PBS Documentary Based on Bard College Clemente Course Students to Air on Martin Luther King Day
“I could hit a reset on everything that was painful and traumatic to me and really go out and get the life that I deserved but never had.” So says Kafi Dixon in A Reckoning in Boston, a new PBS documentary that will premiere on Martin Luther King Day, January 17. The film follows Dixon and Carl Chandler, a fellow student in Bard’s Clemente Course in the Humanities—a free, college-accredited program for low-income adults—as they are immersed in the study of Baldwin, Monet, Plato, and many others, all while working to combat racial inequality and gentrification in their city.
PBS Documentary Based on Bard College Clemente Course Students to Air on Martin Luther King Day
The Boston Globe called the film “an absolute must-see,” Arts Fuse named it among the 10 best documentaries of the year, and Cornel West observed that it “lays bare the transformative force of the humanities in our lives in these turbulent and troubling times.”
For 25 years in more than 30 programs across the country, the Clemente Course has helped lift people out of poverty and offered them the skills to advocate for themselves, build better futures, and contribute to the civic life of their communities. Dixon and Chandler are just two of the many remarkable students—many of whom have faced poverty, homelessness, and interrupted education—who have experienced Clemente as a site of personal growth.
Kafi Dixon, Bard Clemente Course student. Still from “A Reckoning in Boston.” Courtesy PBS
Kafi Dixon is an urban and rural farmer and founder of the Common Good Co-op, Boston’s first cooperative for women and its first worker/owner urban farm co-op. Carl Chandler is a grandfather and a public speaker who continued his education at Harvard University after completing the Clemente Course.
Director James Rutenbeck worked with Dixon, Chandler, and the Clemente Course for more than five years. Dixon and Chandler’s roles evolved and they became collaborators and coproducers on the film, which has given them a voice in a national conversation about racism, social justice, and how to bring about lasting change.
In most markets, A Reckoning in Boston will air on January 17 at 10:00 pm ET on PBS stations, but local listings may vary.
Further Reading from the Clemente Course Blog
The World Premiere of a Very Clemente Story
A “Reckoning” in the Classroom
Post Date: 01-12-2022
“Education should be a human right.” Marina van Zuylen on Bard’s Clemente Course in the Humanities
Bard’s Clemente Course in the Humanities in Kingston, New York, kicks off its spring session this week at the Kingston Library. Marina van Zuylen, Bard professor and Clemente Course director, talks about the nationwide Clemente Course, and how the program connects to Bard’s mission to make college education more inclusive.“Education should be a human right.” Marina van Zuylen on Bard’s Clemente Course in the Humanities
Post Date: 02-04-2020
Marina van Zuylen and Daniel Terris Speak at Forum Marking 75th Anniversary of the Teagle Foundation
Al-Quds Bard dean Daniel Terris and Bard professor and Clemente Course director Marina van Zuylen spoke at "Educating for Freedom, for All," a forum marking the 75th Anniversary of the Teagle Foundation. The event featured leaders and fresh voices promoting equity in higher education.Marina van Zuylen and Daniel Terris Speak at Forum Marking 75th Anniversary of the Teagle Foundation
Post Date: 10-08-2019
More Clemente Course News
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Application Deadline Extended for Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities at Kingston Library
Application Deadline Extended for Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities at Kingston Library
The Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities is offering a college-level introduction to the humanities—philosophy, literature, U.S. history, art history, critical thinking, and writing—again this fall in Kingston, New York, to adults living on low incomes. Students attend at no cost. Tuition, books, and childcare will be provided. Transportation is free within the immediate Kingston area. Students who successfully complete the course earn 6 college credits from Bard College. Classes will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., from October 1 through May at the Kingston Library, 55 Franklin Street, Kingston, NY 12401. Prospective applicants are invited to attend the first class on October 1 and can submit applications until October 3.
Applicants must be 17 years of age or older; living in a low-income household; able to read a newspaper in English; highly motivated and committed; and have the time and desire to attend classes regularly, complete assignments outside of class, and participate fully in the course for the entire nine-month term.
“The impact this course has had on the lives of people in the Kingston area—veterans, single mothers, homeless, people in recovery, citizens in search of a community—is a great example of the power of education to change lives,” said Clemente Course Director Marina van Zuylen, stressing that many of the course’s graduates go on to enroll in part- and full-time college programs, while others have been successful in finding new career opportunities and getting their creative work published or exhibited. “The Clemente Course’s supportive and devoted teachers provide a very rare kind of personal and intellectual nurturing. Each year, we’re reaching more people and engaging more partners in the community who are eager to support the course and our students.”
Applications can be picked up from the Kingston Library, by clicking (2019 Application), or by visiting clemente.bard.edu. The application deadline for the 2019 Kingston Clemente Course is October 3. If you miss the deadline, please contact Marina van Zuylen at [email protected]. Once the application is completed, please e-mail it to Marina van Zuylen at [email protected], or drop it off at the front desk of the Kingston Library at 55 Franklin Street, Kingston, NY 12401. For library hours, please call 845-331-0507 or go to kingstonlibrary.org/hours.php. For more information about the Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities being offered in Kingston, please visit clemente.bard.edu or e-mail [email protected].
The Bard College Clemente Course in the Humanities, taught by Bard College faculty, provides college-level instruction for college credit to economically disadvantaged individuals. Begun as a pilot project on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Clemente Course is currently in its 21st year of operation. Overall, the program has enrolled over 3,000 students. More than 2,000 have completed the course and earned college credit; and more than 1,500 students have transferred to four-year colleges and universities or plan to do so. The Clemente Course was awarded a 2014 National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama.
