The Cultural Understanding and Tolerance Initiative

FAIN: CZ-50347-14

Seminole Community College (Sanford, FL 32773-6199)
Kevin Konecny (Project Director: February 2013 to February 2015)
Laura O. Ross (Project Director: February 2015 to August 2015)
AnneLiese Busch (Project Director: August 2015 to June 2016)
Steven de Zwart (Project Director: June 2016 to present)

Endowment for acquisitions and study abroad, a spend-down fund for a speaker series, curriculum development, exhibits, cultural service learning activities, and study abroad, as well as fundraising expenses.

To maximize impact on today's community college students, Humanities-related curricular and co-curricular content needs to address: (1) intersectionality, the examination of how categories of identity and structures of inequality are mutually constituted and need to continually be understood in relationship to one another; and (2) transnationalism, which focuses on cultures, structures, and relationships that are formed as a result of the flows of people and resources across geopolitical borders. Seminole State is seeking $100,000 in endowment and spend-down funding from NEH to establish a collegewide Cultural Understanding and Tolerance Initiative, which will take the integration of “culture” to deeper levels, offering students exposure to timely, contextual learning experiences atypical of the community college experience.

Associated Products

Sandra Cisneros: A House of My Own (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Sandra Cisneros: A House of My Own
Abstract: In observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the Faculty Advisory Committee hosted Chicana poet and novelist, Sandra Cisneros, best known for her debut novel, The House on Mango Street. In preparation for her visit, the Faculty Advisory Committee allocated NEH funds to purchase a selection of Cisneros’s works. Faculty assigned these texts in designated English, Spanish, history, and humanities courses. These students later had the opportunity to meet Cisneros and discuss her work in small class settings. Cisneros also delivered a lecture for the broader community, in which she reflected on selections from her recent memoir, A House of My Own, and fielded questions from the audience. NEH Challenge Grant funds provided for the costs of printing, transportation, hotel, and speaker fees. Grant funds also paid for bi-lingual advertisement in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper and through our local public radio station, WMFE. We also collaborated with the Seminole State Speakers Series in hosting a reception and book signing funded by the Central Florida Educators (CFE) Credit Union. The event was successful in garnering a large, diverse audience that enhanced the profile of the college as well as the supportive efforts of the NEH. Attendance: over 300 people
Author: Sandra Cisneros
Date: 10/3/2016
Location: Seminole State College

Heads of Households, Heads of States: Rethinking Latin American Womanhood (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Heads of Households, Heads of States: Rethinking Latin American Womanhood
Abstract: Dr. Resende from the Latin American Studies program at University of Florida spoke to students on this date and at a previous talk on November 2016 on gender and marianismo in Latinx culture. Each talk had approximately 30 attendees.
Author: Rosana Resende
Date: 03/01/2017
Location: Seminole State College

The Legacy of Matthew Shepard (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: The Legacy of Matthew Shepard
Abstract: Judy Shepard, activist for LGBT awareness and mother of Matthew Shepard (killed in an anti-gay hate crime), discussed the importance of tolerance in a community to an audience of over 200 open to the public on SSC campus.
Author: Judy Shepard
Date: 03/27/2019
Location: Seminole State College

Panel Discussion of The Committee film on the Johns Committee (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Panel Discussion of The Committee film on the Johns Committee
Abstract: Screening of The Committee and community discussion with a panel including the filmmakers Lisa Mills and Robert Cassanello, historian Judith Poucher who experienced the Johns Committee persecution firsthand, and attorney Mary Meeks, 60 students, faculty, staff, and community members
Author: Lisa Mills
Author: Judith Poucher
Author: Robert Cassanello
Author: Mary Meeks
Date: 03/13/2019
Location: Seminole State College

