Minnesota Humanities Center

St. Paul - Learning from Place: Little Africa Plaza
2026-10-02 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Chicago) | Little Africa Plaza, 678 Snelling Ave N, St. Paul, 55104, United States
Minnesota is home to a vibrant and growing African diaspora representing many countries, languages, and cultural traditions. In St. Paul, Little Africa has emerged as a cultural corridor where this diversity is expressed and rooted through entrepreneurship, community leadership, art, and food.
Participants will gather at Little Africa Plaza and hear from community leaders and culture bearers about the vision behind the new development and the role of African entrepreneurs in shaping the corridor. The experience will include a cooking demonstration featuring injera, the traditional Ethiopian flatbread and food samples. Through this experience, participants will learn how food traditions carry stories of family, culture, and community.
Participants will also visit the African Museum, Art and Culture Center, where they will learn about ongoing efforts to elevate African art within the Little Africa cultural corridor and explore opportunities to support this vision through volunteer and event participation.
K-12 Educators will receive 3 clock hours upon completion of the event.
This experience is presented in collaboration with African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS), a non-profit organization that supports African immigrant entrepreneurs and has helped advance the vision for Little Africa Plaza and the surrounding cultural corridor.
Registration
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.

Luverne - Sketches of Minnesota
2026-10-10 17:00 - 20:30 | Big Top Tent Rental, 321 W Hatting St, Luverne, MN, 56156, United States
Join the Minnesota Humanities Center, Danger Boat Productions, and Luverne community for the Sketches of Minnesota civic improv comedy tour! These free events use laughter and comedy to celebrate Minnesota communities, promote dialogue, bridge divides, and help find ways to work constructively across differences in today’s political environment.
Beginning with a catered meal, these gatherings invite audience members to share what makes their town great, what they think people get wrong about it, what local divisions concern them, and what future they imagine. An improv comedy troupe listens in on the conversations, takes everything they heard from residents, and brings it to life on stage through entirely unscripted improv comedy theater.
5:00–6:00 PM: Doors open / Community hour
6:00–7:15 PM: Dinner
7:15–8:00 PM: Improv show
8:00–8:30 PM: Talkback
Host Partner: Luverne Initiatives for Tomorrow (LIFT)
The work of the Minnesota Humanities Center is to create a stronger Minnesota by increasing our understanding of the beauty, wisdom and stories of its people. Through partnerships, we facilitate the spaces, like Sketches of Minnesota, that seek to build connections and deepen understanding of ourselves and our communities in pursuit of a more just society.
Registration
This event is free, however registration is required.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Edina - Objects of War: A Storytelling Circle of Service, Memory, & Community
2026-10-27 12:00 - 14:30 | Edina Senior Center, 5280 Grandview Square, Edina, 55436, United States
The Minnesota Humanities Center invites you to an afternoon of conversation, reflection, and storytelling. As part of Many Fronts | Veterans & Community Voices, Objects of War brings together Veterans, military families, and community members to share personal stories that deepen understanding of military service, sacrifice, resilience, and the lasting human impacts of war.
Participants are invited to bring an object connected to military service or the experience of war – a set of dog tags, a medal, a photograph, a letter, a keepsake, or another meaningful item – and share the story behind it.
Guided by trained Story Circle facilitators, participants will listen, reflect, and discover how personal stories preserve community memory, foster empathy, and create meaningful connections across generations and experiences. Whether you served, supported someone who served, or carry a family story shaped by military service, your perspective is welcome.
October is Veterans’ Voices Month in Minnesota, and MHC is focused on honoring service, lived experiences, and the preservation of Veterans’ personal stories through reflection and intergenerational conversations. This Objects of War story circle event will emphasize the people who are gathered with their meaningful artifacts, and the stories they will share. As we recognize the 250th anniversary of America, MHC – along with humanities councils across the nation – is hosting programs and events like these story circle experiences to empower Americans to take steps toward a more perfect union.
Registration
This event is free, however registration with Edina Parks & Recreation is required.
Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org
Register Now

Online - Content Session – World History Era Two: Cities, Societies, and Empires
2026-11-05 16:00 - 17:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-content-session-world-history-era-two/
Explore the emergence of cities, societies, and empires across Africa, Asia, and the Americas while examining how religious, political, technological, and social developments shaped the ancient world. Dr. Katharine Gerbner, historian and scholarly lead for this series, will facilitate a conversation with historians Ranjani Atur, Andrew Gallia, and James Laine, who will each present their scholarship, drawing on primary and secondary sources to explore the diverse ways historians reconstruct these societies and the narratives those sources help construct. This session provides historical context, source analysis, and thematic framing for teaching this era, with opportunities for participant questions and discussion.

