Humanities at Play: United We Stand programs and guests

 

Humanities at Play explores and showcases the significance of the humanities in everyday life through games, interactive activities, media, and popular culture.

From 2023 - 2024, Nevada Humanities is producing a series of select Humanities at Play programming that is part of United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture, a joint initiative of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts to leverage the arts and humanities to combat hate-motivated violence, through programs that deepen public understanding of and contextualize community, state, and national history, foster cross-cultural understanding, empathy, and community resilience, and promote information literacy. 

Learn more about upcoming United We Stand programming and featured guests below, in addition to viewing an archive of past live-streamed events. Past events may also be found on the Nevada Humanities YouTube channel.

 
 

United We Stand Programming Schedule

 

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU with Dr. Briana Whiteside, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, May 21, 2024 | 12:00 - 2:00 PM PT

In the first hour of this livestreamed event we’ll play Tales of Kenzera: ZAU while discussing science fiction, Afrofuturism, African American literature, and more. The second hour will consist of an interactive Q&A and interview Dr. Briana Whiteside, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. We’ll learn more about her research and work on topics including, but not limited to, Black women’s narratives, the writings of Octavia Butler, and artificial intelligence.

Learn more about this program here.

Thirsty Suitors with Mark Padoongpatt, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, May 23, 2024 | 12:00 - 2:00 PM PT

Join us for this livestreamed event as we continue our celebration of Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We’ll play Thirsty Suitors while discussing food and culture, Asian diaspora, and more in the first hour of the program. The second hour of our program will consist of an interactive Q&A and interview with Mark Padoongpatt, Director of the Asian and Asian American Studies Program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. We’ll learn more about Mark’s research and the goals of Neon Pacific Initiative to elevate and enhance Asian and Asian American placemaking and public programming in southern Nevada.

Learn more about this program here.

 
 
 

Past United We Stand Programs

 

Venba with Dr. Paromita Pain, University of Nevada, Reno | April 16, 2024 | 12:00 - 2:00 PM PT

This livestreamed event explores gender and labor, Asian diaspora, and more. During the first hour, we played the narrative cooking game Venba, about a family and Indian couple who moves to Canada in the 1980s. The second hour of our program consisted of an interactive Q&A with Dr. Paromita Pain. Learn more about her research and work on topics including cross-cultural LGBTQIA+ activism, social media and anti-Asian hate crimes, citizen journalism, and gender and media.

Learn more about this program here.

Fibbage with Alison Gaulden, University of Nevada, Reno | March 29, 2024

This livestreamed event explored the importance of news and media literacy, detecting misinformation, and media ethics with Alison Gaulden, Principal Lecturer for the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Learn more about this past program here.

 

Storyteller with Emma Frances Bloomfield, University of Nevada, Las Vegas | March 5, 2024

This livestreamed event explored how we can strengthen science communication and make stories more inclusive and engaging, and media literacy and misinformation. During the first hour, we discussed story elements and how we create cohesive narratives while playing Storyteller; the second hour consisted of a Q&A with Emma Frances Bloomfield, Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and author of Science v Story: Narrative Strategies for Science Communicators (University of California Press, 2024).

Learn more about this past program here.

Sable with Joseph Kent, Director of Curation and Exhibits for the Atomic Museum in Las Vegas | February 27, 2024

Learn about nuclear testing history, Atomic Age culture, storytelling in media, and more with Joseph Kent, Director of Curation and Exhibits for the Atomic Museum in Las Vegas.

Learn more about this past program here.

Teamfight Tactics - Double Up Brett Abarbanel, Executive Director of the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas | February 22, 2024

This livestreamed event explores responsible gambling and risk-taking and Brett Abarbanel’s work and research on video games and esports.

Learn more about this past program here.

Prisoner in My Homeland Meredith Oda, University of Nevada, Reno | February 20, 2024

This livestreamed event recognizes the 82nd anniversary of Japanese American incarceration. We spent the first hour of this program streaming Prisoner in My Homeland together with University of Nevada, Reno historian Meredith Oda while discussing the game’s historical context and narrative. A conversation about the Day of Remembrance and this period in American history followed.

Learn more about this past program here.

Before Your Eyes, Laura Crosswell, Director of the Center for Advanced Media Studies, University of Nevada, Reno | February 13, 2024

This livestreamed event explored conversation on eye-tracking, media literacy, and more with Laura Crosswell, Director of the Center for Advanced Media Studies and Associate Professor of Health Communication at the University of Nevada, Reno. Learn more about topics connected to her research including eye-tracking technology and its uses, media literacy, implicit bias, and public health messaging.

Learn more about this past program here.

The Oregon Trail, Sarah Keyes, University of Nevada, Reno | December 19, 2023

This livestreamed event explored the history of the Overland Trail and westward migration while playing through part of The Oregon Trail (2022) remake. Join us to learn more about reinterpreting this history and Sarah’s new book, American Burial Ground: A New History of the Overland Trail (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023).

Learn more about this past program here.

 
Humanities at Play is a program of Nevada Humanities that is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Humanities at Play: United We Stand programs are made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture initiative. Any views or opinions represented in ads or guest content on the Humanities at Play Twitch channel or in-person programming do not represent those of Nevada Humanities, its staff, or any donor, partner, or affiliated organization, unless explicitly stated. At no time are these streams or ads understood to promote particular political, religious, or ideological points of view; advocate for a particular program or social or political action; or support specific public policies or legislation on behalf of Nevada Humanities, its staff, any donor, partner, or affiliated organization. Nevada Humanities makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information found by following any link embedded in these ads or content.