The CUNY Humanities Alliance blog served several purposes during the program’s tenure. As part of their fellowship, HA graduate fellows were invited to blog about their experiences in their fellowship or some other aspect of their academic research or teaching that meaningfully intersected with the Humanities Alliance’s lines of inquiry. Through these blogs, fellows reflected critically on their lived experiences within CUNY and beyond, practiced their public writing skills, and shared important on-the-ground insight into the fellowship and the workings of the university more broadly. The blog also served as a space to report and reflect on the CUNY Peer Leaders’ regular meetups and annual showcases, and other noteworthy HA events happening at the Graduate Center. Communication fellow Mehrnaz Moghaddam and documentation fellow Zoe Alexander also crafted profiles on and interviews with HA fellows, faculty coordinators, and key staff. These posts helped provide a well-rounded public picture of the HA program, celebrated the work of HA fellows and personnel across the program, and strengthened the writers’ interview and documentation skills.
An Interview with Melisa Martinez Ascanio, Humanities Alliance Fellow
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your background? I’m Melisa Martinez, a PhD candidate in the LILAC program at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY). I originally began my doctoral studies at Temple University in Philadelphia but later transferred to the Graduate Center. I am from Colombia and prior to […]
An Interview with Jennifer (Jenna) Queenan, Former Humanities Alliance Fellow
Can you give us an introduction of yourself, your work, your background? I’m a white queer educator and organizer. I was a high school teacher for a long time before I started a PhD in Urban Education at Graduate Center, CUNY. I think I came to that work in large part through activism and organizing […]
An Interview with Dr. Luis J. Henao Uribe, the Humanities Director of the Humanities Alliance
You can read one of Luis’s short stories that has been translated into English through the following link: In Translation: Epidemic // Epidemia – Cagibi Please give us an introduction to yourself, your work, and your background. Dr. Luis J. Henao Uribe: I am currently the Humanities Director for the Humanities Alliance. In this role, I […]
CUNY Peer Leaders Presented at AAC&U in Washington, DC
This post was originally published on the Futures Initiative website. The CUNY Peer Leaders (CPL) traveled to Washington, DC, to present an interactive panel at the 2025 American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) conference in January. Part of the Humanities Alliance (Phase II), CPL is a cross-campus community-based program in New York City that […]
Creating Zines: An Experiential Learning Tool for Education
Authored by Natalia Villarroel Torres, Ph.D. student in the Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures Program and Humanities Alliance Fellow at the Graduate Center, CUNY. What is a Zine? When I hear the word “zine”, my first thought is, “we are going to have a great time.” The enjoyment I feel when I create this […]
An Interview with Dr. Kristopher Bryan Burrell, Faculty Coordinator of Humanities Alliance at Hostos College
Dr. Kristopher Bryan Burrell: Thank you for having me! I’m Kristopher Bryan Burrell, an Associate Professor of History at Hostos Community College, where I’ve been teaching for over 14 years. My academic focus is on the African American Black freedom struggle, primarily in New York City, as well as the broader history of Black civil rights. I was […]
Building Solidarity in Academia: Tales of Humanity and Action – Panel Discussion Recap
On November 6, 2024, scholars, students, and activists gathered for a powerful roundtable discussion, Building Solidarity in Academia: Tales of Humanity and Action. The event explored how academia can bridge the gap between institutions and communities through collaborative, justice-oriented efforts. Panelists shared their experiences working on transformative projects that connect academic scholarship to real-world struggles. Panel […]
Building Solidarity in Academia: Tales of Humanity and Action,A Roundtable.
Please join us for a panel discussion on Building Solidarity in Academia: Tales of Humanity and Action, organized by The CUNY Humanities Alliance. At the core of the notion of humanity is recognizing others as part of our shared experience and understanding their struggles as part of our shared responsibility. This roundtable celebrates the work and […]
Using OER to Promote Cultural Competency, Student Engagement – Community College Daily.
Please find the link to the article, “Using OER to promote cultural competency, student engagement,” co-authored by our Humanities Alliance fellow and PhD Candidate in English program, Janelle Poe.
