"It Changed Me as a Citizen": Students' Experiences in the Clemente Course in the Humanities

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Identity Development and Humanities Instruction

Abstract

The Clemente Course in the Humanities – a free college course for low-income adults – is predicated on the idea that a liberal education can spur personal transformation. This paper, which draws from a two-year ethnography of Clemente courses, examines the relationship between students’ course participation and their engagement as democratic citizens. Data reveal that most students (n=76) felt that the learning experience was transformative and helped them to become more engaged citizens. Students reported thinking more critically, gaining confidence, and engaging more actively in the economic and political aspects of their communities – all of which contribute to a healthy, deliberative democracy. Data indicate that a liberal education may indeed play a special role in producing engaged citizens.

Author

• Charity Anderson, Rutgers University - Newark