Criminal Justice-Humanities Connections

FAIN: AKA-265738-19

Bergen Community College (Paramus, NJ 07652-1504)
Eileen Fitzgerald (Project Director: October 2018 to present)
Richard Kuiters (Co Project Director: April 2019 to present)

The development of a new community college program connecting the humanities and criminal justice.

Next year marks the 60th anniversary of C. P. Snow’s notable essay “Two Cultures,” in which he laments the divide between vita activa and vita contemplativa, the active life of a scientist and the contemplative life of a humanist. The Division of Humanities at Bergen Community College seeks to accomplish what Snow and many others have advocated: to advance society by bridging activa and contemplativa. Through the interdisciplinary efforts of the Criminal Justice and Humanities departments at the College, courses integrating the content, competencies, and methodologies of the humanities and criminal justice will foster a future law enforcement that has a greater understanding of the narratives of the communities they serve and with stronger critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills.