Pierpont Community & Technical College has been awarded a grant from the Community College Humanities Association to develop a new humanities literature course exploring the ramifications of globalization on career choices. The proposed course will be part of the “Advancing the Humanities: A National Endowment for the Humanities Bridging the Cultures Project” and was selected from a pool of more than seventy applications from thirty states. Only eighteen community colleges in the nation were selected to participate.
Within the grant, Pierpont will receive day-to-day guidance from exemplary humanities scholars and experienced community college humanities mentors.
“Exploring the humanities in such a way that we also connect it with practical application, such as career choices and employment opportunities, is right up Pierpont’s alley,” said Dr. Doreen Larson, President of Pierpont Community & Technical College. “We are moving forward with the creation of our own humanities courses, rather than simply duplicating courses offered elsewhere. I applaud our faculty members for pursuing this grant and securing this opportunity for our faculty and students.”
The new course, “Bridging Cultures: A Global Workforce Perspective”, will focus on work in various global cultures. Through reading and study of diverse texts that emphasize work in health, family/home, the marketplace, technology and criminal justice, students will explore how a global economy can impact career choices now and in the future.
The course will begin with the familiar - a study of coal mining in West Virginia - and move towards work in America and ultimately in other parts of the world.
“The literary selections will have a disciplinary diversity,” said Linda King, Interim Dean of Pierpont’s School of Academic Studies. “This diversity will address our students’ career choices and may help our many undeclared students explore possible careers.”
In addition to King, other faculty members working on the project include Debbie Benedetti, Dr. Paul Edwards, James Savchuk and Dr. Sandra Woods.
PRACTICAL … POSSIBLE … PIERPONT
