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FOR RELEASE: Feb. 5, 2002 SOURCE: Carol Traynor, Marketing and Media Relations, 407-299-5000, ext. 1017; ctraynor@valenciacc.edu
Grant Aims to Get People Out of Poverty Through Lessons in the Humanities
Valencia Community College has received a grant totaling $22,916 from the Florida Humanities Council (FHC), the non-profit statewide arm of the National Endowment for the Humanities, to support the development of a humanities course for disadvantaged and homeless people in the Orlando area. Why humanities as a solution to impoverishment? The concept came about in 1995 when author Earl Shorris taught a college-level humanities course at Bard College in New York State, to a class of poor immigrants, ex-convicts, single mothers, recovering addicts, homeless people and a person dying of AIDS, with the main entrance requirement being the ability to read the newspaper. Shorris’ project, called the Clemente Course in the Humanities, focused on giving participants life skills such as critical thinking, assertiveness and improved self-esteem, skills they could learn through lessons in the humanities. Shorris believed the old adage “knowledge is power,” and that a liberal education was part of the journey from poverty to something better. He tested his idea and found it to be successful, with 50 percent of the students completing the course and many going on to college or jobs. The Clemente course, now in its sixth year, is offered in 17 locations throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and France. The Valencia grant-funded project, which will lay the groundwork for an Orlando-based Clemente Course in the Humanities, is titled “Humanities: The Culture of
Poverty in Central Florida.” The grant will enable Valencia to offer a series of four public presentations exploring Shorris’ model, building awareness for it in the Central Florida community, and beginning the initial development of a Clemente course locally for the economically disadvantaged. Shorris, whose articles and essays have appeared in Harper’s Magazine, The Nation, The Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times, will be a guest lecturer for one of the four presentations. Other guest speakers include Gary Monroe, a Daytona Beach Community College professor who recently published a book about the Highwaymen, a group of African-American artists in the 1950's who were self-taught and worked their way out of poverty by selling their paintings from their cars on the side of the roads in Florida. The presentations, scheduled between March and September 2002, are expected to reach an audience of 800 individuals from a variety of demographic backgrounds, including humanities scholars, civic and cultural institutions, people currently living at the poverty level, and interested members of the community. Valencia was one of nine to receive the FHC grant, in a response to the council’s initiative, “Floridians: Finding a Common Path.” Valencia will implement the project in partnership with The Ripple Effect, an Orlando non-profit that helps the homeless, and Best Cleaners. This program is made possible through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, 599 Second Street South, St. Petersburg, Florida, 33701-5005. # # # To read more Valencia news, access our Web site at www.valenciacc.edu.
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