Fri 4/1-Sun 4/10
War, what is it good for?
Such a statement is obviously inflammatory with emotions, memories and opinions. (Or in a nutshell, welcome to humanity, where nothing is ever black and white.)
Creating a reaction is exactly what the organizers behind the Cleveland Humanities Festival have in mind with the theme “Remembering War.” The first annual event, which takes place Fri 4-1-Sun 4/10 at different Northeast Ohio venues, explores the impact of war on society and culture.
Coordinated by the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities of Case Western Reserve University, the affair partners with Northeast Ohio museums, educational institutions and arts organizations through a series of coordinated events where participants consider a humanistic perspective – the capacity for brutality and the possibility of transcending it through the power of art.
The Cleveland Humanities Festival is centered at Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities, with “Remembering War”-related events also scheduled at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Cinematheque, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Western Reserve Historical Society, Dittrick Museum, Maltz Museum, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Cleveland Institute of Music, Wick Poetry Center (Kent State University), Museum of Contemporary Art, Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards and Louis Stokes VA Medical Center.
CoolCleveland talked to Peter Knox (Eric and Jane Nord Family professor and director of the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities) about “Remembering War.”
In a nutshell, what is the Cleveland Humanities Festival?
It’s a collaboration of cultural and educational institutions in Cleveland to address issues of topical concern to the public. So this year’s theme is remembering war. We have a number of events at participating institutions — lectures, conferences, symposium, tours and exhibits focus on different aspects in which war has had an impact on our society and our culture. We’re calling this a first annual festival because we plan to do this every year on a different theme. Next year’s theme is going to be immigration, which I think should have a lot of resonance in the Cleveland community. Unfortunately given the national political scene, it will probably be pretty relevant there as well.
What’s the impetus behind the Cleveland Humanities Festival?
I came to Case Western a little over a year ago. I spent the first couple of months making the rounds, meeting people and trying to find out what kinds of possibilities there were for collaborating among the many institutions that the city is home to. We started planning last spring. Some institutions have gotten on board in the last two weeks, and we hope this is the springboard for bigger collaborations down the road. There are other cities around the country, most notably Chicago, that do events like this. So it’s not original in that respect, but what’s a little bit different about it is the way in which the Baker-Nord Center and Case Western are taking the lead in coordinating it. That’s also helped to ensure that most of the events are free and open to the public.
So how does the Cleveland Humanities Festival fit into the mission of the Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities?
The center has multiple missions: To support faculty and students at the university in their scholarship and research into the humanities, but we are also actively engaged in bringing the university to this community and the community to this university. Great cities have great universities that provide forums for addressing issues that matter to our community. One of the advantages that the humanities offer is the chance to contextualize our experience. So this is a chance for people to engage with topics that cross the broad spectrum of public interest and to do it from the humanistic perspective. In history, the philosophy of the artistic representations and the interpretations of these are all part of what we do.
What will people take away from attending a “Remembering War” event?
I hope that by talking and communicating about experiences of veterans in war, in preparation for war and coping for war, that people can put this in the context of their daily lives where this is a very active issue for our country and for a lot of people’s sons and daughters and brothers and sisters. Also, I hope with every event they go to they feel it’s a new perspective on war, on the way it has affected our country, on the way in which it might affect our country in the future, and how as citizens they can participate in the conversations about that in ways that affect decisions that we make. And I hope they go away thinking that this is a great opportunity to broaden their experiences, and they want to come back next year when we take on another topic.
We’re guessing the festival is nonpartisan.
It’s not partisan. It’s academic. It’s scholars, artists, people who have devoted themselves in one way or another to studying, communicating about and representing a way in which war has effected society. A big part of the festival involves veteran affairs. Our keynote speaker is someone who has been a pioneer in the treatment of PTSD. There are going to be people who come at these issues from a lot of different political perspectives, but we what we aim to provide is a forum, not a viewpoint.
Is there any concern that the controversial subject of war will lead some in the audience to devolve discussions into emotional finger-pointing?
I’m not worried. I hope that discussions will be lively. We want this to be the kind of place where people can be comfortable in getting outside of their comfort zones. We want the discussions to be civil, and we’ll certainly do what we can to keep them civil, but I’m not anticipating any problems.
With war this year and immigration next year, it’s obvious the Cleveland Humanities Festival is focused on discussing the good and bad of humanity.
Exactly. And that’s what the humanities are all about.
Go to the Cleveland Humanities Festival’s webpage for a full schedule of events and locations.
[Written by John Benson]