Afrofantastic: An Overview of Afrofuturism Speaker Program (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Afrofantastic: An Overview of Afrofuturism Speaker Program
Abstract: • “Afrofantastic: An Overview of Afrofuturism” was a five-part program open to faculty, staff, and students with guest presentations from the following speakers: • “Aesthetics” by Professor Stacey Robinson, an assistant professor of Graphic Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and former Schomburg fellow. March 18th, 2021, 7 p.m. • “Gender” by Dr. Kinitra Brooks, the Audrey and John Leslie Endowed Chair in Literary Studies in the Department of English at Michigan State University. Dr. Brooks specializes in the study of black women, genre fiction, and popular culture. March 23rd, 2021, 7 p.m. • “Politics” by Dr. Alex Zamalin, Director of the African American Studies Program and Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Detroit Mercy. His areas of expertise include African American political thought, American politics, and political theory. March 25th, 2021, 7 p.m. • “Sound” by Dr. Tobias C Van Veen, Visiting Scholar at the ReImagining Value Action Lab at Lakehead University, and a Visiting Professor in Humanities at Quest University. March 30th, 2021 7 p.m. • “Social Science” by Dr. Stanford Carpenter, a Cultural Anthropologist who conducts ethnographic research with an archaeological sensibility while using comics, memes, and the spoken word. April 1st, 2021, 7 p.m.
Author: Kinitra Brooks
Author: Stacey Robinson
Author: Alex Zamalin
Author: Tobias Van Veen
Author: Stanford Carpenter
Date: 03/18/2021
Location: Zoom

From Shakespeare to RuPaul: The History of Drag (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: From Shakespeare to RuPaul: The History of Drag
Abstract: On April 9 and 11, 2019, University of Central Florida professor Dan Jones hosted open talks for students and the public on the history of drag. Attended by 115 students
Author: Dan Jones
Date: 04/09/2019
Location: Seminole State College

Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America's Coastal Slave Trade (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America's Coastal Slave Trade
Abstract: Historian Jeffrey Kerr-Ritchie spoke to students and faculty about the illegal slave trade and new research based on his book Rebellious Passage: The Creole Revolt and America's Coastal Slave Trade. Estimated 60 students, faculty, and staff in attendance.
Author: Jeffrey Kerr-Ritchie
Date: 09/26/2019
Location: Seminole State College

Recovering Lost Narratives: A History of LGBTQ+ Literature (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Recovering Lost Narratives: A History of LGBTQ+ Literature
Abstract: Guest speaker Dr. Brandy Wilson spoke to students twice about recovering and reclaiming LGBT narratives and writers in literary history. This event drew over one hundred students and faculty: Wilson is Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Mississippi University for Women:112 students, faculty and staff
Author: Brandy Wilson
Date: 10/16/2019
Location: Seminole State College

Feminism with a Southern Accent” Southerners Confront the ‘Woman Question’ (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Feminism with a Southern Accent” Southerners Confront the ‘Woman Question’
Abstract: Presentation for students, faculty, and staff on the movement for women's voting rights in the Southern United States. “Feminism with a Southern Accent” Southerners Confront the ‘Woman Question’” by Dr. Anastasia Sims Professor Emerita of History at Georgia Southern University. Recorded and archived.
Author: Anastasia Sims
Date: 04/09/2020
Location: Zoom

Afro-Mexican Identity and the National Museum of Mexican Arts Past Exhibits (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Afro-Mexican Identity and the National Museum of Mexican Arts Past Exhibits
Abstract: Curator talk with Cesáreo Moreno from the National Museum of Mexican Art. His talk addressed diversity in the Mexican identity “Sin Fronteras” with special emphasis on African culture. He also addressed the role of museums in shaping identity. Friday, January 22, 2021.
Author: Cesareo Moreno
Date: 01/22/2021
Location: Zoom

Were the Greeks Gay? Same Sex Love in Ancient Greek Art (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Were the Greeks Gay? Same Sex Love in Ancient Greek Art
Abstract: Dr. Andrew Lear spoke to students, faculty, staff, and the public about same-sex eroticism in Greek art (particularly vase paintings) and what it says about Greek identity and sexuality.
Author: Andrew Lear
Date: 02/05/2021
Location: Zoom

Common Ground at Albuquerque Museum: Considerations in Diversity, Collecting, and Curating (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Common Ground at Albuquerque Museum: Considerations in Diversity, Collecting, and Curating
Abstract: Curator talk with Josie Lopez from the Albuquerque Museum of Art: “Common Ground at Albuquerque Museum: Considerations in Diversity, Collecting, and Curating,” Friday February 26, 2021. Lopez discussed the recent Common Ground exhibit and how it reflects the museum's unique collecting policies designed to reflect the diverse population of New Mexico in the museum's holdings.
Author: Josie Lopez
Date: 02/26/2021
Location: Zoom

