The Rust Belt Humanities Lab at Ursuline College tells the story of our region through the voices of our people. For too long, the narrative of the Rust Belt has been one of emptiness, decay, decline, and vacancy — and often, our stories are neglected in the national sphere or controlled by cultural outsiders. Through acts of storytelling, we pull the Rust Belt into the dynamic present, emphasizing the power of regionally-based storytelling and the importance of uplifting local voices. We think collectively about what it means to read, teach, and think from a rooted positionality. We ask: how do we leverage civically and publicly engaged humanities practices to shape the future of the Rust Belt, identify and contribute to social solutions, and reimagine the role of the humanities within this sphere? How do we read, interpret, and create the texts that define and map our regional experience?
Because much of the United States’ history converges on the Rust Belt, we wanted to tell the story of Cleveland as one that is central to the first 250 years of our national story. Thus, we sought out cartoonist Nate Powell, winner of the National Book Award, as a collaborator to illustrate our vision that Cleveland has been—and will continue to be—central to the American story.
We believe that a vision of the humanities that is grounded in deep, ethical thinking is fundamental to cultivating citizen-scholars and to maintaining our ever-more-fragile democracy. We frame Cleveland as a laboratory of democracy in order to inspire more ethical, just, productive, and positive futures. This work engages in place through acts of what scholar and activist Jesse Hagopian has called “organized remembering.” Storytelling is the key to transformation, and as Clevelanders, we must understand the importance of both imagination and of the world-building power of language, image, and narrative.
The cultural touchstones we have chosen to depict are representative of so many more that we as Clevelanders should claim and reclaim. They reflect pivotal moments when the story of our city shaped that of the nation.
Nate Powell will appear at the upcoming events as part of the Cleveland Humanities Festival: Lunch on Fridays at the Cleveland Institute of Art (Friday, March 20, 12:15–1 :30 PM); Artist in the Atrium at the Cleveland Museum of Art (Saturday, March 21, 11 AM–3 PM); Book Signing at SuperScript Comics and Games (Saturday, March 21, 5–7PM). The events are free and open to the public. An 11×17 print of the poster below, “Cleveland Laboratory of Democracy,” will be available. Powell’s events are sponsored by Ursuline College, the Rust Belt Humanities Lab, the Cleveland Review of Books, the Cleveland Institute of Art, the Cleveland Public Library, the Ohio Center for the Book, the Teagle Foundation, One Cleveland, the Baker Nord Center for the Humanities, and the SuperScript Comics.
– Katharine G. Trostel and Valentino L. Zullo
