THE HUMANIST INSTITUTE

Purpose

The Humanist Institute exists to equip humanists to become effective leaders in a variety of organizational settings, including within the humanist movement itself.

In order to give reality to humanist ideals and practices, we are dedicated to fostering leadership that is:

• Ethically grounded
• Wise and well informed
• Skillfully strategic in addressing institutional dynamics
• Committed to meeting the real needs of real people
• Globally responsible and personally sustainable

We strive to prepare humanist leaders to be:

• self-differentiated individuals who are models of the humanist perspective,
• activists in their communities who know how to get things done,
• advocates who are persuasive articulators of the humanist world view in the public sphere,
• innovative thinkers who keep our movement alive with their provocative insights and writings,
• experts who have the skills to help organizations function and help people achieve important goals

The Institute is an independent graduate level program that works in cooperation with existing humanist organizations. It provides a unique opportunity to bring together a diverse faculty and student body of those who take a nontheistic and naturalistic approach to humanism, whether interpreted in secular, religious, or life-stance terms.

The Institute works with individuals who are in or aspiring to roles of:

• community/congregation/chapter-based leadership
• regional and national organizational leadership
• specialized leadership roles as spokespersons, educators, and counselors
• leadership within the various serving professions.

Through its faculty, alumni/ae, and student body, the Institute also develops specialized programs for exploring humanist ideas and practices. Research and publications are an essential element of the Institute's program, including the annual Faculty Colloquium, the journal Humanism Today, and periodic weekend conferences and workshops.

Curriculum

The leadership program curriculum begins with the philosophy, history and institutional structuring of humanism, and moves to examining what it means to be human, and then the variety of humanist ideas in world religions. The second year starts with a look at what constitutes humanist leadership, and moves to the humanist tools, critical thinking, and science its methods and uses. The final year deals with issues in contemporary culture, aesthetics and humanist celebrations.

We believe that it is crucial to balance academic abstraction with practice. It is one thing to absorb concepts in our minds, it is another to internalize them by applying them to life situations. It is a method of learning that makes the abstract, concrete and thereby allows a student to go from the general to the specific and from specific back to the general conception. Our program aims to provide the materials for a learning experience that will enable student to be knowledgeable and effective leaders in their own life sphere, their communities, organizations and the movement as a whole.

This graduate-level program will ordinarily be completed in a three-year period involving intensive reading and reflection. Students come to New York City or Washington DC for long-weekend seminars in December, April and for 5-day seminars in August. The time between sessions will also be used by students as an opportunity to study other topics or those introduced in class, in more detail. An individually designed independent project, and a program of supervised field work, are required outside of the three yearly class gatherings. In between sessions, students will be expected to read further on topics either discussed in class or chosen in relation to the general session theme that are of particular interest to the student. There maybe other assignments as well, such as short papers, book or article reports, and oral presentations.

Interactions among students, mentors and faculty constitute an indispensable element of the learning experience. Thus it is expected that during the three annual class gatherings, participants will attend all sessions, events, field trips, and provided meals. There may also be on-line discussions between gatherings, to which all students will also be expected to contribute. Mentors and other faculty will be available for informal consultation with students during and between class gatherings. Members of a particular class are encouraged to support the work of other classes by attending orientations, graduations, and other Institute events.

This curriculum is not a complete list of all the topics a humanist leadership student needs to cover. Rather, it is intended to introduce and begin a life long learning program. The Graduate Certificate of the Humanist Leadership Studies Program is awarded upon completion of the program. While not being able to guarantee placement, the Institute, in so far as possible, will assist its graduates in developing opportunities for exercising their leadership abilities and skills.

Advanced Studies

Students engaged in concomitant advanced studies elsewhere should consult with the class mentor(s) and Deans in order to coordinate their programs most effectively.

