Crossroads in the Study of the Americas : CISA Receives NEH Funding

CISA Receives NEH Funding

Grant Supports Integrated Approach to Teaching American Identities

From Five College Ink, Vol 13, No. 1. 2000-2001.
Reprinted with Permission.

With a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Center for Crossroads in the Studies of the Americas (CISA) has begun the work of developing a course to introduce first- and second-year students to new ways of thinking about identity in the Americas. Titled "Rethinking the Americas: Creating a Transdisciplinary Foundational Course at the Five Colleges," the newly funded project addresses the need for a course that can build on the work of established departments and area studies programs in examining specific ethnicities and racialized identities.

"What's unique about the course," explains CISA director Robert Schwartzwald, "is that it will introduce students to the 'relational' aspects of ethnicity and race: that is, the ways people shape their identities through complicated interactions with others throughout the hemisphere and the world." An interdisciplinary team of faculty specializing in studies of the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States and Canada, as well as Asian/Pacific/American studies, women and gender studies, international management, and disciplinary specializations in history, Spanish, English, French, art history, and the social sciences, began meeting this fall to construct the curriculum, which will be built around "modules" that compare experience, literary texts, and other cultural expressions from throughout the Americas.

Such a framework intends to underscore the fact that identity and difference derive from multiple sources and give students a keener understanding of how people can reach a level of understanding that recognizes and build upon, rather than fears, difference. "Our ultimate goal," says Schwartzwald, "is to develop a course that will help students acquire the tools they need to be better citizens in an increasingly global society."

Funds from the grant will also enable participating faculty to travel to other colleges and universities to learn more about similar projects that focus on new curricula for the study of the Americas. Following course review and evaluation, plans are to offer the course for the first time during spring semester 2002. Information including course models, tests, and readings to support the teaching of texts will be posted on CISA's web site.

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	CISA Receives NEH Funding Grant Supports Integrated Approach to Teaching American Identities From Five College Ink, Vol 13, No. 1. 2000-2001. Reprinted with Permission. With a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Center for Crossroads in the Studies of the Americas (CISA) has begun the work of developing a course to introduce first- and second-year students to new ways of thinking about identity in the Americas. Titled "Rethinking the Americas: Creating a Transdisciplinary Foundational Course at the Five Colleges," the newly funded project addresses the need for a course that can build on the work of established departments and area studies programs in examining specific ethnicities and racialized identities. "What's unique about the course," explains CISA director Robert Schwartzwald, "is that it will introduce students to the 'relational' aspects of ethnicity and race: that is, the ways people shape their identities through complicated interactions with others throughout the hemisphere and the world." An interdisciplinary team of faculty specializing in studies of the Caribbean, Latin America, the United States and Canada, as well as Asian/Pacific/American studies, women and gender studies, international management, and disciplinary specializations in history, Spanish, English, French, art history, and the social sciences, began meeting this fall to construct the curriculum, which will be built around "modules" that compare experience, literary texts, and other cultural expressions from throughout the Americas. Such a framework intends to underscore the fact that identity and difference derive from multiple sources and give students a keener understanding of how people can reach a level of understanding that recognizes and build upon, rather than fears, difference. "Our ultimate goal," says Schwartzwald, "is to develop a course that will help students acquire the tools they need to be better citizens in an increasingly global society." Funds from the grant will also enable participating faculty to travel to other colleges and universities to learn more about similar projects that focus on new curricula for the study of the Americas. Following course review and evaluation, plans are to offer the course for the first time during spring semester 2002. Information including course models, tests, and readings to support the teaching of texts will be posted on CISA's web site.