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Third Annual Chautauqua Series Starts July 10th

To promote civic dialogue and educate residents on different issues affecting the community, the Clinton Human Rights Committee (CHRC) has scheduled four weekly lectures to be held through July at the Henry Carter Hull Library starting Wednesday, July 10, at 6:30 p.m.

The third annual Clinton Old Fashioned Chautauqua Series will kick off on July 10 with a discussion on coastal resilience led by guests’ lecturers with experience in resiliency education, Sarah Schechter and Owen Placido. Besides the lectures each night will also have musical performances, poetry reading, and refreshments.

The series is a co-production of the Henry Carter Hull Library and the CHRC. Registration is recommended but not required. Members of the public can register at https://events.hchlibrary.org/event/chautauqua-7-10-24.

Other topics covered in the series include artificial intelligence on July 17, affordable housing on July 24, and men as social justice allies to women on July 31. All events will take place at the library and feature guest speakers as well as music and poetry.

The idea for the event stems from an early 20th century tradition in rural towns in upstate New York. The event, known as a Chautauqua (Shaw-taw-kwa) — a gathering of speakers, musicians, and storytellers – was meant to bring civic engagement to small towns. Two years ago, Tom Shultz, the chairperson of the CHRC, decided to bring the lecture series to Clinton.

Chautauquas went out of style as radio became popular and people had less of a reason to leave their houses to hear news or stories. In modern times, Shultz said that as people have become more used to bickering over social media, they have become less involved with their physical community. Schultz said he hopes that by holding in-person Chautauquas, it will draw people out to have more civic dialogues about issues instead of “talking past one another.”

“I think all the topics we have this year are really good,” Schultz said, adding the audience has grown each year the Chautauqua has been held. “I think it will help people be more knowledgeable about the ideas presented as well as think about them as human rights issues,” Schultz said. “Storytelling is a very powerful way to present complicated ideas to the public.”