Rooted: Integrated Humanities and Agriculture

FAIN: AKB-285718-22

Morningside University (Sioux City, IA 51106-1717)
Leslie Werden (Project Director: September 2021 to present)

A three-year project to implement an agricultural humanities minor.

Morningside University will use NEH funding to implement the Rooted: Integrated Humanities and Agriculture project to establish an agricultural humanities minor. This minor will focus on the interrelation of humanistic inquiry with agriculture and food studies and will be part of a new agricultural and humanities pathway. The university is located in Siouxland, the crossroads of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, where supplying the nation with food has been woven into the rural fabric for generations. Therefore, a central tenet of the minor will be a humanities-based exploration of rurality—what it means to live close to the land in rural communities and on working farms. Rooted will be relevant to the realities of the lives of rural students, and will use a place-based pedagogical framework that recognizes that students learn best when the knowledge they acquire in their courses is directly connected to the way of life, background, and culture that roots them to their physical homes.

Associated Products

Rooted: Integrated Humanities and Agriculture (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Rooted: Integrated Humanities and Agriculture
Author: Leslie Werden
Author: Thomas Paulsen
Author: Elizabeth Coody
Author: Jessica Pleuss
Abstract: This session will present insights from an NEH Grant in process that created an Agricultural Humanities (AgH) minor focusing on the interrelation of humanistic inquiry and agriculture and food studies. Presenters will discuss their roles in writing the grant, creating and/or revising courses, promoting and recruiting students, developing a community- and alumni-engaged book club, conducting faculty development workshops, and assessing the success of the new minor. Agriculture is a way of life for many Morningside University students; about 40% of students come from rural areas. The University is located in Siouxland, the crossroads of Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, where supplying the nation with food has been woven into the rural fabric for generations. A central tenet of the AgH minor is a humanities-based exploration of rurality—what it means to live close to the land in rural communities and on working farms. It is critical that our project be relevant to the realities of the lives of rural students, so the minor was developed as place-based, both to develop student interests in humanistic inquiry and to fulfill Morningside’s mission, which is to “cultivate a passion for lifelong learning and a dedication to ethical leadership and civic responsibility.” Place-based education is a curricular and instructional approach that “ground[s] learning in local phenomena and students’ lived experiences” (Smith, 2002). A place-based pedagogical framework recognizes that students learn best when the knowledge they acquire in their courses is directly connected to the way of life, background, and culture that roots them to their physical homes (Knapp, 2005). Our project uses place-based education to accomplish five primary goals: 1) Provide cultural studies in which students use local culture or historical phenomena as the guiding focus; 2) Include investigations of nature with an emphasis on local ecology; 3) Tackle real-world problems and community issues, promoting
Date: 10/27/2023
Primary URL: https://nhalliance.org/past-events/nhc23/
Primary URL Description: 2023 National Humanities Alliance Conference Site
Conference Name: National Humanities Alliance

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