At Westchester Community College, the Humanities Institute plays a vital role in bringing professional development opportunities to college faculty as well as public humanities programming to students and the broader community. The institute was established with an NEH challenge grant, which helped the college raise an additional $600,000 and endow the program. And with a goal of providing opportunities for people to engage with the humanities through the perspective of the immigrant experience, the institute is designed to appeal to a community in which a quarter of the residents are foreign-born.
Read More
Each year, the Humanities Institute partners with organizations on and off campus to provide a range of public events, including film screenings, lectures, public discussions, readings, and writing workshops. In 2017–2018 alone, Sana Krasikov, who was named one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists in 2017, read from her recent novel, The Patriots. Dr. Aviva Taubenfield, from SUNY Purchase, led a discussion rethinking The Great Gatsby in light of the history of immigration to the United States. For faculty, Dr. Agnieska Tuszynska, from CUNY Queensborough, led a professional development seminar on teaching ethnic literature. And Xánath Cara served as Writer-in-Residence for the academic year, providing workshops for the campus community.
Through these varied opportunities and others like them, the Humanities Institute at Westchester Community College ensures that its students, many of whom are majoring in STEM fields, have the chance to engage with humanities themes and ideas throughout their educational experience. The Humanities Institute encourages critical thinking and cultural understanding while also reflecting the concerns of many of its community members. It provides them with the opportunity to consider their experiences and those of family members while learning more about the immigrant communities that together make up Westchester County.