For more than 30 years, the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities has enriched our civic culture and strengthened our democracy by bringing the lessons of history, the insights of literature, and the moral clarity of philosophy out of the classroom and into the community. We create opportunities for the people of Massachusetts to read, write, and reflect; to form meaningful attachments to the places they inhabit; to explore the past; and to engage in stimulating conversations about the future.

In 2004 to celebrate our 30th Anniversary year the Foundation has planned an array of programs open to the public to highlight the richness and diversity of critically acclaimed humanities work in each region of the Commonwealth. From Falmouth, where George Howe Colt will read from his local history,The Big House, to the Berkshires, where we are hosting screenings of the film Tupperware! by Laurie Kahn-Leavitt, folks are engaged in meaningful ways of raising public awareness of great ideas. We are funding programs such as Stan Sherer's return to the Founding Farms of Massachusetts, ten years after his original photography exhibition was created; the new exhibition will begin touring the Pioneer Valley in the fall.

Our 30th Anniversary Signature Event, Presidents in Perspective: The Shifting Fortunes of Presidential Reputations. On November 20, 2004 at Boston College, keynote speaker David Halberstam and moderator E.J. Dionne led panel discussions. Other panelists include Joyce Appleby, Douglas Brinkley, Richard Brookhiser, Kathleen Dalton, John W. Dean, Susan Dunn, Tom Wicker, Douglas Wilson, and others.

For the special 30th Anniversary retrospective piece, click here.