NJ Council for the Humanities

Food for Thought: Super Power "Moong Daaal" Sandwich Workshop
2025-11-11 18:00 - 18:45 (America/New_York) | Piscataway Public Library – Kennedy Branch, 500 Hoes Ln, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, United States
NJCH is proud to support Piscataway Public Library’s “Food for Thought,” a series of events exploring the cultural and historical significance of food in our lives. This event for ages 8-12 will focus on the protein powerhouse of daals, or lentils.
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Learn about daals or lentils that are powerhouses of protein. Make a delicious lentil spread with fresh Indian spices and dry "masalas" for your sandwich and toss a fresh mung bean salad to complete your tasty meal. Build your body and pack those essential nutrients in one Super Power Sandwich and make a cool, mini pendant to wear or use as a little pendant.
The Food for Thought project was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this event do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
Registration through the library is required via the library website.

COP Meeting: Community College Humanities
2025-11-13 16:00 - 17:15 | https://njhumanities.org/event/cop-meeting-community-college-humanities-2/
NJCH’s Community of Practice for Community College Humanities Professionals will meet virtually on November 13, 2025, from 4:00-5:15 p.m.
We will be talking about the role of the humanities in developing durable skills (also called soft skills) and the rise in micro-credentials, including how these two ideas are shaping the future of community college education.

Not a member? No worries! Join the COP (for free), then log in to view the Zoom meeting info.

Princeton’s Early African American History with Shirley Satterfield
2025-11-13 18:30 - 20:00 | Morven Museum and Garden, 55 Stockton St, Princeton, NJ, 08540, United States
Join Morven Museum & Garden for an engaging presentation about the early history of Princeton’s African American community with Educator and Princeton Historian Shirley Satterfield.
Morven’s newest exhibition, Northern Families, Southern Ties (opening November 6, 2025), explores the complex connections between North and South, and the interstate movement of enslaved people from the late eighteenth century through the Civil War.
How did these larger connections and movements impact Princeton’s Black community?
Educator, Princeton Historian, and Founder of the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society, Shirley Satterfield, will lead an illustrated talk sharing the stories, experiences, and foundational contributions of African Americans in eighteenth and nineteenth century Princeton.
This is a free hybrid event. Attend in person at Morven, or join online via Zoom webinar. Pre-registration is required.
Learn more about the speaker and register to attend at https://www.morven.org/upcoming/princetonblackhistory.

Mahwah Museum Presents: "History of Bergen County Courthouse"
2025-11-13 19:30 - 21:00 | Mahwah Museum, 200 Franklin Tpke, Mahwah, NJ, United States
Mahwah Museum, an NJCH grantee, presents “History of Bergen County Courthouse,” Thursday, November 13, 2025, 7:30-9:00 pm.
Join the Honorable Gregg A. Padovano and Honorable Menelaos W. Toskos for a fascinating virtual tour through the history of the Bergen County Courthouse and intriguing insights into its justice system.
Full information and tickets can be found at https://mahwahmuseum.org/history-of-bergen-county-courthouse/.

Scots Musick for the Wallace House’s 250th Birthday
2025-11-16 16:00 - 17:30 | St. John’s Somerville
The Practitioners of Musick ‘resolve’ the musical ‘bands which have connected’ Scotland, Philadelphia and New Jersey, following John Wallace from Scottish Lowlands to Somerset County through “A Scots Musical Celebration of the Wallace House’s 250th Birthday.”
The Practitioners of Musick survey the musical riches of 17th and 18th-century Great Britain and Ireland and the Colonial and early Federal periods in America. The ensemble recently provided music for free audio tours of Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area exploring the “Retreat Across the Jerseys,” “Ten Crucial Days” and “Road to Morristown.”
Find more information at https://www.facebook.com/events/31434276042855053/.

Mahwah Museum Presents: "The Charles Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping, Murder and Trial"
2025-12-02 19:30 - 21:00 | Mahwah Museum, 200 Franklin Tpke, Mahwah, NJ, United States
Mahwah Museum, an NJCH grantee, presents “The Charles Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping, Murder and Trial” on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.
James Calaski, a historian, speaker, researcher, writer and genealogist, will examine the investigation, trial and analyze the various theories and myths surrounding this fascinating case.
Full information and tickets can be found at https://mahwahmuseum.org/home/events/the-charles-lindbergh-baby-kidnapping-murder-and-trial-2/.

Asbury Park African American Music Project Presents a Holiday Turf Jam
2025-12-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Asbury Park Public Library, 500 1st Ave, Asbury Park, NJ, 07712, United States
Celebrate the holidays with NJCH grantee the Asbury Park African-American Music Project!
Free event at the Asbury Park Library. Lights snacks provided.

