The CUNY Humanities Alliance is constantly evaluating its programs, assessing opportunities for growth, and considering ways that the program’s impact might be broadened. For phase 1, the CUNY Humanities Alliance, together with the Futures Initiative, engaged two postdoctoral fellows, Kitana Ananda (2016-2018) and Sujung Kim (2018-2020). Dr. Sujung Kim is continuing on for phase 2 as a Research Associate for the program and continues to conduct qualitative analysis to understand the communities, processes, challenges, and impact of the CUNY Humanities Alliance.
Research questions and structure for phase two of the program are currently in development.
Past findings, reports, and research-related blog posts are available below.
2018-2020 Report
Dr. Kim’s 2018-2020 report will be available soon; check back for updates.
Key research questions:
- What kinds of professional development did graduate fellows and faculty mentors receive prior to participating in the CUNY Humanities Alliance?
- What kinds of challenges did doctoral fellows experience when teaching as adjunct instructors outside of the CUNY Humanities Alliance Program?
- What are the most valuable aspects of CUNY Humanities Alliance professional development to the doctoral fellows and the faculty mentors?
- What suggestions do the doctoral fellows and faculty mentors have to improve professional development?
From the report:
“One of the most significant findings from this period of research was the value of mentorship and the impact of establishing active communities of learning and teaching. This was especially apparent through opportunities for multilayered interactive mentoring between the fellows and the faculty mentors, as well as peer mentoring among the fellows. While there were ways in which these communities could be improved in future years, overall the various interlocking components of mentorship and peer mentorship proved to be one of the most valuable aspects of the program.”
2016-2018 Report
Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Kitana Ananda conducted research on the program between 2016-2018.
Key research questions:
- What does it mean to teach the humanities at a community college? How do doctoral students translate their specialized research into their teaching of introductory and general education courses?
- Which components of the CUNY Humanities Alliance are particularly effective at preparing doctoral students to teach at a community college, and in what ways?
- What kinds of connections have been forged between community college faculty, doctoral students, and undergraduates in the first two years of the CUNY Humanities Alliance program?
- What are the lessons of this program for doctoral education and the future of the professoriate, at the Graduate Center and beyond?
