Civis Foundation establishes Primus House as a center for Reflective History, located at 21 Meeting Street in the College Hill Historic District in Providence, RI. Opening in 2027, the project will explore the social histories associated with the building over two and a half centuries. Exhibits, programs and scholarship will offer perspective on contemporary issues through the prismatic lens of reflective history.
The practice of reflective history involves revisiting historical events, stories, and lived experiences through a critical prism. A reflective historian looks expansively, uncovering stories that extend in many directions to illuminate deeper meaning.
Civis is particularly interested in those dimensions of reflective history that amplify how self-discovery leads to a fuller awareness of the implicit other, and such awareness—when authentically expressed—reveals a shared responsibility for our individual and interdependent future.
The spaces and programs of Primus House will invite visitors to explore how they understand their community, the nation, and themselves. Do they like what they see? Or does that which is reflected need to change and be transformed for a better future?
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