Project News

These are most precarious times. COVID-19 has turned our lives upside down. Almost everything we know has changed in a matter of weeks, including how we interact with others. But does that mean we should unlearn what’s important, including how we show our humanity to each other at such a crucial time?

ASU Project Humanities Founder and Director Dr. Neal Lester, an Ahwatukee resident, was recently recognized with two awards for his leadership and community service.

Parents need strong social support because poor parenting not only damages children, but also leads to negative consequences for the larger community, according to a panel of experts who spoke at an Arizona State University event on Thursday.

ASU Project Humanities Founder and Director Dr.Neal Lester, an Ahwatukee resident, was recently recognized with two awards for his leadership and community service.

Once the coronavirus outbreak morphed from a slightly alarming news story into THE news story, the ONLY news story, I asked Neal Lester if COVID-19 concerns had dramatically impacted his usual schedule.

ASU Project Humanities/Service Saturdays, the outreach program to distribute needed clothes, shoes, and hygiene items to homeless individuals will suspend services immediately stated the programs architect Dr. Neal Lester in a written communication to the many volunteers knows as ambassadors of goodwill.

Soccer coach Ron Jans and racism? The Netherlands is hard to imagine, but in America the term he used is more than a word. 

That has a historical reason. For centuries, black Americans were dehumanized by white countrymen with that n-word. It was intended to put them inferior, and was often accompanied by brutal violence. ,, This word can have such a deep, almost physical impact on people. It is so permeated with violence, with negative history, with the dehumanization of brown and black people, "describes Neal Lester, an English professor at Arizona State University who is researching the n-word. "Too many people think that if you sing or quote a song, you can."

Neal A. Lester has always looked beyond his classroom walls, beyond disciplinary definitions, to exemplify the importance of the humanities.