The sequence of topics for class 14 beginning in August, 2006 is as follows:

Year One

Session One: Essential Humanism
August 2006

1. What brings us here? Goals and questions

2. Classical Greece and the Renaissance

3. The Enlightenment: Europe and Britain

4. Deism and Transcendentalism: US colonial to civil war

5. Civil war to Manifesto I to now

6. Various Humanist Organizations I

7. Various Humanist Organizations II

8. Contemporary problems

9. Definitions of humanism

10. Review of future curriculum and project planning

Year One

Session Two: Being Human
December 2006

1. Perspectives on the roots of religion in human behavior

2. Moral development theory

3. Ethical theories and problems

4. Family values, human sexuality, and gender identity

5. Theories of counseling

Year One

Session Three: Humanist Ideas in World Religions
April 2007

1. Early Religions – Myth, cosmos, and connection; what is it to be human?

2. Hinduism – Epistemology; what is reality? How do we know?

3. Buddhism – Ethics and non-violence; what is the right path?

4. Judaism – Practice and covenant; what is community?

5. Islam – Al-Andalus; what does tolerance mean?

6. Christianity – the demographic challenge

Year Two

Session Four: Leadership
August 2007

1. Media awareness: presentation by media consultant

2. Public speaking I; principles, brief exercises

3. Leadership theory and practice I

4. Leadership theory and practice II

5. Systems theory I

6. Systems theory II, including role plays

7. Administration as realization of human intention and moral enterprise

8. Authenticity; professional ethics, personal integrity

9. Marketing; humanism as good news, elevator speeches

10. Public speaking II, presentations

Year Two

Session Five: Critical Thinking
December 2007

1. What do you mean, “What do you mean?”

2. Reason, logic(s), and their use and abuse

3. Probability, likelihood, and reasonableness

4. How do you know you know?

5. Truths, truth, facts, and reality

6. Theories and philosophies of religion

Year Two

Session Six: Science, Methods and Uses
April 2008

1. Historical and conceptual interrelations of science, religion, and humanism

2. Observation, description, classification, explanation

3. Scientific methods – what scientists do and why and how they do it

4. Science and technology of the inanimate world

5. Science and technology of the living world

Year Three

Session Seven: Contemporary Culture
August 2008

1. Postmodernism, ethics in discourse and leadership

2. Civil liberties and religious freedom

3. Philosophies of government, democracy

4. War and peace, the problem of non-violence

5. Cultures of privilege and oppression; feminism

6. Cultures of privilege and oppression; racism

7. Environmental issues

8. Globalization and ethnic issues

9. Just economics and effective politics

10. Prophecy as leadership

Year Three

Session Eight: Aesthetics
December 2008

1. Creativity and being human

2. Drama and social structure, art as protest

3. Philosophy of art in the humanist tradition

4. Personal aesthetic practices

5. Ritual as art form, theory and practice

Year Three

Session Nine: Celebration
April 2009

1. Life cycle events

2. Ritual authority

3. Community gatherings and public events

4. Graduation

5. Projects, evaluation, and commitment to leadership

Resources

Many of the readings are on the Internet, and all students should be online. In addition to accessing those readings from the Institute's web site, students can participate in ongoing discussions with their classes and mentors through email.

Library

A valuable collection of literature concerning religion and philosophy is available to Institute students and faculty through the generosity of the Joseph L. Blau family. Now housed within the Institute Library at the Center for Inquiry in Amherst, New York, these materials can be accessed via OCLC indexing and interlibrary loan. Blau, a former member of the Institute faculty, was professor of religion at Columbia University and a leader in the American Ethical Union, whose library was given to the Institute at his death. The Robert B. Tapp library, focusing on comparative religion and sociology of religion, is also housed at the Center.

Mentors

Every entering class of students is assigned a mentor or mentors selected from the faculty. The mentors serve as counselors, resources, consultants, and guides for the three-year period.

Participants

Faculty and students have typically been involved in the following organizations and movements: American Ethical Union, American Humanist Association, American Rationalist Association, Council on Secular Humanism, The Center for Inquiry, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Friends of Religious Humanism, Humanist Society of Friends, Society for Humanistic Judaism, Unitarian Universalist Association.

Faculty

Faculty members are nominated by the Dean from academic scholars and community leaders who, by training or experience, can offer advanced instruction to the students of the Institute. Other officers of instruction are named by the Board of Governors on recommendation of the Deans.

