Difference, Community, and Democratic Thinking: An NEH Bridging Cultures Project

FAIN: ME-50016-12

Association of American Colleges and Universities (Washington, DC 20009-1604)
Caryn McTighe Musil (Project Director: August 2011 to January 2013)
David C. Paris (Project Director: January 2013 to May 2016)

A cooperative agreement for a three-year professional and curriculum development project on American cultural diversity and democracy for faculty and administrators from twelve community colleges.

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) and The Democracy Commitment: An American Community College Initiative (TDC) offer a three-year curriculum and faculty development program for community college faculty and administrators. The program enables 12 teams from selected community colleges to infuse questions about difference, community, and democratic thinking into transfer courses in the humanities; promote greater adoption of proven high-impact practices that advance important civic learning outcomes; create a series of humanities-enriched professional development opportunities for community college faculty, especially adjunct faculty; and expand the project’s impact through collaboration with additional community colleges and partnerships with state humanities councils. It includes a summer faculty development institute in August 2012 and culminates in a symposium planned for October 2014. The program’s impact is strengthened by a partnership with the New York Times’ Epsilen online learning network, which is partnering with TDC in their national initiative. Through this partnership, project participants use the online learning platform to develop forums and to share and co-create resources and course materials.