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Welcome to the Gregory J. Grappone Humanities Institute where, inspired by the life of Greg Grappone ’04, we dedicate ourselves to making known the enduring consolations and wisdom that spring from the humanities, so that we may all better understand the meaning and purpose of their lives.
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Welcome to the Gregory J. Grappone Humanities Institute at Saint Anselm College. Established in 2018 with a generous gift from Robert and Beverly Grappone, this Institute represents several years of thought and planning by Saint Anselm faculty who seek to affirm and invigorate the College’s 128 year-old commitment to humanistic studies as an integral part of a Catholic Liberal Arts Education.
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The man for whom the Grappone Humanities Institute is named was himself a model of the examined life that Socrates said was the only one worth living. Greg was young man of insatiable intellectual curiosity, a deep love of books, and a persistent engagement with the great ideas that have informed human existence. A resident of Concord, New Hampshire, he graduated from Saint Anselm College in 2004 as a Great Books major.
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In the spirit of Gregory Grappone ’04, the Humanities Institute at Saint Anselm College reaches across our campus and surrounding communities to engage people of all backgrounds with questions and ideas that arise from our common and uncommon experiences. We do so in the determined hope that, like Greg, we can know the enduring consolations and wisdom that spring from the rich variety of arts and humanities in our world, and better understand the meaning and purpose of our lives.
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Each Friday, during the college common hour from 12:30-1:20 p.m., the Humanities Institute hosts an open, informal discussion led by a member of the Saint Anselm faculty, staff or monastic community. This forum invites people from all parts of campus to come together with others who are willing to open their lunch bag and their mind to a question about our humanity. So, come Friday, pack a lunch and join the human conversation in the LaMalfa-Kelly Common Room of the Grappone Humanities Institute. A Zoom Link will be provided weekly for those wishing to take part remotely.
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This year-long series of lectures and panels and discussions will help us all to consider the origin, nature, and consequences of our individual and shared beliefs, from religious faith to superstitions to conspiracy theories.
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In September 2021 the Grappone Humanities Institute launched podcast called “Humanity Examined.”
This monthly student-produced show engages with individuals of all backgrounds from the Saint Anselm College community and the greater New Hampshire area, inviting teachers, students, artists, and people from a variety of fields and backgrounds to tell their own stories about how the humanities have animated their lives.
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On a weekly basis people of all backgrounds and various points of view are contributing to a vibrant conversation about the Humanities and their place in our current culture. Scholars, public officials, journalists, and commentators debate whether the true benefit of the humanities resides in their inherent and intrinsic value or in their proven capacity to help people develop skills and talents that improve their professional prospects and benefit the organizations they serve.
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In January of 2019, the Humanities Institute launched a new Minor in Humanities that features team-taught, interdisciplinary courses with faculty from twelve different departments. Students enrolling in HU courses will be building upon their first year Conversatio seminar experiences where they examined life’s big questions with their classmates.
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In cooperation with a dozen academic departments on campus, the Grappone Humanities Institute intends to offer a Minor Humanities beginning in the spring semester of 2019.