Teaching the Publicly-Engaged Humanities to Undergraduates: A Workshop Series
HumanitiesX, DePaul University’s Experiential Humanities Collaborative, is delighted to share videos and resources related to our June 2024 online professional development workshop series, Teaching the Publicly-Engaged Humanities to Undergraduates. This series was co-sponsored by the University of Arizona’s Department of Public and Applied Humanities.
The aim of these workshops was to connect faculty across disciplines and institutions to share and discuss approaches to teaching project-based, applied, public, or community-engaged humanities assignments and courses.
Each workshop featured three or four invited presenters, who gave short (15-minute) presentations. Presentations were followed by a Q&A and a guided activity for participants, related to the workshop’s theme.
Below, we share recordings of these workshops, along with a list of recommended resources/readings.
Workshop 1. Collaboration in Public Humanities Courses and Partnerships
About the Presentations
Building Collaborative and Long Term Partnerships through the Baltimore Field School
Sarah Fouts (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) discusses the “Sabor de Highlandtown” project, which uses mapping and storytelling to document the impact of immigrant-owned eateries and street vendors in Baltimore’s Highlandtown. Over four years, students have conducted archival and ethnographic research, creating a digital StoryMap with audio clips and photographs to capture oral histories, emphasizing sustained community engagement and ethical involvement.
Face the Music and Dance: Teaching Collaborative Humanities in the Public Realm
Barrie J. Borich (DePaul University) and Heather Montes Ireland (DePaul University) discuss their course “DO SAY GAY: Banned Books and LGBTQ+ Freedoms,” an experiential course that partnered with the Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library and Archives in Chicago. The class used contemporary book bans as a launching point to explore the democratic role of LGBTQ+ libraries and archives, examining the preservation of intersectional queer lives and the democratic role of these institutions. Students in this course read banned LGBTQ+ books, delved into materials at the Gerber/Hart Library and Archives, studied queer repression, censorship theory, LGBTQ+ rights, and democracy; and collaboratively created a public exhibit on banned books.
“Will I Be the One Doing All the Work?”: Fostering Collaboration in the Applied Humanities Among Students and With Communities
Jasmine R. Linabary (University of Arizona) discusses her course “Applied Humanities Practice: Techniques and Technologies for Public Enrichment,” where students undertake a semester-long research project focused on community challenges. She covers the collaborative, multi-method approach involving literature review, community engagement, and both traditional and creative outputs, with recent partners including the campus Basic Needs Center and the Pima County Food Alliance. Jasmine’s book, Small Group Communication: Forming & Sustaining Teams, is available now!
Workshop 2. Studio and Design-Thinking Methods in Public Humanities Courses
About the Presentations
Innovation and the Human Condition
Jonathan Crisman (University of Arizona) discusses his senior humanities studio class, “Innovation and the Human Condition,” where students work on community projects using a design thinking process. He also covers how he has adapted the course from in-person to hybrid and fully online formats in response to COVID-19.
Prototyping as the Beating Heart of Designing for Wicked Problems
Seán McCarthy (James Madison University) discusses his course “Transforming Youth Justice,” which unites students and faculty from Writing Studies and Justice Studies to address youth justice reform. He highlights the collaboration with the Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice, the application of design thinking to social issues, and the importance of student reflection and portfolio work in the course.
Playful Pedagogies: Self-Reflection, Critique, and Community Partnerships
Harris Kornstein (University of Arizona) discusses their general education course, “Play: An Interactive Introduction,” focusing on its primary assignment where students design play experiences in collaboration with the Children’s Museum of Tucson. They cover the iterative design process used, including playtesting and critiques, and highlight the positive impact and challenges faced by students, particularly those unfamiliar with creative assignments.
Workshop 3: Creative Arts with and for Partners in Public Humanities Courses
About the Presentations
Jacqueline Barrios (University of Arizona) discusses her course “PAH 200 Introduction to Applied Humanities,” which she taught as an experiential urban humanities studio in collaboration with community partners in Southside Tucson. She highlights the public humanities project ¡Fiesta Fotográfica: El Pueblo Celebration! and other initiatives that engage students in creative spatial research and community-driven urban storytelling.
Hanna Musiol (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) discusses her workshop “Toxic Landscapes and Poetics Lifewor(l)ds,” which explored how poetry engages with environmental and social traumas. She highlights its use as a tool for mapping and transforming toxic landscapes, and discuss collaborations with architects and urban poetic ensembles, demonstrating poetry’s socioecological impacts and pedagogical value in environmental humanities and justice courses.
Susana Martínez (DePaul University) and Lydia Saravia (DePaul University) discuss their course, “Historical Memory Project: Ni Olvido, Ni Perdón” where students explored the connection between historical events since the 1960s and current injustices in Central America, focusing on Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Collaborating with the Chicago Religious Leadership Network, students engaged in creating public art and writing, examining the role of local activists and artists in political movements and historical memory preservation.
Additional Resources
All presenters were asked to share a takeaway resource (e.g. example syllabus, evaluation criteria, course shell, recommended reading(s), etc) with our workshop registrants. Additionally, we would like to share the following resources, which were mentioned or recommended by either presenters or participants across the workshop series.
* denotes workshop presenter or host
Recommended Readings
- Baltimore Traces: Communities in Transition (Humanities For All)
- Becoming Undisciplined / Place by Co-Design: Industry, Postcolony, and Environmental Storytelling by Hanna Musiol* and Pablo DeSoto
- Novel Wayfinding: LitLabs and the Activism of Place by Jacqueline Barrios*
- The Open Book of Social Innovation by Robin Murray, Julie Caulier-Grice, and Geoff Mulgan
- Pasts and Futures of Design Thinking: Implications for
Technical Communication by Jason Tham - Public, First by Sheila A. Brennan
- Public Art in a Tight Spot by Hanna Musiol* and Panu Lehtovuori
- Rethinking the Field in Crisis: The Baltimore Field School and Building Ethical Community and University Partnerships by Nicole King, Tahira Mahdi, and Sarah Fouts*
- The Routledge Companion to Public Humanities Scholarship (featuring a chapter co-authored by UArizona’s Jacqueline Jean Barrios*, Harris Kornstein*, Ken S. McAllister, and Judd Ethan Ruggill*)
- Urban Humanities: New Practices for Imagining the City By Dana Cuff, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Todd Presner, Maite Zubiaurre and Jonathan Jae-an Crisman*
- Urban Humanities and the Creative Practitioner by Dana Cuff and Jennifer Wolch
Recommended Tools/Databases
- Humanities for All (Essays, Blogs, and Project Database)
- Stanford d.school Starter Kit (intro to design abilities, methods, and mindsets)
For additional pedagogical readings and resources, check out the HumanitiesX Resources Page and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for information about future events and workshops.