All-Alliance Retreat on May 17 Event Recap
On Friday, May 17, 2024, Humanities Alliance directors, staff, graduate fellows, and CUNY Peer Leaders met in the Segal Theatre at the CUNY Graduate Center for an afternoon retreat that included a networking lunch, opening remarks and introductions, presentations from the campus partners, and activities led by Mellon Senior Researcher Dr. Christina Katopodis, and Humanities […]
New York Liberation School: CUNY’s Past, Present, Future
Authored by Jennifer (Jenna) Queenan What is humanities pedagogy? What are our responsibilities as educators and students at CUNY? Over the course of the Humanities Alliance fellowship, we’ve wrestled with these questions. As a former high school teacher and current adjunct professor, I’ve always believed that pedagogy – in the humanities and beyond – is political […]
An Interview with Rosalía Reyes Simon, Former Humanities Alliance Fellow
I am a doctoral candidate in the Latin American, Iberian and Latino Cultures Program at the CUNY Graduate Center, where I was a Humanities Alliance Fellow from 2021 to August 2023. I´m a Mexican journalist. In 2012, I moved to New York City. I hold two master’s degrees, one in Humanities (University of Monterrey) and […]
End of the 2023-2024 Academic Year CPL Meetup
Please find the recap of the CUNY Peer Leaders meetup through the link below: By Christina Katopodis (she/her/hers)
Digital Archive Review: CUNY Digital History Archive
You can find the review on CUNY Digital History Archive in the link below. The review is written by Marianne Madoré, Sociology Doctoral Candidate, and a former HA fellow, at The Graduate Center, CUNY. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0092055X241233891
A Recap of the CUNY Peer Leaders Showcase
This recap blog post is from contributing author Inma Zanoguera, who is a CUNY Humanities Alliance Fellow and PhD Candidate in English. The Spring 2024 CPL Showcase was a well-rounded event, with presentations that ranged from politically informative to poetic, moving, and empowering performances from our Peer Leaders. It took place in a hybrid mode, […]
3 Ways You Can Use Your HA Fellowship Experience in Academic Job Applications
By Francisco A. Medina Last semester I applied for a teaching position at a community college and was able to leverage my experience as a Humanities Alliance Fellow in application materials and interviews. In this blog post, I share 3 ways you can use your fellowship experience in academic job applications. CV Perhaps the most […]
To Serve With Love: Hip Hop At CUNY
Authored by Janelle Poe What do we owe to the things we love? To the people who made us? 2023 gave me a lot to reflect on as it was not only the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, but also of my parents’ wedding, exactly a week apart. Now in their mid-70s, my parents have […]
“Graduate School, Career and Professional Development” Feb 16, 2024 CPL Meetup with Rod Hurley
Please find the recap of the CUNY Peer Leaders meetup with Rod Hurley through the link below: By Christina Katopodis (she/her/hers)
Performance: Between Thinking and Doing
Authored by Joned Suryatmoko I always like hanging out in public spaces, parks, or other places where I can see people’s activities. Later as I started studying theater and performance, I learned that the body, along with time and space, are pivotal in producing and transmitting knowledge. Dwight Conquergood notes that “The ongoing challenge of […]
“Average is Better than Luxury: A Financial Literacy and Personal Budgeting Presentation” with FI Budget Manager Celi Lebron
Please find the recap of the CUNY Peer Leaders meetup with Celi Lebron through the link below: By Christina Katopodis (she/her/hers)
Never Too Late: Mediation and the Humanities
Written by Sharanya Dutta
Celebrating Mehrnaz Moghaddam
To honor the achievements and contributions of our Humanities Alliance Fellows, this year we are featuring each fellow on our website, introducing them to our CUNY community and the public, and showcasing their accomplishments as fellows. Mehrnaz Moghaddam (she/her) was a 2021-2023 fellow based at the Hostos Community College while pursuing her Ph.D. in Cultural […]
Celebrating Marianne Madoré
Marianne Madoré (she/her) was a 2021-2023 fellow based at the LaGuardia Community College while pursuing her Ph.D. in Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center. At LaGuardia Community College, Marianne first spent time reading what students had to say about their Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) experiences. From there, she designed new tools to assess students’ […]
The Humanities in Times of Robot-Generated Everything: Reflections
Authored by Inma Naima Zanoguera What will remain of the essence of the human as the unfolding (the inevitably, exponentially, vertiginously unfolding) world of Artificial Intelligence (henceforth referred to as AI, in case you’d been living in a bubble, kind of like the bubble I wish still existed for me, and find yourself unfamiliar with […]
Celebrating Oriana Mejías Martínez
To honor the achievements and contributions of our Humanities Alliance Fellows, this year we are featuring each fellow on our website, introducing them to our CUNY community and the public, and showcasing their accomplishments as fellows. Oriana Mejías Martínez (she/her) was a 2021-2023 fellow based at the LaGuardia Community College while pursuing her Ph.D. in […]
