Four faculty members from Baton Rouge Community College’s (BRCC) Division of Liberal Arts have been awarded a two-year fellowship with the Great Questions Foundation, which is supported by the Mellon Foundation. The fellowship aims to promote core-text reading and discussion-based learning at community colleges nationwide.
BRCC professors Samantha Chaisson, Bea Gyimah, Darren Jones and Natasha Whitton will collaborate with faculty from various institutions across the country to explore how humanities-based general education serves as a foundation for civic engagement and critical thinking.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our faculty to collaborate with peers from other community colleges around the nation. Being selected for this Faculty Fellowship program is an honor, and the knowledge and strategies gained will enrich the learning experiences of our students and strengthen our community.”
The Great Questions Foundation challenges national trends that point to a decline in the humanities. With 44 percent of U.S. undergraduates attending public two-year institutions, the community college classroom is an ideal space for student inquiry and collaborative discussion of the basic questions that drive human existence, such as: “Who am I? How do I know what I know? What is the good life?”
At the fellowship’s first convening in Austin, Texas, BRCC fellows joined faculty from around the country to discuss where the humanities are thriving. Participants also took part in a community seminar, reading the prologue of Romeo and Juliet, lyrics from rapper Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us,” Book 1 of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, and Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Kindness.” The discussions focused on themes of identity, group conflict, personal values, leadership and external power structures.
Over the next two years, BRCC’s fellows will lead discussion-based, student-centered initiatives as they redesign their courses and partner with the broader community to enhance humanities education.
Attached: Photo of BRCC Professors Awarded Fellowship. Pictured (l to r) are BRCC Professors Samantha Chaisson, Natasha Whitton, Bea Gyimah, and Darren Jones.