Humanities Guahan is excited for the beginning of our Community Conversations. In May 2022, we began the program by training facilitators who will lead conversations with our island residents through the year. Our facilitators were trained by master trainers from Oregon Humanities! As of June, two conversation series have been ongoing: one that has been part of a Social Work course at the University of Guam and another with our Taking Root student participants. 

Our latest project, Reimagining Guåhan: Social Justice through a Humanities Lens, aims to civically engage with our richly diverse community about the meaning of equality and democracy by exploring a range of important social justice issues to reimagine a Guåhan that is more just, inclusive, and sustainable. 

Reimagining Guåhan conversations will follow the civic reflection model and explore important issues for our island community, including migration and belonging, cultural resilience and identity, decolonization and self-determination, environmental sustainability in the face of climate change, LGBTQ experiences, and increased militarization. Through the project we will illuminate how humanities perspectives are a  powerful way to address important issues that impact our island community. 

At Humanities Guåhan, we believe that meaningful engagement and discussion with community members whose voices are often not heard or represented will bring to light valuable experiences and perspectives that can empower positive change. With Reimagining Guåhan, the experiences of Pacific Islanders are privileged through poetry, essays, chants, personal narratives, film, and other forms of creative expression, and in humanities-based conversations in order to address their historical underrepresentation nationally and globally. 

Throughout the year 2022, Humanities Guåhan will host up to 20 series of facilitated conversations and invite island residents from diverse backgrounds in terms of ethnicity, age, occupation, educational level, and gender identity or sexual orientation to participate. Additionally, larger conversation events featuring scholars, cultural experts and artists will be presented in the summer and fall of 2022.  Stay tuned for more details on community conversation events in 2022 by signing up for our mailing list here!


For more Information:
Reimagning Guahan: Social Justice Through a Humanities Lens Press Release