From Inquiry to Innovation: Integrating the Humanities into General Education

FAIN: AC-50070-09

CUNY Research Foundation, Hostos Community College (Bronx, NY 10451-5323)
Gregory Angelo Marks (Project Director: January 2009 to June 2011)

A project to develop an introductory course for freshmen and a capstone course for graduating seniors, both courses centering on the theme "Conflict and Dialogue."

This project is a one-year, interdisciplinary, multi-campus initiative that will bring together faculty participants from across the City University of New York system. Its goal is to help faculty study the humanities to develop curricula and syllabi that will unify the student experience, especially through modeling freshman inquiry and capstone courses centered around the theme of "conflict and dialogue." A four-day seminar in summer 2009 will help frame the challenges of teaching substantial humanities texts. A speaker series in fall 2009 and spring 2010 will present scholars reflecting on the theme through the lens of their disciplines. Finally, a three-day seminar in May 2010 will assist faculty to frame specific freshman or capstone courses. The end of this initiative is to ensure student success from matriculation through graduation; it will do so by helping faculty become more effective teachers of the substantial issues in the humanities, and in life.