The program is based on the belief that by studying the humanities, participants acquire the cultural capital, conceptual skills, and appreciation for reasoned discourse necessary to improve their societal situation. Clemente students receive 110 hours of instruction in five humanistic disciplines and explore the great works of literature, art history, moral philosophy, and American history. Instruction in critical thinking and writing is also offered. The program removes many of the financial barriers to higher education that low-income individuals face: books, carfare, and childcare are provided, and tuition is free. Bard grants a certificate of achievement to any student completing the Clemente Course and 6 college credits to those completing it at a high level of academic performance. For more information, please visit clemente.bard.edu.
Post Date: 09-27-2019
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Rising Above Expectations: Bard College Partnership with Holyoke Care Center Helps Teen Moms, Struggling Students Get College Degrees
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Opinion: Programs Serving Nontraditional College Students, Like Bard’s Clemente Course, Deserve More Support
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Bard’s Clemente Course in the Humanities Awarded NEH Grants to Expand Veterans’ Initiative
Bard’s Clemente Course in the Humanities Awarded NEH Grants to Expand Veterans’ Initiative
The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced that Clemente is among its 2019 grant recipients, awarding two grants totaling $198,930 to expand its work in the NEH Dialogues on the Experience of War initiative. The grants will grow the Clemente Veterans' Initiative to three new sites.
CVI was developed in 2014 to provide a meaningful intellectual community to veterans who are struggling to adapt to civilian life. CVI is based on the idea that guided discussion of humanities texts can provide these veterans with an opportunity to reflect on their military experiences and move out of isolation and into community.
One grant will establish a two-year CVI program in Providence, RI. The other will support three new 12-week dialogues with veterans. Dialogues use humanities texts from the Ancient Greeks to contemporary literature to explore themes of war and reconciliation, considering universal human experiences and questions. Dialogues will be held in the Spring of 2020 in Houston, TX; Newark, NJ; and Tacoma, WA.
All courses will be offered free of charge to participants. Books, child care, and transportation assistance will be provided at no cost. Transferable college credit will be available from Bard College.
“We are deeply appreciative of the National Endowment for the Humanities’ continuing support for our Veterans’ Initiative,” said Lela Hilton, Executive Director of the Clemente Course. “It reaffirms our belief that engagement with the humanities is central to our ability to participate most actively in our communities, and to live a full and joyful life. To co-create and share this experience with veterans is a true honor.”
Post Date: 04-02-2019
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Clemente Course in the Humanities Presents a Dramatic Reading of Euripides's Play Herakles on September 14 at Bard College
Clemente Course in the Humanities Presents a Dramatic Reading of Euripides's Play Herakles on September 14 at Bard College
On Friday, September 14, the Bard College and the Clemente Course in the Humanities present a dramatic reading of Euripides's play Herakles, translated by Robert Meagher, professor of humanities, Hampshire College, and author of Herakles Gone Mad: Rethinking Heroism in an Age of Endless War and Killing from the Inside Out: Moral Injury and Just War. The part of Herakles will be read by Emily Donahoe O'Keefe and the part of Theseus will be read by Sean Cullen. The reading will be followed by a moderated discussion of Moral Injury and Just War with Meager, Col. David Barnes, academy professor, West Point Military Academy; and Mark Santow, associate professor of history, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and founding director of the Clemente Course in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The event is moderated by Jack Cheng, director of the Clemente Course in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
The reading is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It takes place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in room 102 of the F.W. Olin Humanities Building on the Bard College campus. The event is free and open to the public and no reservations are required. For more information, call 845-758-7381, or e-mail [email protected].
The Clemente Course in the Humanities offers free, accredited college course in the humanities to low-income adults. It was founded in 1995 as a pilot project on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. As a community-based program, the course mobilizes social services and community organizations, state humanities councils, and institutions of higher learning. The Clemente Course has been supported in this endeavor by a dynamic partnership with Bard College, which for 20 years has granted academic credits to many of the course’s affiliate programs while also providing key support through academic oversight, collaborative fundraising, professional development, and outreach.
For more information about the Bard College Clemente Course, which is currently accepting applications for its 2018–19 class in Kingston, NY, please visit clemente.bard.edu. For more information about the national Clemente Course and its courses being offered throughout the country, visit clementecourse.org.
Post Date: 09-05-2018
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Teagle Foundation Awards Clemente Course in the Humanities a Grant for Youth Programming
Teagle Foundation Awards Clemente Course in the Humanities a Grant for Youth Programming
From the Clemente Course in the Humanities, a national network of which Bard College is a member. Bard College accredits 23 Clemente Courses around the country, including one in Kingston, New York, near the Bard campus.
The Teagle Foundation has awarded Clemente a $37,000 grant for its “Pathways to the Liberal Arts” initiative. The grant will enable Clemente to undertake an in-depth review of affiliate programs geared toward youth and determine how best to expand those programs to other locations.
Clemente programs for high school students are currently held in three places:- Chicago: Sojourner Scholars, supported by Illinois Humanities
- Salt Lake City: Clemente Course, supported by Utah Humanities
- Portland: Alder Early College Course, supported by Oregon Humanities
More information about our youth programming is available in our Fall 2018 newsletter.
The grant from the Teagle Foundation will support a working group that will determine how Clemente youth programs operate in their respective communities, gather key practices from those courses, and articulate models to support future programs both locally and nationally. As Clemente enters its third decade, we are investigating how we can adapt our courses to serve both adults and specific and often-overlooked populations, such as opportunity youth, veterans, and those aging out of foster care.
We are grateful to the Teagle Foundation for its generous support.
Post Date: 09-02-2018