Food for Thought: Mango
2025-12-13 11:00 - 12:00 | Piscataway Public Library – Kennedy Branch, 500 Hoes Ln, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, United States
NJCH is proud to support Piscataway Public Library’s “Food for Thought,” a series of events exploring the cultural and historical significance of food in our lives. This event for children ages 4-11 and their families will explore the cultural significance, culinary variety, and sensory wonder of mangoes.
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In this joyful and interactive session, families will explore the cultural significance, culinary variety, and sensory wonder of mangoes—India’s national fruit and one of the most beloved across the world. More than just a fruit, the mango is a story, a memory, a science, and a season.
This program will include sampling of dishes and flavors, as well as the opportunity to make your own Mango Lassi using either organic dairy or plant based yogurt. Registration is required. Please register each child between ages 4 and 11 that will be participating.
The Food for Thought project was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this event do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
Registration through the library is required via the library website.

Ritual4Return Men’s Rite of Passage
2025-12-13 13:00 - 17:00 | New Jersey Performing Arts Center, 1 Center St, Newark, NJ, 07102, United States
All are invited to attend and participate in the Men’s Rite of Passage for members of the Ritual4Return 2025 Fall Cohort.
Ritual4Return, supported by multiple NJCH grants, is a 14-week course through which returning citizens engage with and explore the many aspects of their own experiences getting into, through, and out of prison.
Reading from a wide variety of source materials and then trying to understand them through dialogue, writing, movement exercises, and theatrical devising techniques, participants explore — individually and collectively — themes like Home, Sin, Judgement, Punishment, Exile, Bondage, Trauma, Grief, Freedom, Repair, Forgiveness, Justice, and Homecoming.
The process culminates with a one-time-only public ritual marking and celebrating the end of incarceration and the beginning of an individual’s new identity within the community. This rite of passage is the centerpiece of a one-day gathering that aims to extend the conversation to family members, loved ones, and other community stakeholders who care about the impacts of incarceration.
Ritual Schedule

12:30 pm Doors Open
1:00pm Pre-ritual Audience Workshop
3:00pm Ritual4Return
5:00 Community Dinner

Ticket information will be available soon.
Ritual4Return was awarded the 2024 Stanley N. Katz Prize for Excellence in Public Humanities. Read more about the program and award at https://njhumanities.org/katz-prize-2024/.

Food for Thought: Dosa & Dips: A Taste of India!
2025-12-13 14:00 - 15:00 | Piscataway Public Library – Westergard Library, 20 Murray Avenue, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, United States
NJCH is proud to support Piscataway Public Library’s “Food for Thought,” a series of events exploring the cultural and historical significance of food in our lives. This event for teens ages 12-18 will explore how delicious Dosas are made.
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Join us for a hands-on culinary experience where teens will learn how delicious Dosas are made — thin, crispy savory pancakes from Southern India — along with a variety of flavorful chutneys/dips! From spicy tomato to cooling coconut and mint, we’ll explore how taste, texture, and ingredients come together in this vibrant food tradition.
This session will also draw fun connections between dosas and global favorites like crepes and pancakes — and we’ll discover how this ancient fermented dish supports gut health, making it a smart (and tasty!) choice for today’s fast-paced life.
The Food for Thought project was made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this event do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
Registration through the library is required via the library website.

Mahwah Museum Presents "The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Early American Women and Their Kitchen Gardens"
2025-12-14 14:00 - 15:00 | Mahwah Museum, 200 Franklin Tpke, Mahwah, NJ, United States
Mahwah Museum, an NJCH grantee, presents “The Real Housewives of New Jersey: Early American Women and Their Kitchen Gardens” on Sunday, December 14, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
Presented by Garden historian, writer, and 50-year veteran of working in public gardens Lesley Parness, the event will examine the horticultural and culinary abilities of the 18th-century “huswife.”
Full information and tickets can be found at https://mahwahmuseum.org/the-real-housewives-of-new-jersey-early-american-women-and-their-kitchen-gardens/.

Author Talk: Bob Crawford on "America’s Founding Son"
2026-03-14 16:00 | Labyrinth Books, 122 Nassau St, Princeton, NJ, 08542, United States
Join the New Jersey Council for the Humanities for a special conversation between musician, historian, and author Bob Crawford and Sean Wilentz, the George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History at Princeton University. The discussion will center on Crawford’s new book, America’s Founding Son: John Quincy Adams, from President to Political Maverick.
Best known as the bassist for the Grammy-nominated band The Avett Brothers, Crawford brings his storytelling sensibility from the hit podcasts The Road to Now and Founding Son: John Quincy’s America to this accessible and engaging biography of John Quincy Adams, America’s original political maverick and one of the nation’s most consequential public servants.
Set during the turbulent decades between the Founding and the Civil War, America’s Founding Son traces Adams’s evolution on slavery and his unlikely emergence as a champion of the antislavery cause.
Registration details will be announced soon. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m. Mark your calendars for this exciting event!
