Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Humanities Current Mission

Beauty in articulation,
the aesthetics of the human condition,
a synthesis of eroticism and Foucault.
Curious, the rhythm of risk and irrationality,
the spiritual romance of reason,
that sensual gesticulation of the senses,
that dialectic of hidden narrative,
that pursuit of truth.


Further text in another page on the website has this:
Welcome

The Humanities are where the arts, language, and culture come together to define who we are as a community, a nation, and ultimately our legacy as inhabitants of this world. Our faculty strive to infuse creative critical thought into all aspects of learning while simultaneously inspiring a love and appreciation for the disciplines. Whether you are playing a sax, mixing paints, reading Whitman, or studying Buddhism, the Humanities are where the seeds of inspiration are allowed to bloom.

Our division

coordinates degree programs in American and international studies, art, dance, English, music and theater
offers English language classes for speakers of foreign languages (contact Kit Carpenter, carpenter@gcc.mass.edu, 413-775-1226, for more information
offers advanced art classes jointly with Massachusetts College of Art
partners with arts-related organizations in the Pioneer Valley to grow the creative economy through our Fostering Art & Culture project
If you are interested in any of our courses, have questions, or would just like to explore what we have to offer, please come and visit the Humanities Office .

Thanks,
Leo Hwang-Carlos, Associate Dean of Humanities
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1 comment:

  1. Leo HwangApril 27, 2010 at 8:47 AM

    Notes from our Feb. 25th Meeting:

    INTENDED / LIKELY AUDIENCE:
    Students (current, prospective)
    Us (Humanities Faculty / Staff / College employees)
    The whole world (www)
    Potential faculty
    Parents
    Peer review / colleagues
    Advisors

    Purposes of mission statement:
    Clarify who we are, what we do, what we believe in
    Characterize our unique contribution
    What we all share
    (Need to make this clear to ourselves first, then transmit to
    students)

    WHO ARE WE?
    ­ Students of human experience
    ­ Stewards of Humanities ­
    Culture/Diversity/Memory/Tradition
    ­ Sharers of ideas / mores
    ­ Poets, writers, artists, etc.
    ­ Teachers
    ­ Seekers of the universal
    ­ Community of learners
    ­ Human experience / expression
    ­ Lovers of art (amator ­ Latin)

    WHAT DO WE DO?
    ­ Express poetically
    ­ Reflect
    ­ Question
    ­ Prompt thought and critical thinking
    ­ Judge / Evaluate
    ­ Value
    ­ Make things
    ­ Discover
    ­ Collaborate
    ­ Listen
    ­ Empathize / Encourage
    ­ Emancipate self and students from oppression
    ­ Research
    ­ Play

    HOW DO WE PRESENT OUR STATEMENT?
    ­ Need to offer variety of format: visual, written, symbolic,
    musical, etc.


    WHAT RESONATES WITH US IN TCK'S POEM?
    ­ Home
    ­ Hunger (for...)
    ­ Act of questioning
    ­ Self­actualization
    ­ Companionship
    ­ Community
    ­ Acknowledgement
    ­ Inward sense of aesthetics / beauty
    ­ Beauty
    ­ Emotional expression
    ­ Liminal space
    ­ Crossing boundaries
    ­ What do we find?
    ­ What do we search for?
    ­ Joy and invitation
    ­

    WHAT IS OUR UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION?
    ­ Individual and group creativity
    ­ Interpret what it means to be human
    ­ Expression, understanding, and appreciation of human
    experience
    ­ Passion
    ­ Avenues to empathy
    ­ Foster sense of self, place and time
    ­ Other places/people/times
    ­ Inhabit the other/ understand
    ­ Show / wear (place, time, self)
    ­ Recognizing the artificiality of boxes (disciplines / fields)

    WHAT DO WE SHARE?
    ­ A common question: what does it mean to be human?
    (Study of how others have answered the question, as
    well as the individual's search for an answer.)

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