Despite the fact that many learners are attracted to the humanities and liberal arts, community college students--particularly those from low-income backgrounds--are often advised to avoid those subjects in favor of STEM-related courses like information technology, health care, and engineering. The reason is clear: unless students have had…

In Native contexts, art has an existential importance for preserving and perpetuating both communal and individual identity and wholeness, which is qualitatively different from art's more marginalized place in modern Western capitalist societies. As such, art in all its forms is understood in an educational context, such as the Navajo Nation's…

The Humanities to Career initiative is grounded in the belief that the study of the humanities/liberal arts (HLA) can be an asset in preparation for technical and professional careers. Lorain County Community College, in Elyria, Ohio; Bunker Hill Community College, in Boston; and Northern Virginia Community College, located outside of Washington,…

Despite declines in the number of liberal arts bachelor's degrees awarded by four-year colleges, the growth in liberal arts at community colleges has made up the difference, countering a national narrative that the field is in crisis. As designated by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, the liberal arts cover a range of…

"The Teaching Archive" shows us a series of major literary thinkers in a place we seldom remember them inhabiting: the classroom. Rachel Sagner Buurma and Laura Heffernan open up "the teaching archive"--the syllabuses, course descriptions, lecture notes, and class assignments--of critics and scholars including T. S. Eliot,…

The Association of Departments of English (ADE) Ad Hoc Committee on English Majors' Career Preparation and Outcomes was charged with reporting on career outcomes for English majors and minors; gathering case studies and other forms of evidence of departments' effective strategies and curricular innovations for working with students on career…

In fall 2015, U.S community colleges enrolled about 7.2 million for-credit students. During the same year, community colleges awarded 806,766 associate degrees and 516,820 certificates. The new Humanities Indicators report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences shows a significant increase in associate degrees awarded in the humanities,…

Does America needs more welders and fewer philosophers? Community college humanities professors and administrators say it benefits all students, whether liberal arts or career track, to take courses in philosophy, history, political science, language arts, and other liberal arts subjects. And they're developing innovative humanities curricula to…

With flexibility and humor, it is (often) possible to bridge the gap between the lofty goals of the typical humanities syllabus and the expectations of current nontraditional students.

Though 80 percent of the 1.1 million community college students who enroll each year intend to transfer and earn a bachelor's degree, only about 14 percent of them end up getting a bachelor's degree within six years, according to a 2016 report from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University's Teachers College. Across the nation,…

This chapter describes a diversity and democracy curriculum and faculty development collaboration among the Association of American Colleges and Universities, The Democracy Commitment, and 10 community colleges.

In this article, the author shares how she designs fun and fascinating western humanities courses at a community college in Minnesota. Using the example provided by many excellent past instructors, and through numerous late-night research sessions, she began to develop techniques and exercises that would help her achieve her goals in the…

Enrolling in an introductory course in psychology is a staple of many community college students' core curriculum. For those students who plan to pursue social science and humanities-related majors in particular, introductory psychology helps provide a solid base upon which future coursework at all academic levels will be built. The goal of any…

In this article, the authors discuss contemporary challenges. David Berry offers advice on teaching the humanities at a community college; Gerald Graff examines how the traditional organization of universities undermines student learning; and Cary Nelson considers the effects on the humanities of the increasing reliance on contingent faculty.

Americans increasingly are looking to community colleges to solve some of the most pressing problems facing this country--not necessarily a surprising revelation. Community colleges have long been in the business of making communities stronger and more vibrant, minimizing economic and social inequities, and instilling hope in those who need it…