What are the Humanities?
The work of the humanities explores and interprets human culture, ideas, values and experiences – past and present – through disciplines such as literature, history, arts, philosophy, political science, languages, and religion. The humanities help us understand what it means to be human, and they do that by focusing on interaction, conversation, and dialogue among different perspectives.
HI puts the humanities into action in Iowa through the principles of CULTURES, COMMUNITY, and CONNECTIONS:
• CULTURES: organizing and promoting events that foster Iowa’s vibrant cultural landscapes for constructive conversations on differences, civility, democracy, and cultural awareness.
• COMMUNITY: building strong local ties in Iowa’s unique mix of rural and urban communities.
• CONNECTIONS: facilitating meaningful dialogues, diverse storytelling, and educational initiatives that connect different experiences and expertises—from academic credentials to lived wisdom.
Humanities Iowa’s Mission
Humanities Iowa is dedicated to bringing the humanities to life in Iowa, with the diverse people of Iowa. We provide grants, build community partnerships, and create programming that reaches over 250,000 Iowans each year.
History of Humanities Iowa
Founded in 1971, Humanities Iowa is Iowa’s state humanities council and part of a national network of 56 state and jurisdictional humanities councils. These nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organizations were established by Congress to make high-quality public humanities programming accessible to everyday Americans. The councils grew out of the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, signed into law in 1965, which created the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts as independent federal agencies. Today, humanities councils are funded in part by the NEH and connected through the Federation of State Humanities Councils.
Our work reaches hundreds of thousands of Iowans each year through programming, grants, partnerships, and outreach. This includes grants that support projects ranging from rural archives preservation to intergenerational storytelling; a statewide Speakers Bureau that brings humanities conversations to communities across Iowa; and Voices From the Prairie, our long-running publication that highlights humanities work happening throughout the state. At the heart of Humanities Iowa’s approach is collaboration — working directly with communities, centering local knowledge, and creating space for Iowans to explore, share, and shape the stories that define us.
Contact Us
We’d love to hear from you!
Please contact us by phone at (319) 335-4150, by email at info@humanitiesiowa.org, or by mail at:
Humanities Iowa
PO Box 881
Ames, IA 50010