December 2023 CUNY Peer Leaders Meetup with Dr. Jody Vaisman
Originally posted on the CPL website. Gathering in the Graduate Center’s Skylight Room for the last CPL meetup of the year on December 15, 2023, the CUNY Peer Leaders welcomed a guest speaker: Dr. Jody Clark-Vaisman. Dr. Clark-Vaisman serves as Academic Director of the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies Program (the “CUNY BA”), […]
Redrawing CUNY’s Diversity Pyramid
By Jayson Castillo When I work with undergraduate students, I am sure to let them know at some point or another that I did not enjoy school, that I was “not a good student,” which they almost always seem surprised to hear. The assumption goes that, because I am enrolled in a Ph.D. program or […]
Grading as Punishment
Graphic designed by Roger Peet Grading As Punishment Authored by Jennifer (Jenna) Queenan I began my teaching career in 2013 as a high school English as a New Language (ENL) teacher at Sunset Park High School (SPHS) in Brooklyn. During the new teacher orientation, I remember reading an article titled “The Case Against Zero,” where […]
Celebrating Angela Dunne
To honor the achievements and contributions of our Humanities Alliance Fellows, this year we are featuring each fellow on our website, introducing them to our CUNY community and the public, and showcasing their accomplishments as fellows. Angela Dunne (she/them) was a 2021-2023 fellow based at the Hostos Community College while pursuing her Ph.D. in Urban […]
CUNY Peer Leaders Share Their NYC Soundscapes in November Meetup
This recap was originally posted on the CUNY Peer Leaders website. On November 3, 2023, the CUNY Peer Leaders gathered in person at the Graduate Center and presented their recorded soundscapes, reflections on the exercise, and album art. This gathering was a follow-up to the October 6 meetup, when the leaders learned about soundscapes from […]
An Interview with Kelsey Milian Lopez, the CUNY Peer Leaders Facilitator.
My name is Kelsey Milian Lopez, and I was raised in Miami, Florida. But I am Mexican, Japanese, and Guatemalan, with Indigenous ancestry connected to Aztec, Zapotec, and K’iche Maya. Currently, I am a PhD student at CUNY, getting my degree in Ethnomusicology, which is the study of music and culture. Being a multiethnic, multicultural […]
Celebrating Rosalía Reyes Simon
To honor the achievements and contributions of our Humanities Alliance Fellows, this year we are featuring each fellow on our website, introducing them to our CUNY community and the public, and showcasing their accomplishments as fellows. Rosalía Reyes Simon (she/her) was a 2021-2023 fellow based at the Guttman Community College while pursuing her Ph.D. in […]
CUNY Peer Leaders and Humanities Alliance Fellows Convened on Oct 25, 2023
During the Fall of the 2023 school year, the CUNY Peer Leaders and Humanities Alliance Fellowship cohorts met on Zoom for a session centered on deep listening, led by Dr. Christina Katopodis. Academia often breeds a sense of hustle, competition, and isolation, and an intentional cultivation of presence in a collective setting can have a […]
CUNY Represents Humanities Alliance at the 2023 Mellon Scholars Conference
CUNY Represents Humanities Alliance at the 2023 Mellon Scholars Conference By Christina Katopodis (she/her/hers) On October 6, 2023, several members of the CUNY Humanities Alliance presented at the 2023 Mellon Scholars Conference in San Francisco, on a roundtable about “Doctoral Education and Community Colleges: The Experiences of the City University of New York (CUNY) Humanities […]
Exploring Our Environments and Lives Through Sound Waves: CPL October Meetup
Exploring Our Environments and Lives Through Sound Waves: CPL October Meetup Please find the recap of the CUNY Peer Leaders meetup on Soundscapes through the link below: By Christina Katopodis (she/her/hers)
Book Launch: The Border Simulator
Book Launch and Reading in English and Spanish: The Border Simulator: El Simulador De Fronteras Monday, October 16th, 2023, 6 pm-8 pm At The Graduate Center (365 Fifth Avenue) Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures Ph.D. Program (4th Floor Lounge) A Conversation with: Gabriel Dozal, author and Natasha Tiniacos, translator (HA Fellow) moderated by Esther […]
Celebrating Greg Hartman
To honor the achievements and contributions of our Humanities Alliance Fellows, this year we are featuring each fellow on our website, introducing them to our CUNY community and the public, and showcasing their accomplishments as fellows. Greg Hartman (he/him) was a 2021-2023 fellow based at the Guttman Community College while pursuing his Ph.D. in Music […]
Celebrating Sokunthary Svay
To honor the achievements and contributions of our Humanities Alliance Fellows, this year we are featuring each fellow on our website, introducing them to our CUNY community and the public, and showcasing their accomplishments as fellows. Sokunthary Svay (she/her) was a 2021-2023 fellow based at the Guttman Community College while pursuing her Ph.D. in English […]
Celebrating Ariel Leutheusser
