Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation

Thermopolis, Wyoming

Heroes of the Sky -- Teacher Resources

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What is the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)?

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent grant-making agency of the United States government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. NEH is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is the largest funder of humanities programs in the United States. To visit NEH's Web site, go to www.neh.gov.

What Does NEH Do?

Because democracy demands wisdom, the National Endowment for the Humanities serves and strengthens our nation by promoting excellence in the humanities and conveying the lessons of history to all Americans. The Endowment accomplishes this mission by providing grants for high-quality humanities projects in four funding areas: preserving and providing access to cultural resources, education, research, and public programs.

NEH grants typically go to cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television and radio stations, and to individual scholars. The grants:

• strengthen teaching and learning in the humanities in schools and colleges across the nation;

• facilitate research and original scholarship;

• provide opportunities for lifelong learning;

• preserve and provide access to cultural and educational resources;

• strengthen the institutional base of the humanities.

What Are the Humanities?

According to the 1965 National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, "The term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the study of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life."