The history of the New Deal, and how Arizonans responded to its challenges, is an inspirational story of how individuals worked to better themselves; a story of how communities took care of inhabitants and total strangers during drought and Depression; and a story of how we, as a state, could improve the lives of all […]
Artistry in its many forms makes us think, sing, dance, and enjoy the wonders of our surroundings. The arts also allow us to document the lives of our ancestors and learn from the past. Some of the finest early Arizona artists were women who wrote, painted, photographed, and vocalized the magnificence and history of their […]
In 1917, Gen. John J. Pershing brought 527 Chinese refugees from Mexico. These men had attached themselves to the punitive expedition conducted by Gen. Pershing in pursuit of the Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco “Pancho” Villa from 1916 to 1917. When Pershing withdrew, aware that the lives of the Chinese who had served his troops were […]
Consider the taco, that favorite treat, a staple of Mexican and Mexican American cooking and an old standby on an Arizonan’s plate. The corn in the tortilla comes from Mexico, the cheese from the Sahara, the lettuce from Egypt, the onion from Syria, the tomatoes from South America, the chicken from Indochina, the beef from […]
In 1894 an Easterner named Andrew Douglass explored Arizona Territory in search of an ideal site to establish an astronomical observatory for Bostonian Percival Lowell. Traveling by train and stagecoach, Douglass visited Tombstone, Tucson, Tempe, Prescott and Flagstaff. While making scientific observations at each locale, he experienced a variety of unforeseen episodes. This expedition is […]
Communication and secrecy were key to the successful operation of the Underground Railroad. Safety was more important than quickness. Both fugitive slaves and members of the Underground Railroad learned to code and decode hidden messages, and to disguise signs to avoid capture. There were code names for routes and code numbers for towns. A quilt […]
Arizona pioneers tell their stories in diaries, letters, and memoirs. Martha Summerhayes’s beloved Vanished Arizona and Captain John Bourke’s On the Border with Crook, plus biographies of Hopi, Pima, and Tohono O’odham women describe their lives and feelings. But we’ll also look at fiction, including Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop, Zane Gray’s Riders […]
Why do so many physicists compare the universe to an orchestra? Why did Einstein use his violin playing to enhance his contemplation of the workings of the cosmos? The connection of music to science was illuminated early on when Pythagoras divided a string. Not surprisingly, from astrophysicists to quantum theorists, the common key to unlocking […]
Ananse the Spider, a trickster hero of Ghana, is one of the most important characters of West African and Caribbean folklore. Ananse’s tales are told to not only explain the origins of the Akan people, but used to reinforce the belief system that enriches their society. Not just found in Ghana, these stories are likened […]
During WWII a group of young Navajo men enlisted in the Marines without knowing that they would be called on to develop a secret code against the Japanese military. This select group of Code Talkers devised a Navajo language code that was accurate, quick, never broken, and saved many American lives. This talk profiles 4 […]
Address:
1242 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Phone:
(602) 257-0335
TTY users please call 7-1-1
Email:
info@azhumanities.org
Mission:
Arizona Humanities builds a just and civil society by creating opportunities to explore our shared human experiences through discussion, learning and reflection.