To honor the achievements and contributions of our Humanities Alliance Fellows, this year we are featuring each fellow on our website, introducing them to our CUNY community and the public, and showcasing their accomplishments as fellows. Ariel Leutheusser (they/them) was a 2021-2023 fellow based at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, while pursuing their Ph.D. […]
A journalism case as experiential learning through the Humanities Alliance Fellowship: “Activists Empower Latina Women in New York’s Cleaning Industry”
SPANISH VERSION LINES BELOW A journalism case as experiential learning through the Humanities Alliance Fellowship: “Activists Empower Latina Women in New York’s Cleaning Industry” By Rosalía Reyes Simon February 2023. New York City. – Women in the cleaning industry in New York City are mobilizing for their labor rights and many of them are undocumented […]
Specialized Language and Jargonism within Higher Education and Academia: Further Consequences on Bilingualism and Multilingualism
By Mehrnaz Moghaddam During my first year of PhD program (cultural anthropology), I hardly understood any of the discussions in depth. In my case, it was not because English is not my native language (only to some extent) but largely because I was a newcomer to the field of social sciences and humanities from a […]
Panel: Poetics, Poesis, and Professors: Artists Teaching at Public Two-Year Colleges
Monday April 24, 2023, at 6pm-8pm The Graduate Center (365 Fifth Avenue), Room 9207 Panelists: Allia Abdullah-Matta, Poet & Associate Professor @ LaGuardia CC Richard Jeffrey Newman, Poet/Essayist/Translator & Professor @ Nassau CC Tau Battice, Photographer & Lecturer @ Guttman CC Moderator: Sokunthary Svay, Writer & Humanities Alliance Fellow (GC) These panelists have three things […]
Incorporating Experiential Learning Practices into Classroom through Assignments
by Mehrnaz Moghaddam What is experiential learning? “In its simplest form, experiential learning (EL) means learning from experience or learning by doing. Experiential education first immerses learners in an experience and then encourages reflection about the experience to develop new skills, new attitudes, or new ways of thinking,” Lewis and Williams (1994). As […]
Teaching Philosophy
by Rosalía Reyes Simon When I am in front of my students in a course of Spanish, literature, oral or written communication, or Latin American civilization, I always keep in mind one of my main objectives as a professor: to make them feel that each one is contributing by bringing their own heritage to the […]
Call for Application: CUNY Humanities Alliance Graduate Fellowship
Deadline: April 4, 2023 Application Form The CUNY Humanities Alliance seeks applications from Graduate Center doctoral students in any field for its 2023-2024 fellowship. There are eight new openings. About the Humanities Alliance The CUNY Humanities Alliance, generously supported by the Mellon Foundation, exposes graduate students to the best ways to support humanities education in […]
Community as Compliance vs. Community as Rebellion
by Angela Dunne In her book, Community as Rebellion: A Syllabus for Surviving Academia as a Woman of Color, Lorgia García Peña speaks of the need to open space inside of our classrooms and institutions of higher education for rebellion. García Peña writes about her own experiences of violence and exclusion as an Afro-Dominican woman […]
Amplifying Cultures Through the Continent
by Oriana Mejías Martínez I am a Fellow at the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program at LaGuardia Community College. I was attracted to this program because as a learner and instructor of languages I have always felt attracted to multilingual and multicultural environments. The experiences I have had in my work as Fellow at […]
New Impromptu
By: Greg Hartmann My first year as a Humanities Alliance fellow was filled with a lot of new experiences. Rosalía, Sok, and I (the three fellows working at Guttman Community College) helped develop programs ranging from a “study hacks” presentation to bilingual poetry workshops to the creation of an annual common read on campus designed […]
Call for Applications: Documentation Fellow (Spring 2023)
The CUNY Humanities Alliance seeks applications from Graduate Center students in any field for a Spring 2023 fellowship. About the Humanities Alliance The CUNY Humanities Alliance, generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, exposes graduate students to the best ways to support humanities education in the community college context, while simultaneously expanding access to […]
Revitalizing Enrollment: Supporting Equity and Educational Justice in Community College
by Sujung Kim During the pandemic, community colleges have experienced a sizable decrease in student enrollment. Vulnerable student populations, including low-income, African American, Latinx, Asian Americans, and Indigenous students, as well as other groups of minority students, have been most seriously affected by the difficult conditions of living and entering or continuing their postsecondary education. […]
Deep Listening: Contemporary Composers of the New York Scene