Faculty Lessons Plans on Women in Art and History (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Faculty Lessons Plans on Women in Art and History
Author: SSC Humanities Faculty
Abstract: Trip to Washington DC to study women in history and humanities. Tailored curator-tours of the National Museum of Women in the Arts (the only museum focusing solely on women in art) and the Sewall-Belmont House & Museum (the National Women’s Party’s former headquarters and now a museum dedicated to the party’s history and the history of the American movement for women’s suffrage). Specific artists in the National Museum of Women in the Arts included Frida Kahlo, Remedios Varo, and Graciela Iturbide. They completed lesson plans on this new curriculum material from their trip and presented the lesson plans to the SSC Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning on their return.
Year: 2015
Audience: Undergraduate

Faculty Service-Learning Course (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Faculty Service-Learning Course
Author: Marisabel Irizarry
Abstract: Faculty-led service learning trip to Peru designed to increase student understanding of different languages, history, literature, and cultures. The trip included a service learning component. Students visited and participated with an NGO called Corazones por el Peru (Hearts for Peru) which runs a local school, orphanage, organic garden, and daycare center. Our students also spent two days at the rural community of Luquina Chico near Lake Titicaca. The students did home stays with families from the community. They volunteered at the local school and taught lessons as well as donating school materials they collected.
Year: 2016
Audience: Undergraduate

Faculty Lesson Plans on Mexican History and Art (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Faculty Lesson Plans on Mexican History and Art
Author: SSC Humanities Faculty
Abstract: • July 20-24: Faculty Mexico City trip designed to be as interdisciplinary as possible. On the first day, faculty visited Chapultepec Castle National Museum of History, Museo Frida Kahlo, Museo Leon Trotsky, Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo, and Xochimilco. On the second day, faculty visited the Basilica of Guadalupe, the archaeological complex located at the city of Teotihuacan, and the National Museum of Anthropology. On the third day, faculty visited the Templo Mayor archaeological site and museum, the National Palace, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Museo Mural Diego Rivera feature his famous mural of Alameda Park, and the Museum of Modern Art. This wide-ranging itinerary included topics related to history, archaeology, politics, art, and popular culture. Upon their return, faculty collaborated on a presentation at the SSC Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning of their findings and some preliminary lesson plans.
Year: 2016
Audience: Undergraduate

Faculty Lesson Plans on African American History and Culture (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Faculty Lesson Plans on African American History and Culture
Author: SSC Humanities Faculty
Abstract: • April 5-9: Faculty travel to New York City: African American cultural history of New York itself as well as the city’s diverse collections of black cultural expression in general. Works of Harlem Renaissance artists are on display at Metropolitan Museum of Art, and faculty explored the DC Moore Gallery’s exhibition “Romare Bearden: Bayou Fever and Related Works.” The Whitney holds a broad collection of contemporary works, noteworthy in generating dialog about race, sex, and their intersectionality. Faculty also had the opportunity to analyze and appreciate a performance by the Stanley Clarke Band at the Blue Note Jazz Club. A daylong excursion in Harlem yielded significant insight from collections at the Schomburg Center, the Harlem Studio Museum, the National Jazz Museum, the Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Center, and the Folk Art Museum. The final day of research focused on the collections of Kehinde Wiley and Kara Walker at the Brooklyn Museum. Faculty also explored the Weeksville Heritage Center to learn more about this early free black community. They completed lesson plans on this new curriculum material from their trip and presented the lesson plans to the SSC Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning on their return.
Year: 2017
Audience: Undergraduate

Faculty Lessons Plans on Asian and African American Arts and History (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Faculty Lessons Plans on Asian and African American Arts and History
Author: SSC Humanities Faculty
Abstract: • March 14-18: Faculty travelled to Washington, D.C. to build curriculum wrapping up the study of African American culture and history while also beginning for the coming year of study focused on Asian and Asian American history and culture. The National Museum of Women in the Arts had a critical exhibit on women in Asian American art featuring Hung Liu. Faculty also toured the Sackler and Freer Gallery to encounter Asian art exhibits there. They visited the National Gallery and the American Art Museum for works of both Asian and African American artists. Of particular interest were the special exhibit on Outliers and American Vanguard Art at the National Gallery and the newly released portraits by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald of the President and First Lady at that time. Faculty toured the MLK Memorial, the new National Museum of African American History, and National Museum of African Arts as well. They completed lesson plans on this new curriculum material from their trip and presented the lesson plans to the SSC Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning on their return.
Year: 2018
Audience: Undergraduate

