Humanity 101 events to examine social injustices

Are we losing our humanity? This is the question that Arizona State University's Project Humanities has continually raised through meaningful discussions and activities.

This fall, Project Humanities presents a series of events — as part of its Humanity 101 initiative — showing that although injustices still exist, we are far from losing our humanity. The series will include guest speakers, educational workshops and community outreach activities that pose reflective questions and analyze current cultures.

The Humanity 101 series will also focus on creating solutions through events such as Hacks for Humanity, a 36-hour hackathon that brings together developers, artists, students and community members to create technology solutions that address pressing social needs.

Project Humanities is also spreading social awareness through its student arm, the Project Humanities Students’ Initiative. The initiative makes connections through service projects, shared goals and events hosted through Project Humanities.

“We are the facilitator of conversations between diverse groups of people,” said Abigail Graham, president of the student initiative and a secondary education sophomore. “We bring together ... and challenge people across the humanities and other disciplines to connect with one another and rethink their perspectives through conversations that we generally don’t get to have on a daily basis.”

“It seems almost impossible these days for people to truly dialogue about sensitive issues facing our society," said Sarah Tracy, Project Humanities partner and a professor at ASU's Hugh Downs School of Human Communication. "ASU’s Project Humanities provides a safe, smart and supportive context for people to hear about and authentically discuss the issues that make a huge difference on our quality of life, but are too rarely hushed, sugar-coated or shot down in other venues.”

On Sept. 23, Tracy is lecturing on how one woman’s compassion toward a gunman saved a Georgia school from a would-be mass shooting in 2013.

Visit the fall 2015 calendar for a full listing of events. Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

For more information about ASU Project Humanities, visit humanities.asu.edu or call 480-727-7030.