Tuesdays September 20, 2022 & October 25, 2022 @ 2:30-4:00 PM Room 303, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) 455 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016 212-340-0863 Register today at https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2022/09/20/clone-deep-listening-contemporary-composers-new-york-scene What’s that sound? Music possesses a unique ability to stir our emotions, call forth memories, or even transport us to another realm of being. […]
Call for Applications: CUNY Humanities Alliance Graduate Fellowship at LaGuardia Community College
Deadline: Monday August 8 at 10 AM. The CUNY Humanities Alliance seeks applications from Graduate Center doctoral students in any field for one 2022-2023 fellowship. This fellow will be placed at LaGuardia Community College, supporting their ePortfolio project. About the Humanities Alliance The CUNY Humanities Alliance, generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, exposes […]
Impact of Covid-19 on California Community College Enrollment and Students’ Outcomes
by Dr. Sujung Kim **This essay is a reflection on the paper entitled, The Impact of Covid-19 on Community College Enrollment and Student Success: Evidence From California Administrative Data authored by George Bulman and Rober W. Fairlie, which was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research in March, 2022.** Most recent reports and articles […]
Enhancing Diversity, Equity, and the Public Good: Transfer Pathways from Community Colleges to Independent Colleges
by Dr. Sujung Kim **This essay is a reflection on the “Playbook for Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts: How to Design and Implement Statewide Pathways from Community Colleges to Independent Colleges” authored by Julia Karon, Daniel Rossman, Elanine Vilorio, and Rayane Alamuddin, which was published on March 17, 2022 by ITHAKA S-R .** […]
Panel: Teaching & Learning in Community College Contexts
April 25th @ 2 PM – 3:30 PM Community Colleges serve almost half of the undergraduate students in the United States. They provide many students’ first contact with higher education, especially for historically underserved populations. The work of community college faculty is complex, teaching a heavy load of classes, helping students navigate their disciplines and […]
“Reimagining Professional Development of Critical Pedagogy and Humanizing Teaching & Learning in the Humanities;” Humanities Alliance Presents at the Comparative & International Education Society Conference.
Higher education is at a critical juncture, where the push for inclusivity, accessibility, and student-centered learning is reshaping academic spaces. In a recent panel discussion on February 20, 2022, in Washington DC at the CIES, Humanities Alliance members explored various aspects of this transformation—how care informs professional development, the contradictions within community-based graduate programs, the […]
Call for Applications: CUNY Humanities Alliance Graduate Fellowship
Application: Apply Here Application Deadline Extended! New Deadline: April 1, 2022 The CUNY Humanities Alliance seeks applications from Graduate Center doctoral students in any field for its 2022-2023 fellowship. There are seven new openings. About the Humanities Alliance The CUNY Humanities Alliance, generously supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, exposes graduate students to the […]
CUNY Peer Leaders is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 cohort!
Deadline: Monday, June 21, 2021 Thank you for your interest in becoming a CUNY Peer Leader for the Fall 2021 to Spring 2022 academic year! CUNY Peer Leaders is a community-based program that welcomes 30-40 undergraduate students each year from two- and four-year CUNY colleges and supports them with humanities and social justice scholarship and […]
Information Session for Graduate Fellowships
The CUNY Humanities Alliance is seeking applications for 12 new graduate fellowships (applications due Feb 15) in educational development roles at four partner institutions: Borough of Manhattan Community College, Guttman Community College, Hostos Community College, and LaGuardia Community College. These positions are open to Graduate Center doctoral students entering years 3-5 of doctoral study in […]
Call for Applications: CUNY Humanities Alliance Graduate Fellowship
Deadline extended: Monday, February 22, 2021Fellowships begin Fall 2021 The CUNY Humanities Alliance is seeking applications for 12 new graduate fellowships in educational development roles at four partner institutions: Borough of Manhattan Community College, Guttman Community College, Hostos Community College, and LaGuardia Community College. These positions are open to Graduate Center doctoral students entering years […]
Empowering Students & Creating Social Change through the Humanities
by Sujung Kim The Result of the Humanities Alliance Postconference Survey The Fall 2018 Humanities Alliance conference offered a unique opportunity to assess nationwide opinions about community college teaching and humanities education. The conference, “Community Colleges and the Future of Humanities,” was held by the LaGuardia Community College and the Graduate Center of City University […]
Save the Date (Feb 3): CUNY Humanities Alliance Graduate Fellowship Information Session
