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History and Philosophy
| "The humanities are a foundation for getting along in the world, for thinking, for learning to reflect
on the world instead of just reacting to whatever force is turned against you. I think the humanities are
one of the ways to become political..."— Earl Shorris, Clemente Course founder, Riches for the Poor |
The Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities grew out of the disturbing fact that in our society many low-income residents have limited access to college education and no opportunity to study the humanities. The Clemente Course provides college level instruction in the humanities, with the award of college credits, to economically and educationally disadvantaged individuals at no cost and in an accessible and welcoming community setting. Participants study four disciplines: literature, art history, moral philosophy, and American history. Like their more affluent contemporaries, students explore great works of fiction, poetry, drama, painting, sculpture, architecture, and philosophy, while learning also about the events that define America as a nation. The course also offers instruction in writing and critical thinking, while the seminar style of the classes and dialectical investigation encourage an appreciation for reasoned dialogue.
"This class has given me something that I thought was lost forever, and that is the will power to reach my dreams."
Clemente Course founder Earl Shorris addresses New York City graduating class of 1999 |
Author Earl Shorris piloted the course at the Roberto Clemente Family Guidance Center on East 13th Street in Manhattan, New York City, in 1995. In 2000, President and Mrs. Clinton awarded him a National Humanities Medal. Since that time, Bard College has offered the class over 100 times, in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Over 2,500 students have enrolled in the course; over 1,600 of which have graduated with certificates of achievement; over 1,400 have earned college credits. Of these, approximately 1,500 have already transferred to four-year colleges and universities in order to continue work towards a degree. The Clemente Courses have spread well beyond Bard's aegis. The most comprehensive information about its range and impact can be found on the Clemente Course's national website.
Classes meet two evenings a week over an eight-month period for a total of 110 hours at a local organization which serves as Bard's partner in bringing the course into a community. Financial barriers to higher education are removed. The Clemente Course provides books, carfare, and childcare, and it charges no tuition. Bard College grants a certificate of achievement to any student completing the Clemente Course, and six college credits to those who have performed at a high academic level. These credits are transferable to any college the student may subsequently choose to attend. Bard also provides instruction on the process of applying to colleges and securing financial aid.
"I come from a very poor background. My mom was the first person to graduate from high school. This left me feeling inadequate. The low self-esteem that comes along with this led me to being afraid that I wouldn't be able to cut it in a college environment. I've learned that I can compete and keep up, even excel."
Poughkeepsie, New York, 2000, Marina van Zuylen, Bard Professor of literature, congratulates the graduating class |
In evaluation of the program, participants report that their encounter with the humanities was intellectually and personally rewarding. Graduates indicate that the course has increased their self-esteem, level of aspiration, and confidence in ability to succeed at college work. Some students say that the course has helped them advance at work, while others explain that by opening new vistas the course has made them better parents with more to offer their children. Students who in the past have felt marginalized socially, politically, and educationally appreciate that they have acquired knowledge that enables interactions across class, racial, and generational lines; they feel included and privileged. Further, almost all graduates state that the course has increased their desire for further education.
The national director at Bard supervises each Bard Clemente Course. Bard is responsible for the academic program, reviewing for approval the selection of all faculty and course plans, while also providing technical and fundraising assistance. When possible, Bard has hosted a meeting of course directors, faculty, and other interested individuals from around the country in order to share experiences and to address issues of common
Seattle, Washington, class of 2002 |
concern, such as student retention, curriculum, pedagogical techniques, fundraising, etc. This annual meeting has helped to generate ideas and to solve problems, while also lending a coherence of approach and a collegial spirit to the national program. During the summer of 2003, Bard sponsored a conference addressing the philosophy and goals of the Clemente Course. This brought together leaders in the movement to offer humanities based courses in low-income communities throughout the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The response was extremely positive, and additional conferences are planned.
"I am a changed person. I find that the discourse inside a college class always moves me beyond who I was. The Bard Clemente Course has been a very important part of my educational journey."
Anna Rivera, Clemente graduate 1997, at New York City graduation celebration of 1999,
where she addressed the graduating class |
Together with operation of the Clemente Course, Bard has taken steps to expand the program in new directions. For several years, Bard has offered an advanced seminar for Clemente Course graduates unable to matriculate immediately into college, but desiring to continue their education. This course, called the Bridge Course, was developed in response to the requests of graduates of the programs in New York City. Additional second year courses are now in operation in Chicago and Boston, with others at planning stage. Further, Bard piloted an intensive five-week summer version of the Clemente Course at one of its community partners in New York City; it has offered the course at a correctional facility in upstate New York, an initiative that has led to the nationally acclaimed Bard Prison Initiative (http://bpi.bard.edu/). 2005 saw the inauguration of a Clemente Course taught in Spanish.
Bard College has also assisted five other colleges/universities--through the support of a prestigious dissemination grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (F.I.P.S.E.) of the U.S. Department of Education--in establishing neighborhood humanities courses. Thanks to their participation in Bard's dissemination project, Reed College (Portland, Oregon), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts), Trinity College (Hartford, Connecticut), and Bloomfield College (Bloomfield and Newark, New Jersey) have established Clemente-like humanities courses in communities near their campuses.
Summer 2006 meeting at Bard Hall, New York City, with (left to right) Anne Teschner,
Executive Director, Care Center, Holyoke, Massachusetts; Eleanor Roosevelt;
Amy Thomas-Elder, Chicago Clemente Course Director; Kent Jacobson, Holyoke Clemente Course
Director; and Charles Thomas-Elder, Chicago Professor of Philosophy |
Since its inception, the Clemente Course has received prestigious grants, including awards from the U.S. Department of Education, the Open Society Institute, the Knight Foundation, seven state humanities councils, and many additional foundations and individuals. It has attracted a great deal of attention in the press as well, with features in the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Seattle Times, the Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, and many other newspapers serving communities with affiliate courses (see Press Clippings). In addition, both CNN and National Public Radio have devoted segments to the program. In 2000, President Clinton awarded Clemente Course founder Earl Shorris with the National Humanities Medal.
Bard's Clemente Course in the Humanities offers the opportunity for intellectual development while providing a foundation for additional education and enhanced social and political participation. In so doing, the program unlocks potential in low-income communities that would otherwise go undeveloped. Through the creation of humanities courses in underserved communities nationwide, Bard College plans to transform the lives of thousands of individuals who now live in poverty, thereby bringing our nation closer to the ideals of equality, justice, and democracy on which it is founded.
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