Skip to content
Contact Us
Stories

Boston Becomes Experiential Learning Lab in Northeastern Humanities Institute

What was Boston’s role in the slave trade? If you took a tour of the city, how would you know?

The answer might surprise you: A single plaque at the end of the Long Wharf memorializes Boston’s place in the Middle Passage. 

The understated memorial is a testament to “how bad of a job we do noting that slave ships landed in the Seaport area and brought thousands of slaves in the United States,” says Serena Parekh, professor of philosophy at Northeastern’s College of Social Sciences and the Humanities. “I had no idea even though I’ve lived here for 22 years now.”

The monument became an important symbol for scholars who took a tour of the city this month as part of the three-week Engaging Geography in the Humanities Institute. 

Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and held on Northeastern’s Boston campus, the Institute brought together 25 scholars from across the country for presentations, excursions in the Boston area and hands-on workshops. The goal was to teach scholars who study history, philosophy, literature and other humanities disciplines how to integrate geography and ideas of space into their teaching and research, using the city of Boston itself as a case study.

Read more on News @ Northeastern.

More Stories

Lisa McCleod wins CSSH Outstanding Teaching Award

04.11.2023

Katie Creel wins 2023 Herbert A. Simon Award

03.23.2023
Image shows Professor Jung Lee in a suit.

Jung Lee wins 2023 John Portz Faculty Excellence Award

04.11.23
Faculty News