The CUNY Humanities Alliance is excited to announce 12 new graduate fellowships in educational development roles at four partner institutions: Borough of Manhattan Community College, Guttman Community College, Hostos Community College, and LaGuardia Community College. These positions will be open to Graduate Center doctoral students entering years 3-5 of doctoral study in 2021-2022. They will […]
Seeking Applications: Covid-19 Impact Project
Graduate Student Application Application due: Monday, November 30, 2020 The CUNY Humanities Alliance is pleased to announce an opportunity for doctoral students at The Graduate Center (enrolled in Fall 2020) to receive $1,000 stipends for contributions to a Covid-19 impact project documenting the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, including related and interlocking impacts of economic, […]
Call for Participation: Humanities Alliance Collaborative Book (proposals due March 15)
The Humanities Alliance team at the Graduate Center, CUNY are so excited to share our plan for a collaborative book project. We hope you will be a part of it! As one of the final projects of the Humanities Alliance grant funded by Andrew Mellon Foundation, we’re planning to share insights from the CUNY Humanities […]
Reflections: LaGuardia Community College Humanities Conference Liaisons
Reflections requested and collected by Michele Piso Manoukian, and compiled by Jesse Wolfe, both of the LaGuardia Center for Teaching and Learning, November 2018. “The Humanity conference was a whole new experience for me. It was the first time that I was part of something like this. I have a lot of fun meeting new […]
Humanities Alliance Conference Recap
The Humanities Alliance Conference was such an amazing event that I was able to be apart of. I was able to sit with professors from different parts of the states and have meaningful conversations on their strategies in pedagogy. I was able to attend the Faculty to Faculty: Building Pathways and Partnerships between the Community […]
Humanities Alliance Conference Day 1
It was such a pleasure to attend day 1 of the Humanities Alliance Conference. The day started with a very informative statistical study. Then with a panel of few fellows who teach at Community Colleges in NYC. It was an interesting feel when professors as fellows described their experiences specifically after the November 2016 elections. […]
The Hum of Humanities is in the Air: Day 1
Author’s Note: Future blog posts elaborating on individual breakout sessions to follow with embedded hyperlinks. 6:15 am – I touched down at JFK airport from San Diego, California where the airline seemed to have lost 3 hours of my night. Lucky for me—sarcasm notwithstanding—as a college student and military veteran, I have extensive experience being […]
Conference Reflection – Hierarchy of Language
Language and multilingualism is something I think of often in part because it shapes up such a large part of my life, so I was really excited to attend the Multilingualism in Higher Education panel. In the panel, Sujung Kim, a post-doctoral research fellow at the Graduate Center, particularly spoke of her research of immigrant […]
The Importance of a Collaborative Approach to Learning
Most of my life as a student I had always approached learning very individualistically, even the ideas of study groups seemed foreign to me. If I didn’t understand something, I would go home, hit the books (or YouTube) and teach it to myself. Consequently, I felt very alienated in my coursework and my career aspirations […]
Approaching Difficult Texts as Students and Educators
On the first day of the conference, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the “Difficult Texts” panel with Anthony Alessandrini and Libby Garland, professors at Kingsborough Community College, Karen Miller, coming from LaGuardia Community College, and Andrea Morell, who teaches at the Urban Studies program at Guttmann Community College. From one aspect, I learned […]
Learning from fellow attendees at the 2018 CUNY Humanities Alliance Conference
I had the distinct pleasure of learning from fellow attendees at the 2018 CUNY Humanities Alliance Conference, and I was struck by the thoughtful educators, graduate students, undergraduates, staff, and administrators who convened over two days to discuss the promise and possibilities of the humanities in community colleges. In a session on transformative development within […]
Classrooms as a Sphere of Possibility: Workshopping Pedagogy and Social Justice
On September 13, The Futures Initiative at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York hosted a public event entitled, Classroom and Social Justice: Why Start with Pedagogy. As an exit ticket, we asked the audience to briefly write about why they were interested in this topic. We received critical and impressive responses […]
Classrooms as a Sphere of Possibility: Workshopping Pedagogy and Social Justice
by Sujung Kim On September 13, The Futures Initiative at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York hosted a public event entitled, Classroom and Social Justice: Why Start with Pedagogy. As an exit ticket, we asked the audience to briefly write about why they were interested in this topic. We received critical and impressive […]
Announcing Postdoctoral Fellow, Sujung Kim, and the Third Cohort of Graduate Teaching Fellows!
