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Performed by eminent scholars and staffed by volunteers, our programs are free and open to the public-- a forum for discussion
of our past as we face our future. With events from February to June, multi-generational audiences question and interact with
historical characters. George Frein, PhD, a founding member of the National Chautauqua Tour, brought Chautauqua back to Greenville
in 1999. The next year, Buncombe County Chautauqua in cooperation with Greenville Chautauqua, began presenting a festival
in Asheville, NC. It has since become a popular tradition in both communities.
WHY HUMANITIES EDUCATION?
"I must study politics and war, so my sons may study mathematics, philosophy and history, so their sons can study
painting, poetry, and music." -- John Adams
The Humanities is the study and development of human thought -- the ways of looking at the world through the study of
philosophy, history, literature, religion, jurisprudence, languages, history, art, music, fine arts, etc. It is a literary
approach to the world. Books are the way the past reveals itself -- the gift of one generation to the next. From the Prince
and the Pauper: : "When I am King people will not only have food and shelter, but teachings out of books -- for a full
belly is little worth when the mind is empty."
Along with need for food and shelter, man needs mental stimulation. The greatest and most urgent of life skills --the
one that defines us as human beings--is critical thinking ability In the guise of entertainment, Chautauqua gathers generations
together to think about and discuss the problems of the day. We're not about answers; we're about asking questions -- about
stimulating critical thinking.
In the words of Maya Angelou: "We need not only to survive but to thrive."
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