Humanities events
Our humanities program brings nationally recognized authors and world-class scholars to the library community through events that focus on music, art, local history, religion, literature, and culture.
Programs are often developed in partnership with our many local arts and humanities organizations, nonprofits, and institutions.
Humanities programming is funded by the Durham Library Foundation.
Upcoming Events
Award winning authors Alexis Pauline Gumbs & Nikky Finney
Wednesday, August 14, 2024 • 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Main Library (Main Auditorium)
Join award-winning authors Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Nikky Finney for a riveting discussion of Gumbs’ latest book, Survival Is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde, forthcoming from Farrar, Straus and Giroux this August. Personal and...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Senior Citizen
The Golden Ticket to College Admissions Is Not What You Think: Redefining Success for Parents of Teens with Irena Smith, PhD
Thursday, August 15, 2024 • 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Virtual
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Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School
An Exploration of Friendship, Reckoning, and Hope with novelist Shelby Van Pelt
Wednesday, August 21, 2024 • 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Virtual
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Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Senior Citizen
Durham County Library Artist Salon
Tuesday, September 03, 2024 • 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Main Library (Main Library - MakerLab)
Join Durham County Library’s Artist Salon, an adult discussion group focused on information as inspiration and co-art creation! Bring a book (or anything else!) that’s inspiring your work to discuss and share. Join in to work on your own...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
Pauli Now! Lessons from Pauli Murray's Radical Progressive Legacy
Friday, September 06, 2024 • 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Main Library (Main Auditorium)
Organized and brought to you by the Pauli Murray Center and the Duke Human Rights Center...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
Capturing the Human Drama Through History with Garrett Graff
Tuesday, September 10, 2024 • 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Virtual
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Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
Nature Writing Workshop
Saturday, September 14, 2024 • 10:00am - 11:30am
Main Library (Computer Lab)
Nature has inspired countless pieces of poetry and prose over the course of time and space. Nature writing puts us in intimate touch with our own inner landscapes, while filling us with awe and reverence for our natural world. If you have ever been...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
Living with an Expansive Mind in a Distracted World–with Nate Klemp, PhD
Wednesday, September 18, 2024 • 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Virtual
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Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
A Deep Dive in Character Development with Global Sensation Liane Moriarty
Saturday, September 21, 2024 • 7:00pm - 8:00pm
...
Ages: Adult, Senior Citizen
Durham County Library Artist Salon
Tuesday, October 01, 2024 • 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Main Library (Main Library - MakerLab)
Join Durham County Library’s Artist Salon, an adult discussion group focused on information as inspiration and co-art creation! Bring a book (or anything else!) that’s inspiring your work to discuss and share. Join in to work on your own...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
A Journey into the Hidden World of Tropical Bats with Scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Wednesday, October 02, 2024 • 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Virtual
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Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, High School, Intergenerational, Middle School, Senior Citizen, Teen, Tweens: 9-12 Year Olds
Liberating Latin American Genre Fiction: In Conversation with Bestselling Author Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Wednesday, October 09, 2024 • 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Virtual
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Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds
Nature Writing Workshop
Saturday, October 19, 2024 • 10:00am - 11:30am
Main Library (Computer Lab)
Nature has inspired countless pieces of poetry and prose over the course of time and space. Nature writing puts us in intimate touch with our own inner landscapes, while filling us with awe and reverence for our natural world. If you have ever been...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone: Examining the Truths and Fictions we Tell Ourselves with Lori Gottlieb
Tuesday, October 22, 2024 • 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Virtual
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Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
Durham County Library Artist Salon
Tuesday, November 05, 2024 • 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Main Library (Main Library - MakerLab)
Join Durham County Library’s Artist Salon, an adult discussion group focused on information as inspiration and co-art creation! Bring a book (or anything else!) that’s inspiring your work to discuss and share. Join in to work on your own...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
Durham County Library Artist Salon
Tuesday, December 03, 2024 • 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Main Library (Main Library - MakerLab)
Join Durham County Library’s Artist Salon, an adult discussion group focused on information as inspiration and co-art creation! Bring a book (or anything else!) that’s inspiring your work to discuss and share. Join in to work on your own...
Ages: Adult, Emerging Adult: 18-24 Year Olds, Senior Citizen
The Hum
Introducing The Hum, the newsletter of Durham County Library Humanities Programming. Look forward to monthly releases sharing upcoming events, suggested reads, and more!
Exciting events are coming soon – check it out in The Hum!
Email choltzmann@dconc.gov to be added to the Humanities mailing list.
Past Editions
Humanities program videos
Video recordings of select humanities programs. We make every attempt to record programs of historical value to the Durham community. Here’s our most recent:
Get in touch!
Celeste
Email: choltzmann@dconc.gov
Celeste is a North Carolina native from the small town of Ridgeway. A winding road of customer service jobs and volunteer opportunities fed her passion for serving community and the various members of it. A graduate of UNC Asheville (BA) focusing in the art of printmaking and from NCCU (MLS) focusing in public libraries, she is thrilled to now take on the role of Humanities Coordinator for the exceptional community of the Durham County Library system. If you could only know one thing about her, she’d want you to know that she wants to HEAR FROM YOU! The humanities and libraries share the common thread of community and sharing voices, so please share yours! There may not be enough days in the year to do it all, but your ideas, interests, and suggestions matter!
Pronouns: she/her