The Humanities Alliance is thrilled to announce the addition of a new Postdoctoral Fellow, Sujung Kim, as well as the start of the third cohort of nine Graduate Teaching Fellows at The Graduate Center, CUNY, who will have the opportunity to learn with master faculty and teach at LaGuardia Community College. Postdoctoral Fellow, Sujung […]
Student Evaluations of Teaching Aren't Perfect, But Here's One Way to Use Them
How do you know whether things are going well in your class? And whether students are learning anything? Do they like your teaching style? Does your course meet their needs? These are questions that thoughtful college teachers and other educators often ask of ourselves. As we approach the end of the spring semester, I find […]
Event Recap: Teaching and Learning with New Majority Students: Lessons Learned from the CUNY Humanities Alliance
Notes | Photos | Video (forthcoming) | #fight4edu On Thursday, May 3, 2018, the Futures Initiative hosted a roundtable discussion on Teaching and Learning with New Majority Students: Lessons Learned from the CUNY Humanities Alliance, the final event of this year’s Thursday Dialogues series. The event brought together colleagues from departments and programs across the GC, including the […]
May 3 Thursday Dialogue: The CUNY Humanities Alliance on Teaching and Learning with New Majority Students
Fellows of the CUNY Humanities Alliance will hold a roundtable discussion at the Futures Initiative‘s Thursday Dialogues series. Join us to talk about student-centered pedagogy, teaching the humanities in community colleges, doctoral education and professional development, and more! Title: Teaching and Learning with New Majority Students: Lessons Learned from the CUNY Humanities Alliance Date: May […]
Reflections on the "Research Paper" Assignment
Author’s note: This post is the third in a three-part series. You can read the first two parts of the series here and here. Now that I’ve discussed how I designed and taught the research paper course, it’s time to reflect on what I would change. As I mentioned at the end of my last […]
Congratulations to LaGuardia Scholars Ambar Castillo and Telijah Patterson on International Service Learning Scholarships!
Through the Office for Global Learning Initiatives at LaGuardia Community College, two of the LaGuardia Mellon Humanities Scholars have recently received international service learning scholarships. Ambar Castillo was recently awarded a Fulbright grant to do research for a year in India. Ambar received a Pulitzer fellowship to investigate how community based organizations create culturally adaptive health prevention […]
CUNY Humanities Alliance Fellow, Hansol Oh, hosts 2018 Edwin Booth Award
CUNY Humanities Alliance Graduate Fellows, Hansol Oh, is hosting an annual awards ceremony for the Theatre program this year. The 2018 Edwin Booth Award honoring playwright, director, and filmmaker Young Jean Lee. The award is given annually by the theatre doctoral students at the CUNY Graduate Center to “an individual or organization that has had a significant impact on […]
CUNY Humanities Alliance Graduate Fellow, Jenn Polish, publishes debut novel and novela!
Congratulations to CUNY Humanities Alliance Fellow and HASTAC Scholar, Jenn Polish, on the publication of their debut novels. Jenn’s debut novella, LOST BOY, FOUND BOY (NineStar Press), is a scifi re-telling of Peter Pan in which Neverland is a holomatrix, Hook is a bisexual cyborg, and Tink is an asexual lesbian computer interface. Their debut novel, LUNAV (NineStar […]
On Teaching a Research-Based Writing Course: What Worked and What Didn’t
Author’s Note: This is the second part of a three-part series. You can find the first part, On Designing a Research-Based Writing Course, here. I’ve already discussed my approach to scaffolding a research-based writing course to encourage students to focus on the processes of research and writing over the final product, and to engage in metacognition […]
CFP (closed)
“Community College and the Future of the Humanities” #humsCC Convened by LaGuardia Community College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York October 18 and 19, 2018 Community colleges are redefining the importance and centrality of the humanities to the lives of the “new majority” of students, both during their academic careers and after […]
On Designing a Research-Based Writing Course
Author’s Note: This is the first part in a three-part series on designing a research-based writing course that culminates in a research paper assignment. In a recent post for this blog, I began to reflect on my experience of teaching “Writing the Research Paper,” a general education humanities course open to students who have taken at […]
A Semester of Firsts: On Teaching “Writing the Research Paper” at LaGuardia Community College
Last fall, I had the opportunity to teach “Writing the Research Paper” at LaGuardia Community College. The course is the third part of a composition sequence in LaGuardia’s English department (following ENG 101 and ENG 102, two courses in which students learn to write through the study of literature), and a general education course that […]
Humanities Alliance Roundup: February Edition
The CUNY Humanities Alliance began this semester at LaGuardia Community College on Friday, February 2, 2018 with the first part of a two part Winter Institute, where fellows workshopped their syllabuses with each other and their faculty mentors, and obtained practical advice for new faculty at LaGuardia. The next institute will take place on Friday, […]