Admissions

Students applying for admission will ordinarily have earned at least an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university, must present evidence of leadership activity (or prospective interest) in a humanist organization or humanist program, and must demonstrate interest in relevant humanist concerns in the fields of ethics, philosophy, and religion.

The admissions committee will review all applications for admission and may, where possible and desirable, require a personal interview.

Applications for admission must be submitted by personal letter stating the applicant's experience, career goals, and prior education. A resumé outlining the above information and a one-page statement of the applicant's philosophy must be attached. At least three references (name, address, telephone, relationship to applicant) should be included. Appropriate publications and other documentary evidence may also be included in the application. The admissions committee will evaluate the application. Its judgment shall be final.

Letters of application, together with supporting materials should be sent to:

An application fee of $25.00 U.S. (non-refundable) should be included.

A copy of the application form in PDF is available here. (The free Adobe Acrobat reader can be used to read PDF files.) If you cannot read this file, please call or write for a form.

Professional humanist leaders are invited to participate in The Humanist Institute's program. They should request admission by personal letter to the Program Administrator.

Tuition and Fees

A tuition fee of $450 will be charged for each weekend session. A tuition of $850 will be charged for the summer session. While tuition is meant to cover books, room and board, staff support, and some of the operating overhead, it does not meet the expenses of running the Institute. Students should be aware that we depend on contributions from our Humanist Institute Associates to sustain the development of our programs. There are no deductions in tuition for required books already owned, boarding at home or with friends or relatives, or taking meals elsewhere.

Funding

Some students, while meeting some of their costs, will need grants-in-aid. These applicants are encouraged first to seek scholarship aid from their local and national groups. The Institute will make every effort to provide grants-in-aid for qualified students. Extended payment plans can be arranged.

Humanist Continuing Education

The Humanist Institute is committed to the education of adults throughout North America in the principles and practices of humanism. Organizations or groups interested in the curriculum of The Humanist Institute can arrange for short courses on one or more of the following themes:

• History of Humanism
• Roots and Evolution of Humanism
• Humanist Principles and Practices
• Thinking and Living as a Humanist
• Heroes and Heroines of Humanism
• Humanism's Allies in Social Reconstruction
• Moral Education and Humanist Communities
• Humanism in a Globalizing World

Other seminar topics may be selected from the courses of the Institute. Arrangements should be made through the Dean. The Humanist Institute will assign faculty for this purpose. The courses will be held in the geographical area where the group or organization is headquartered.

Location

The headquarters of the The Humanist Institute is the Meeting House of the New York Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY 10023. As an international institution, from time to time courses and seminars are scheduled in other suitable locations around North America.

History

In August 1982, forty-five humanist leaders gathered at the University of Chicago to form the North American Committee for Humanism. This new alliance was a response to the urgent need to defend humanism against the assaults of its adversaries and to find an effective way to bring the message of humanism to a wider public. At this meeting the committee voted to establish the The Humanist Institute. Since that time, twelve classes have graduated from the program, providing 100 skilled leaders to the humanist community and the larger world.

Governance

The Institute is governed by a Board of Directors, which is responsible for its educational policies and for securing the resources necessary for conducting its program. The Institute is administered by the Deans.

Support

While tuition is meant to cover books, room and board, staff support, and some of the operating overhead, it does not meet the entire expense of running the Institute. We depend on contributions from our Humanist Institute Associates and other generous friends to sustain the development of our programs. Humanists throughout North America are encouraged to support the future of humanism by contributing directly to The Humanist Institute.

Humanist communities and individual supporters who wish to establish one or more scholarships are invited to do so. Contributions are tax deductible. If you would like to know more about how your generosity can help to ensure the future of humanism through the Humanist Institute, we invite you to notify our Administrator. A member of the Institute Board of Directors will be in touch with you promptly.

Immediate contributions may be made payable to:

The Humanist Institute shall admit students of any age, gender, race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, race, color, national, or ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and other school administered programs.