Public Humanities
Expand the conversation.
Tap Into the Power of the Humanities
Community-Based Learning
The Bonner Center is Oberlin’s hub for connecting students, faculty, and staff to communities engaged in social change and public service.
Digital Scholarship
In the History Design Lab, Oberlin students experiment with how to convey information about the past to audiences of today and tomorrow.
Featured Courses
Museum Anthropology
This course provides an overview of the history, politics, and changing roles of anthropological collections housed in museums. Drawing on published literature and Oberlin’s own anthropological collections, we will explore themes including co-curation, Indigenous “maker movements” and knowledge repatriation, physical repatriation and the law, and digital approaches to democratizing access to physical collections.
- Taught by
- Amy Margaris ’96
Latinx Oral Histories
This advanced course introduces students to the importance of oral histories in ethnographic research as a foundation to explore the histories and contemporary experiences of Latinx communities in Lorain and Northeast Ohio. We will collaborate with community partners in collecting oral histories and locate these histories in a broader historical and political-economic context. Field trips required.
- Taught by
- Gina Pérez
Philosophy in the Schools Practicum
The Philosophy in the Schools (PHITS) practicum gives students a new community-engaged way to develop their philosophical skills and understanding, by teaching philosophy through children’s literature. Students will make eight weekly visits to Eastwood Elementary School, working in pairs to lead lively philosophical discussions.
- Taught by
- Katherine Thomson-Jones
Building Community Through Music
Students will learn about the emerging field of community music and the relationship between ethnomusicology and community-based work. After conducting demographic and ethnographic research to understand the local community, students will assist in planning and teaching a musical ensemble for underserved youth in Lorain County, using the Javanese Gamelan.
- Taught by
- Jennifer Fraser
Student Profiles
Truman Scholar and Community Advocate
Henry Hicks ’21, a comparative American studies and creative writing double major, has been awarded the Truman Scholarship, the premier graduate fellowship in the United States for those pursuing careers as public service leaders.
Making Murals
Through her work with art museums, nonprofits, and youth programs, Elka Lee-Shapiro ’18 is exploring how art intersects with politics and culture.
Poet, Activist, and Optimist
Anthropology and Creative Writing double major David James ("DJ") Savarese '17 now works as a public speaker, artful activist (poet, essayist, filmmaker), and practicing optimist, working to make interdependent, self-determined lives a reality for non-traditionally speaking people.
What does Public Humanities at Oberlin look like?
Oberlin students discuss the legacy of Shirley Graham Du Bois ’34 as part of a two-day symposium held in honor of the Oberlin alumna, composer, playwright, biographer, nation builder, and activist.
Oberlin students visit the Lorain Historical Society as part of a collaboration exhibit with El Centro de Servicios Sociales celebrating 100 years of Latinas/os in Lorain County.
Students, faculty, and community members participate in the bell hooks Read In at Mudd Library.
Students in the field working on a documentary for StoryLens, a nonprofit run by professor Geoff Pingree that produces independent short documentaries of social relevance.
