My Year of Marketing for the Humanities

JULIA MARGALIT

On one of my first days as a marketing and social media intern at the Institute for the Humanities, I was armed with a stack of posters and told to take the bus to North Campus to distribute them. Little did my supervisor know that, although I was a senior in LSA, I had avoided taking the bus to North Campus my entire time at Michigan. Posters in hand, I headed to CC Little and boarded the bus heading north. It was surprisingly easier than expected, and I triumphantly returned to the office, almost too embarrassed to share my “success” story.

While interning at the institute, I met artists and scholars, sat in on lectures and heard about thought-provoking topics, and got to see what it takes to run a successful educational organization. For my first social media assignment, I spent time with our Efroymson Emerging Artist in Residence Ruth Leonela Buentello. Hearing about her artistic process and her inspiration for the exhibition was an intimate and eye-opening experience that not many are privy to. As time went on, I had many opportunities to converse with our faculty and graduate student fellows. As an undergraduate, I was wowed by their accomplishments and research. Through these regular interactions, I was inspired to produce social media content that highlighted the compelling scholarly work being conducted at the institute.

Along with my regular social media responsibilities, I also assisted in planning our first-ever Humanities Week with our Undergraduate Engagement Group. Humanities Week will remain one of the most memorable projects of my undergraduate career. Working alongside our Undergraduate Engagement Group, Stephanie Harrell, the institute’s marketing and communications manager, and Cameron, my co-intern, we programmed an entire week of humanities events that would be of interest to undergrad students. There was a lot of discussion about what types of events should be selected, which would be the most popular, and how we would market the project to the student body. Collaborating as a group to achieve this goal brought the Undergrad Engagement Group closer together, and we showed up to our group meetings excited to present ideas, suggest potential speakers, and review drafts of marketing materials. Although Humanities Week abruptly ended as classes went online due to COVID-19, I am proud to say that we produced a dynamic series of humanities-focused events that brought in new undergraduate students, many of whom had never even heard of the Institute for the Humanities.

I am grateful for the opportunity to share the value of the humanities with the undergrad population here at the University of Michigan. Working alongside Stephanie, our curator Amanda Krugliak, and the rest of the institute staff was educational and eye-opening. And it all started with an adventurous bus ride to North Campus.

–Julia Margalit (BA History of Art & Communication and Media, 2020)