Call for Papers: Community College and the Future of the Humanities
“Community College and the Future of the Humanities” #humsCC Convened by LaGuardia Community College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York October 18 and 19, 2018 Community colleges are redefining the importance and centrality of the humanities to the lives of the “new majority” of students, both during their academic careers and after […]
Job Opportunity: CUNY Humanities Alliance Post-Doctoral Fellow (Research Associate)
Apply at bit.ly/cunyhums-postdoc (CUNY Job ID: 17983) Deadline: February 15, 2018 ABOUT THE POSITION The CUNY Humanities Alliance is a partnership between the City University of New York’s Graduate Center and LaGuardia Community College, designed to prepare graduate students in the humanities for teaching in community college, and supported by a four-year grant from the Andrew […]
Now Accepting Applications: Mellon Humanities Alliance Fellowship for Doctoral Students Interested in Community College Teaching
Deadline: February 19, 2018 Contact: [email protected] The Humanities Alliance is soliciting applications for a unique fellowship opportunity enabling nine (9) doctoral students at the Graduate Center to explore community college pedagogy and possible teaching careers. In addition to actual teaching experience at a community college, Fellows will participate in dedicated teaching and learning workshops designed […]
Coming soon! Job opportunity for Postdoctoral Fellow
UPDATE: Here is the full job posting. Do you have a PhD in the humanities or interpretive social sciences? Are you interested in designing research and public projects related to equity, access, and the future of the humanities in community colleges and throughout higher education? If so, watch this site for a great two-year opportunity […]
Event Recap: Reimagining the Digital Humanities with 'New Majority' Students for Public Higher Education
On Saturday, November 4, 2017, leaders of the CUNY Humanities Alliance and the Futures Initiative’s CUNY Leadership Fellows Program presented at the HASTAC 2017 conference at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, FL. “Reimagining the Digital Humanities with ‘New Majority’ Students for Public Higher Education” was designed to consider the following questions: When we […]
Humanities Alliance Roundup: November Edition
We’re a little more than halfway through the Fall 2017 semester! The Humanities Alliance’s Graduate Teaching Fellows continue to reflect on their experiences of teaching and learning at LaGuardia: Emily Brooks discusses what inspired her to move away from teaching with a textbook and how she guides students through scholarly reading in her post on […]
Humanities Alliance Roundup: October Edition
The Fall 2017 semester is fully under way, and our Humanities Alliance Graduate Teaching Fellows are blogging about their experiences in the classroom! Check out the following posts from our first year fellows: Chaya R. Nove considers how our cultural attitudes and linguistic ideologies shape learning about linguistics in Confronting Language Attitudes in Introduction to […]
Recap: Humanities Alliance Institute 2017, Day 1
On Friday, August 25, the Humanities Alliance welcomed our second cohort of Graduate Teaching Fellows at the first day of the program’s two day Fall Institute. The Institute began with the use of student-centered methods, modeling the kinds of techniques that fellows will be using in their courses at LaGuardia Community College. Professor Cathy Davidson […]
LaGuardia CC Students Reflect on Theatre, "The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World"
When Demetri Kapetanakos took his English 101 class to the theatre last fall, they had incredible reflections to share about Suzan-Lori Parks‘s “The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World: AKA The Negro Book of the Dead.” Please find them below, and while you’re combing through the wealth of insight in […]
An Interview with Prof. Karen Miller
Karen Miller is Professor of History in the Social Science Department at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, Acting Deputy Executive Officer of the M.A. Program in Liberal Studies (MALS) at the Graduate Center, and a 2016-2017 CUNY Humanities Alliance Faculty Mentor. Prof. Miller spoke to me on two separate occasions about her path to teaching at […]
Humanities Alliance Roundup: June edition
The Humanities Alliance held our final institute of the 2016-2017 academic year on June 2. (Read a recap of the workshop here; for more context, also see our past institute recaps from April and May.) This year’s fellows and faculty mentors met the incoming cohort of fellows and mentors, and shared their experiences over lunch. Events The LaGuardia Mellon Humanities Scholars […]
An Interview with Prof. Ana María Hernández
“You can see that it is a joy for me to talk about this!” Ana María Hernández is Professor and Director of Latin American Studies and Spanish Translation at LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, and a 2016-2017 CUNY Humanities Alliance Faculty Mentor. I sat down with Prof. Hernández on May 24, 2017, to talk about her path […]
Risk: The 2016-2017 LaGuardia Mellon Humanities Scholars Showcase
What are you willing to risk for your education? For the major you would like to study, or your preferred career? What would you risk to follow your path, or pursue your dreams? The inaugural cohort of LaGuardia Mellon Humanities Scholars has been grappling with these questions during the 2016-2017 academic year, while exploring this […]
