REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN HUMANITIES ACTION DAY!

The humanities make our world richer and our communities stronger. Celebrate their impact at Humanities Action Day on November 14, a daylong event at Wayne State University filled with speakers, workshops, and hands-on ways to connect, learn and act.

As federal cuts threaten the humanities and the arts, Wayne State and partners across the region are standing up for the power of storytelling, history, art, language and culture. 

Spend the day exploring ideas, sharing your story and networking with fellow creators, poets and dreamers. You’ll hear from inspiring speakers, meet community partners and join hands-on activities that show how the humanities unite us all.

🔗 PLAN YOUR DAY HERE

Highlights include:

🎤 Keynote Addresses: 
Legislative Q&A Session: Congressman Shri Thanedar
Afternoon Keynote: Dr. Kathleen Fitzpatrick, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, College of Arts & Letters and University Distinguished Professor of English and Digital Humanities, Michigan State University. Author of Leading Generously: Tools for Transformation and Generous Thinking: A Radical Approach to Saving the University.

🗣️ Soapbox Talks and Flash Teaching Sessions: Short, passionate talks on why the humanities matter now and how they matter in college and beyond.

🧠 Interactive Breakout Sessions: Discuss advocacy, collaboration and creative public engagement through Teach-Ins and Huddle Sessions

🏛️ Humanities Fair: Local organizations and cultural partners showcase their work.

🎬 Exclusive showing of the documentary film The Elephant (In My Room) - The story of Barbara Greene Mann, the prolific printmaker and watercolor painter who emerged from Detroit’s Cass Corridor arts community in the late 1960s.

💌 Advocacy Stations: Write your legislators, share your story and make your voice heard.

🎟️ Passport to the Humanities: Undergraduate students can collect stamps, learn and win prizes!

🎊 Art-In: Cap the day off with a carnivalesque celebration of the humanities and arts and their place in our lives on campus and on the town!

🏃‍♀️ Run with the Dean: Join Dean Steffi Hartwell for a 4.2-mile group run that will highlight how the humanities connect to our campus and community. See the humanities on foot, running by the extraordinary murals of Detroit! RSVP required.

🥮 6-7 p.m. Chinatown Walking Tour: Local tour guide Michael Jay Boettcher will take participants on an informative walking tour of Detroit’s historic Chinatown neighborhood located near the Wayne State campus. Space is limited. RSVP required. 

🥪 Networking Lunch and refreshment breaks are included.

Registration is free (lunch included) and open to everyone who believes in the power of the humanities. Whether student, educator, artist, librarian or community member, Wayne State invites you to join the movement.

This event is organized by the WSU Humanities Center, the WSU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the WSU College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts, the WSU Library System, the Irvin D. Reid Honors College, the Wayne State University Press, and the WSU Humanities Commons.

Please contact Humanities Center Assistant Director Victoria Stewart with questions at victorias@wayne.edu or (313) 577-4054.