+View Ranjani Atur’s Bio

Ranjani Atur is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Classical and Near Eastern Religions and Cultures at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She specializes in Ancient Mediterranean religions, religious materiality, and comparative polytheisms. Ranjani’s research focuses on the role of material objects (statues, vases, etc.) and landscapes (shrines, temples, etc.) in shaping religious practices and beliefs in ancient Greece as well as in the broader Eurasian region. She teaches courses on sacred spaces, visual culture, culture contact, and the religions and myths of the ancient world. Ranjani has a BA from Georgetown University and a PhD from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

+View James Laine’s Bio

James Laine is the Arnold H. Lowe Professor of Religious Studies at Macalester College (Saint Paul, Minnesota), where he has taught since 1985. He studied History of Religions at Harvard, where he specialized in the study of classical India, writing a dissertation on the Mahabharata. He has done considerable field work in India, and has written four books, including Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India (Oxford, 2003), a book that received considerable attention in India. His more recent book is Meta-Religion: Religion and Power in World History (University of California Press, 2014).

All Content Sessions will be held via Zoom and supported through a Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)-hosted Canvas learning community. Registered participants will have access to session recordings, curated resources, and collaborative planning tools through the Canvas course.

High school World History teachers and 8th grade educators are encouraged to participate in companion Pedagogy Sessions, which explore inquiry-based instructional approaches and classroom applications for each era.

This offering is part of Navigating the World History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom, a yearlong professional learning opportunity presented by MHC and MDE that supports implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies.

K-12 Educators will receive 1.5 clock hours upon completion of the event.

Registration
Content Sessions are open to all K–12 educators interested in historical content and source-based instruction. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.

This event is free, however registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.

Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us

Register Now

Online - Pedagogy Session – World History Era Two: Cities, Societies, and Empires
2026-11-19 16:00 - 17:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-pedagogy-session-world-history-era-two/
Building on the content and sources from this era’s Content Session, experienced classroom educators will lead a hands-on workshop exploring inquiry-based, standards-aligned instructional approaches and classroom applications for teaching this era. Participants will apply the series’ unit planning framework to develop compelling and supporting questions that guide student inquiry and historical thinking.
All Pedagogy Sessions will be held via Zoom. Educators who participate in all Pedagogy Sessions will leave the year with a complete World History course aligned to the new social studies standards.
Educators are encouraged to participate in companion Content Sessions, which provide the historical content and sources that inform instruction for each era.
This offering is part of Navigating the World History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom, a yearlong professional learning opportunity presented by MHC and MDE that supports implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies.
K-12 Educators will receive 1.5 clock hours upon completion of the event.
Registration
Pedagogy Sessions are designed for high school World History teachers and may also be relevant for 8th grade educators. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.
This event is free, however registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.
Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us
Register Now

Online - Content Session – World History Era Three: Interregional Networks and Exchange (700–1500)
2026-12-10 16:00 - 17:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-content-session-world-history-era-three/
Investigate the trade routes and networks of cultural exchange that connected Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, shaping societies through the movement of people, goods, ideas, and technologies. Dr. Katharine Gerbner, historian and scholarly lead for this series, will facilitate a conversation with historians Victoria Morse and Giancarlo Casale, who will each present their scholarship, drawing on primary and secondary sources to explore how these connections transformed communities and how historians reconstruct global interactions across time and place. This session provides historical context, source analysis, and thematic framing for teaching this era, with opportunities for participant questions and discussion.

+View Giancarlo Casale’s Bio

Giancarlo Casale, a specialist Ottoman history, is a former member of the University of Minnesota history faculty, where he developed the introductory world history survey “Civilization and the Environment: World History to 1500”. He is currently head of department at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, as well as a research affiliate of the University of Minnesota Center for Premodern Studies. His publications, which focus on the interaction between Islam and world history, include the books The Ottoman Age of Exploration (Oxford, 2011) and Prisoner of the Infidels: The Memoir of an Ottoman Muslim in 17th-century Europe (California, 2021).

