The biggest issues facing us today have deep historical roots. Solving them requires understanding cultural, linguistic, racial, gender, class, sexuality and other differences. The public humanities--connecting the qualitative study of the human experience to diverse publics--provides the scholarly knowledge base and the skills to work with communities across difference.Learning Goal 1: Train scholars in the theory and methodology of the interdisciplinary study of American culture and develop research skills enabling them to draw upon, and eventually contribute to, the collections, archives, and resources of the universities and cultural institutions of the region.Learning Goal 2: Foster new scholarship that contributes to the advancement of understanding of American civilization's heterodox identities, institutions, and cultures.Learning Goal 3: Encourage the original and creative articulation of research and scholarly contributions to diverse audiences, including other scholars in the academy, undergraduate and graduate students, scholars and professionals in cultural institutions in the public sector, and the general public, through a variety of media.