this year’s Festival! Our full program is now available for download, and you’ll notice that we’ve got quite a few free events that will be open to everyone.

If you’re interested in history, fashion, or gender studies we hope you’ll join us at our opening event on Wednesday, Sept. 23rd at the Buffalo History Museum where Patrick McDevitt will give a talk on the history of the men’s suit. The talk, a pop up exhibit, and a reception (including snacks!) are all free. The reception begins at 7pm and the talk will start at approximately 7:30.

Another new addition to our lineup is the Kids Tent, which will be open all day Saturday (9/26) during Festival hours. The Squeaky Wheel Film and Media Arts Center will host the “Gender Shop” on Rockwell Quad on the SUNY Buffalo State campus, where kids can explore notions of what it means to be a “girl” or “boy” through activities like dress-up and making their own video art. This is a great opportunity for kids to practice critical thinking skills while also getting a taste of what the Squeaky Wheel offers through its TechArts youth programs.

Between noon and 1pm on Saturday, the Rockwell Quad will also host a free “drag break.” In the world of drag performing, a “drag break” is an interlude during a contest when a drag performer entertains the crowd. Buffalo favorites such as Jayme Coxx will sashay through the Dining Tent in full regalia. Please feel free to introduce yourself and ask the performers questions about their professions and personae. These girls aren’t shy!

If you purchase a daypass by Sept. 23rd, you’ll also get a free boxed lunch from the West Side Bazaar. All daypass holders are also encouraged to attend our Gender Bender after-party on the Quad at 4pm, which will feature live music by Alison Pipitone and a cash bar!

Finally, all daypass holders will be given free admission to the Burchfield Penney Arts Center and to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

See you there!