+View Victoria Morse’s Bio

Victoria Morse received her PhD in medieval history from the University of California, Berkeley. Following a postdoc at the History of Cartography Project at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, she began teaching at Carleton College in 1999. She is a fellow of the American Academy in Rome. At Carleton, she teaches courses on the Black Death, cross-cultural contact in the Mediterranean, Renaissance Italy and France, the Global Middle Ages, and medieval maps and travel. Since 2013, she has co-led an off-campus studies program in Rome. Professor Morse’s research interests focus on maps and conceptions of space in medieval Italy.

All Content Sessions will be held via Zoom and supported through a Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)-hosted Canvas learning community. Registered participants will have access to session recordings, curated resources, and collaborative planning tools through the Canvas course.

High school World History teachers and 8th grade educators are encouraged to participate in companion Pedagogy Sessions, which explore inquiry-based instructional approaches and classroom applications for each era.

This offering is part of Navigating the World History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom, a yearlong professional learning opportunity presented by MHC and MDE that supports implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies.

K-12 Educators will receive 1.5 clock hours upon completion of the event.

Registration
Content Sessions are open to all K–12 educators interested in historical content and source-based instruction. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.

This event is free, however registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.

Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us

Register Now

Online - Pedagogy Session – World History Era Three: Interregional Networks and Exchange (700–1500)
2026-12-17 16:00 - 17:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-pedagogy-session-world-history-era-three-interregional-networks-and-exchange-700-1500/

Online - Content Session – World History Era Four: The First Golden Age (1400–1800)
2027-01-14 16:00 - 17:30 | https://www.mnhum.org/event/online-content-session-world-history-era-four/
Explore how expanding global connections between 1400 and 1800 transformed societies, economies, cultures, and systems of power across the world. Dr. Karin Vélez will present her scholarship, drawing on primary and secondary sources to examine how the first global age reshaped human experiences and created legacies that continue to influence our world today. Dr. Katharine Gerbner, historian and scholarly lead for this series, will facilitate a conversation with Dr. Vélez exploring key ideas and perspectives related to this transformative era. This session provides historical context, source analysis, and thematic framing for teaching this era, with opportunities for participant questions and discussion.

+View Karin Vélez’s Bio

Karin Vélez currently teaches History at Macalester College. Her first jobs post-college were teaching World History in Massachusetts high schools. She trained as an intellectual historian, specializing in religious encounters in the early modern period (1500-1750). Her book, The Miraculous Flying House of Loreto: Spreading Catholicism in the Early Modern World (Princeton, 2019), won the American Academy of Religion’s Best First Book in the History of Religions prize. Karin’s research focuses on the “miraculous” or unexpected: animals impacting conversion zones, churches falling on faithful converts, houses flying across oceans, and other moments of bizarre cross-cultural convergence. She teaches college courses on magic and science; conquest and conversion; pirates, translators and missionaries–a comparison across categories; and world history courses on oceans, “rumors” or fake news, and disasters. She keeps in touch with colleagues in the high school trenches, where she feels some of the best history education happens.

All Content Sessions will be held via Zoom and supported through a Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)-hosted Canvas learning community. Registered participants will have access to session recordings, curated resources, and collaborative planning tools through the Canvas course.

High school World History teachers and 8th grade educators are encouraged to participate in companion Pedagogy Sessions, which explore inquiry-based instructional approaches and classroom applications for each era.

This offering is part of Navigating the World History Eras: Content, Pedagogy, and Inquiry in the Classroom, a yearlong professional learning opportunity presented by MHC and MDE that supports implementation of Minnesota’s 2021 K–12 Academic Standards in Social Studies.

K-12 Educators will receive 1.5 clock hours upon completion of the event.

Registration
Content Sessions are open to all K–12 educators interested in historical content and source-based instruction. Educators are welcome to register for individual sessions that align with their interests and schedules. Join us for one or more sessions throughout the year.

This event is free, however registration is required. Separate registration is required for each offering.

Registration Questions: brittany.rawson-haeg@state.mn.us

Register Now
