2025 National Humanities Conference

The Federation of State Humanities Councils, the National Humanities Alliance, and host council Michigan Humanities invite you to join us in Detroit, Michigan—the Motor City—at the 2025 National Humanities Conference November 12-17. Connect with other humanities professionals across the nation from humanities councils, community organizations, museums, libraries, scholarly societies, and colleges and universities.

Call for Proposals

The call for proposals is now open. Learn more about the theme and submit your session proposal here. The deadline for proposal submission is Thursday, April 10 by 11:59 pm PT. For questions regarding the online submission form, please contact events@statehumanities.org.

More information on registration, hotels, and other details will be available soon. Join the National Humanities Conference mailing list to stay up to date.

Theme: Roots of Invention, Innovation, and Revitalization

The automotive capital of the United States, Detroit is famous as an industrial center with a distinctive soundtrack: the Motown music of the 1960s. Perhaps less recognized is the region’s deep sense of rootedness and place. Its roots extend from the Indigenous mound builders and Algonquian-and Iroquoian-speaking people through growth fueled by early French colonization, fur trading, immigration, the Underground Railroad, and the Great Migration to the contemporary inner-community support networks that create and provide what has long been denied and absent from Black Detroit communities. What has revitalized and reinvented Detroit since its inception is its people.Detroit is known for new technology, arts, and innovation, especially in the face of austerity. Innovation in Detroit has been driven by a commitment and a deep urge in its inhabitants to invent a new way of being, thinking, and creating, all rooted in their love of place. This innovation is rooted in the city’s diverse population and its struggles for social justice and economic opportunity. 

While these roots are specific to Michigan and Detroit, every place and every story has its own roots. The concept of rootedness illuminates a variety of human experiences, including a connection to place, a sense of belonging, and a dynamic relationship with the world. Being rooted means being connected to a heritage, a language, and cultural moorings that bind us to one another and to place. Rootedness is the social, environmental, and economic anchoring that sees us through tough times. It is what helps us move forward. Rootedness requires that we ground ourselves in the histories of our people, families, land, local communities, and cultural communities. The theme of rootedness is embedded broadly throughout the humanities. Where there is heritage and culture, where there is something to tell or write about, where there is something to catalog, trace, and map, where there is something to explore and analyze, there are roots. Roots and the concept of rootedness shape the 2025 National Humanities Conference in Detroit. 

Pricing

*If you have questions about which registration type applies to you, please review the information below.  

We also have a limited number of waived registrations available on a first-come, first-served basis, which will open during the registration period. 

(Early Bird Deadline TBD) Get a discounted rate when you register early! Be sure to check important deadlines once the registration site launches. 

(Regular Price) If you miss the early bird deadline, you’ll need to pay the full conference rate—even if you’re a session panelist. 

If you would like to stay informed about important dates and conference updates, subscribe to our National Humanities Conference mailing list.

Registration Type Descriptions 

Member Registration: Available to members of the Federation of State Humanities Councils or the National Humanities Alliance. 

• Federation Members include staff and board members of dues-paying humanities council members of the Federation.  
• National Humanities Alliance Members include colleges, universities, libraries, museums, cultural organizations, state humanities councils, and scholarly, professional, and higher education associations. [View the full list of NHA members here.] 

Non-Member Registration: Open to attendees who do not fall into the other registration categories. 

Guest Registration: Available to registered attendees who would like to bring a guest. Guests have limited access to the conference, and can only attend plenary sessions and receptions. If a guest wants full access, they will need to purchase a day rate or full conference registration. You can add a guest at any time before the registration deadline. 

Session Panelist Registration: All panelists are required to register and pay for conference registration. 

K-12 Student & Teacher Registration: Available to current K-12 students and teachers at a discounted rate. 

Graduate & Undergraduate Student Registration: Available to current graduate and undergraduate students at a special rate. 

Day Rate: Provides access to the conference for one day only. If you plan to attend for multiple days, you must purchase a full registration.