Publicly Engaged Humanities, Graduate Certificate
Erin Benay, Program Director
erin.benay@case.edu
Credential: Graduate Certificate
Field of Study: Publicly Engaged Humanities
Program Overview
The Department of History offers a certificate program in publicly engaged humanities for graduate students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Broadly defined, publicly engaged humanities projects enlist diverse publics in the creation of knowledge by making topics such as art history, history, literary history, philosophy, film, and theater accessible, understandable, and relevant to people's lived experience. They integrate the humanistic disciplines into the public sphere by creating, documenting, cataloguing, or preserving humanistic content, or by creating lifelong opportunities to share in such content. Research indicates that the study of texts, music, and art can teach fundamental skills like compassion and empathy, creative thinking, problem solving, and critical debate. Bringing the humanities into public life (free and accessible to all) is therefore essential to civic life.
Publicly engaged humanists also partner with community organizations to address social inequities and inspire community-based change. Faculty who teach courses for the certificate program forge such partnerships as part of their curricular mission, pairing in-class content and learning goals with engaged civic practice. This approach emphasizes the value of learning by doing, as well as learning by serving. Service learning courses seek to bridge the classroom and community environments, bringing classroom, book, and instructor-driven knowledge to life by applying them to the world.
The courses taught in the certificate program train students to:
- participate in contemporary debates
- amplify community voices and histories
- help individuals and communities navigate difficult experiences
- expand educational access
- preserve culture in times of crisis and change
Courses are taught by faculty in a broad array of CWRU departments and are cross-listed with each faculty member's department. All currently matriculated graduate students in good academic standing are eligible to add the certificate to their course of study without incurring additional expense.
Graduate Policies
For graduate policies and procedures, please review the School of Graduate Studies section of the General Bulletin.
Program Requirements
The Graduate Certificate in Publicly Engaged Humanities is comprised of one introductory theory and methods course (3 credit hours), three elective courses (3 credit hours each), and one practicum course (3 credit hours) for a total of 15 credit hours. Each course in this sequence is designated HSTY, but the elective courses are also cross-listed with the instructor’s home departmental field. Elective courses taught at the 300-400 level may also count toward the completion of graduate work in the student's primary degree area (thus fulfilling both the requirement of the certificate and the requirement of the primary degree field program).
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses: | ||
| Introductory Theory and Methods Course a | 3 | |
| Elective Courses a | 9 | |
| Practicum Course b | 3 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 15 | |
- a
Must be a 300- or 400-level course.
- b
Must be a 400-level HSTY course.