Faculty Lesson Plans on Asian American History and Culture (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Faculty Lesson Plans on Asian American History and Culture
Author: SSC Humanities Faculty
Abstract: • June 4-10 Faculty travelled to San Francisco to study Asian American culture and history. They toured the Asian Art Museum, Chinatown tour (including the Tin How Temple), Japantown, the Japanese Tea Gardens, and Ruth Asawa’s examples of public art throughout the city. The Catherine Clark Gallery arranged a private tour of their holdings of Masami Teraoka works, and faculty encountered other Asian American artists on display at the SFMOMA. Critical trips to the immigrant detention center at Angel Island (the “Ellis Island of the West”) with its moving poetry on the dormitory walls and road trip out to the former Japanese internment camp at Manzanar transformed understandings of Asian American history. They completed lesson plans on this new curriculum material from their trip and presented the lesson plans to the SSC Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning on their return.
Year: 2018
Audience: Undergraduate

Faculty Lessons Plans on LGBT History and Culture (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Faculty Lessons Plans on LGBT History and Culture
Author: SSC Humanities Faculty
Abstract: • February 15-17: Faculty Development trip to Miami. The Faculty Advisory Committee also organized three curriculum development projects. The first was a screening of the documentary Check It for the Humanities department faculty. This screening was followed by a group discussion on the lack of diversity in media representations of the LGBTQ community and opportunities to incorporate more diversity into this aspect of the curriculum. For the second program, six faculty members travelled to Miami, Florida. On the first day of the trip, faculty visited the Stonewall National Museum and Archives for an exhibit on LGBT history in the US and “Sisters of the Commonwealth” by Meg Birnbaum, which focused on a group of queer and trans nuns called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The group also went to the Florida International University Frost Art Gallery for an exhibition entitled “To Survive on this Shore.” The exhibit featured photographs of individuals before and after transition with biographical excerpts from interviews the photographer did with each subject. The exhibit was a powerful demonstration of the diversity of the trans community. On the second day of the trip, faculty visited the Miami Beach Historic Preservation League for a guided walking tour on the LGBT history of Miami Beach. In addition, they visited the Perez Art Museum which featured artwork by some LGBT artists (Robert Rauschenberg, Marcel Duchamp) and other artists who question gender identity (Ebony Patterson). One of the key discussions during this trip was the question of how important an artist’s gender identity may or may not be to teaching students to interpret their work. They completed lesson plans on this new curriculum material from their trip and presented the lesson plans to the SSC Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning on their return.
Year: 2019
Audience: Undergraduate

Faculty Lesson Plans on LGBT History and Culture (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Faculty Lesson Plans on LGBT History and Culture
Author: SSC Humanities Faculty
Abstract: Faculty Development Trip to New York City: Finally, six faculty also travelled to New York City for curriculum development research. For this trip, faculty visited number of art museums: the Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney, and the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian art. For the visit to the Met, the faculty also took a guided tour called Gay Secrets of the Met led by Dr. Andrew Lear. They also visited the New York Public Library for the exhibit “Love & Resistance: Stonewall 50”. Finally, they participated in a historical walking tour of Greenwich Village including the Stonewall Inn, also led by Dr. Lear. Faculty submitted proposals and written assessments of their research for both trips and will host workshops demonstrating their research for the college in the fall of 2019. Research from these trips will be used to enhance current Humanities courses with more LGBT content including a new LGBT Humanities Course. They completed lesson plans on this new curriculum material from their trip and presented the lesson plans to the SSC Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning on their return.
Year: 2019
Audience: Undergraduate

Student Course on African American History with Travel Study (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Student Course on African American History with Travel Study
Author: Trent Tomengo
Author: Neil Vaz
Abstract: During the first week of March over spring break, grant money was used to support a trip to Washington D.C. organized by the H.O.P.E. Scholars organization at Seminole State College. The trip brought students to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of African Art, and the African American History Museum. The trip emphasized non-Western contributions to the culture and ideals of the United States. Also met with former students and SSC faculty to learn about career opportunities and political engagement for students of color.
Year: 2020
Audience: Undergraduate

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