We’re excited to introduce Dr. Mary McCartin Wearn, who started as Georgia Humanities’ new president on September 3, 2024. In this interview, she discusses her lifelong love of language and literature, the intersection of the humanities and STEM, and why the humanities matter today.
Why the humanities? How did you come to this career, and what has kept you passionate about it?
I came to a career in the humanities the long way.
I fell in love with language and literature hard and early, fueled by an excellent and eccentric K-12 education. The feisty, young Dominican nuns who taught me refused to peddle in dogma and instead put their faith in their students’ curiosity and wonder. Fostering a true community of learners, the sisters encouraged their students to explore the big questions using the tools of art, literature, history, and moral reasoning. I was hooked.
As a kid from a working-class family, I was not encouraged to pursue the humanities when it came time for college. My very loving parents wanted the best for me, which meant studying a “practical” subject to ensure economic stability. And so I took the scenic route to a career in the humanities, first studying biomedical engineering and then working for a time in medical research. The birth of my first child finally pushed me back to the things I loved. I returned to school to study American literature at the University of Georgia. I was pushing 40 when I earned my doctorate and got my first job in higher education.
One of the things that keeps me jazzed about my work in the humanities is the opportunity to provide access to education and programming to people, like me, who might otherwise encounter socioeconomic barriers. I am thrilled to support Georgia Humanities in its efforts to build broad, public access and engagement.
What do you love about our state?
My family made Georgia home over 30 years ago because of the state’s affordability and great educational and employment opportunities. My children and I have benefited from Georgia’s excellent public universities, and both my husband and kids have careers that flourished in various sectors of the state’s strong tech industry. Georgia has been a great place to build a life.
As a northerner by birth and a southerner by choice, I must also give a shout-out to Georgia’s warm, sunny weather and beautiful landscapes. I love that you can easily drive from the ocean to the mountains and that there is so much green space in between.
Just as the weather is exceptionally warm in Georgia, so, too, are the people. Manners and kindness are indeed very good things, and Georgians seem to have them in abundance. I am a fan.
If someone wanted to take a road trip in Georgia to explore our state’s history and culture, where would you recommend they go and why?
Macon, Georgia, is rich in history, and its art scene has flourished in recent years. The city sometimes flies under the radar as a travel destination, perhaps because it’s wedged between two of the state’s biggest tourist destinations—Atlanta and Savannah. But Macon’s central location makes it an ideal destination, especially if day-tripping across the state. Nicknamed the “Festival City,” Macon has an extensive calendar of art and culture events and is perhaps most famous for its Cherry Blossom Festival, aka the “Pinkest Party on Earth.” The city boasts wonderful museums and historic sites, including the Tubman African American Museum, the Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Rose Hill Cemetery, and the antebellum Hay and Cannonball Houses.
For geeks like me who enjoy diving deep into history, I’d make two specific recommendations for visiting Macon. First, explore Macon’s rich and varied music history with visits to the Otis Redding Museum and the Allman Brothers Big House. Check out Capricorn Sound Studios and Museum and take in a show at the historic Grant’s Lounge—the original home of southern rock.
Finally, the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park is not to be missed by history lovers. This prehistoric indigenous site was the scene of the largest archaeological dig in American history, and it represents more than 12,000 years of continuous habitation by various native peoples. This spring, bipartisan, bicameral federal legislation was put forward to establish Ocmulgee and its surrounding lands as Georgia’s first-ever National Park. Ocmulgee is truly both a state and national treasure.
What’s something about the humanities you think most people don’t know?
While STEM disciplines have historically sought out definitive solutions to problems, the humanities have always valued dialogue and multiple perspectives–rejecting the notion of a single “right” answer and finding additive value in a range of viewpoints. For example, a single piece of literature can be read in numerous ways, each interpretation adding to the richness of understanding rather than negating others. Humanistic inquiry furthermore flourishes in the spaces of paradox and enigma. John Keats famously praised Shakespeare for his ability to operate in the field of “uncertainties” and “mysteries.” F. Scott Fitzgerald posited that “The test of a first-rate intelligence is to hold two opposed ideas at the same time….”
What some people may not realize is that there is now a growing convergence between the humanities and the sciences in their approach to understanding the world. At the end of the nineteenth century, there was a widespread belief that scientific knowledge was nearly complete. However, breakthroughs like Einstein’s theory of relativity and developments in quantum mechanics have demonstrated that science, like the humanities, is an ever-evolving field that must embrace complexity and interconnectedness. While scientists may indeed still hope for definitive solutions, there is growing recognition that some questions may never have simple or final answers. In fact, today’s scientific disciplines increasingly appreciate the nuance and paradox that the humanities have long embraced.
What are you reading now?
I have been reading Rick Rubin’s The Creative Act in fits and starts for a long, long while now. It’s a provocative, wonderfully anti-romantic treatise on the creative impulse that I find best digested in small chunks. On the scholarly side, I’m reading Ellen Malenas Ledoux’s Laboring Mothers: Reproducing Women and Work in the Eighteenth Century. My academic research has been grounded in literary representations of motherhood in nineteenth-century America, and Ledoux’s work provides a fertile counterpoint. Finally, Kaveh Akbar’s novel Martyr! is on the top of my for-pleasure book pile. I listened to the audiobook version over the summer, and it warranted an immediate second read—this time on the page. Martyr! is a wonderfully funny and deeply sad book about art, addiction, grief, love, and hope. Although it tells a very specific story about Iranian immigrants, Martyr! also speaks eloquently of our common human condition.
Anything else you’d like us to know?
It’s no secret that many people are struggling with anxiety in this post-pandemic world—fueled by social polarization, economic pressures, and social media-induced stress. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has announced that the United States is suffering from an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. Young people are especially impacted, with Gen Z recently being dubbed the “loneliest generation.”
The good news is that the means of managing our anxiety and combating loneliness are close at hand. The healing effects of social connection and community are well documented. Slowing down, reconnecting, and simply being human together is the most powerful medicine for what ails us.
I am excited to begin my work for Georgia Humanities at a moment when our contributions to the state are precisely what the doctor ordered. By sharing stories that move us and make us, we shine a light on our common humanity, build community, and broaden understanding among people. Our work has never been more relevant.
