Humanities Program (HUM)
A thriving community for the last ten years, the HUM Program brings together a diverse group of adult learners who all share a passion for lifelong learning. The program, a collaborative effort between the UofA and the greater off-campus community, offers multiple courses each year that emphasize critical thinking in everyday life.
Each semester, there are two courses; one takes place on campus, while another is held at a second stage women's shelter. Each course has its own, unique, curriculum that is developed responsively to the learning wants and needs of the community.
Although many people have a passion for learning, the program recognizes that a lived reality for many is that too often institutional, situational, and financial barriers make post-secondary education inaccessible. Some of the ways the UofA decreases these barriers is by providing transportation, food, and supplies.
The HUM Program strives to make its courses accessible thereby cultivating an opportunity for critical thinking irrelevant of previous educational experiences. This fosters the coming together of university faculty, students, and community learners in a way that challenges the traditional university classroom by equally privileging lived experiences alongside conventional understandings of knowledge.
Partnerships and Programs
The Humanities Program is in partnership with The Learning Centre Literacy Association and currently offers courses in the Fall and Winter term on the University Campus. Past course topics have included: An Introduction to Humanities, Stories and Communities, Native Studies, Education & Society, and Taking Back the Airwaves.
Since Spring 2010, the Humanities Program has also run a course at Wings of Providence Shelter for Second Stage Shelters. This course is designed specifically for women healing from interpersonal violence and brings university-level learning into the unique environment of the women's shelter. The Humanities course offered at Wings of Providence is centered on themes related to women's experiences from diverse scholarly perspectives. Students projects in this course have included guided writing, photography, and 'life book' projects.
In the Fall of 2015, both Humanities classes took "communities" as their theme. For their year-end projects each member of the class created 6-inch squares representing the theme in their own way, which was sewn into community quilts. These quilts are part of an exhibit at the Rutherford Library from January 26 to February 29, 2016. Read more about the exhibit here.
Community Engagement
- Through the Humanities Program, the University of Alberta is able to learn from communities that would not typically have access to post-secondary education. As a result, the university begins to build reciprocal relationships of learning with communities who have historically been kept out of university classrooms.
- The Humanities Program aims to promote student engagement with the broader political public realm via critical thinking, reflection, and dialogue in a respectful environment.
- The Humanities Program recognizes that we work, learn, and play on Treaty 6 territory and are committed to an unending, thoughtful, and conscious negotiation about our relationships and responsibilities to the land and the community both past and present.
Urban & Civic Engagement
- Offering free university-level courses in the humanities to individuals who wouldn't otherwise have access to critical learning spaces in an accessible setting is a prime example of the urban and civic engagement.
- The Humanities Program currently depends on a strong partnership with The Learning Centre and Wings of Providence; we will continue to foster reciprocal relationships between the University and the broader community.
Enriching Graduate Student Experience
- Over half of our volunteer instructors have been graduate students. Teaching in an unconventional classroom setting, encourages graduate students to think about pedagogy. HUM challenges graduate students to think outside of their emerging expertise and to value other kinds of knowledge, positioning themselves as learners.
Enriching the University Community and Community Engagement within the University
- Humanities instructors have consistently remarked that teaching in the Humanities Program has challenged them to reflect on and refine the ways they teach in their conventional university classrooms.
- Volunteer instructors come from many faculties and departments, including English and Film Studies, Comparative Literature, Native Studies, Philosophy, Education, Library and Information Studies, Sociology, Rural Economy, Anthropology, Women's and Gender Studies, History and Classics, Fine Arts, and Native Studies.
How to Apply
If you would like to enroll in the Humanities Program, please fill out this online application form
If you are having trouble accessing or filling out the form, contact Lisa Prins, Humanities Program Coordinator.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should students bring to the first day of class?
Nothing. Supplies and material are provided to students on the first day of class.
Are there homework and assignments?
Yes and No. Because Humanities is a non-credit course no grade (pass, fail, or letter grade) is given, there is no formal grading. However, we do have in-class assignments and exercises that learners are expected to try in the Humanities 101 course. These activities are always done during class time and any necessary materials will be provided. Learners are also encouraged to share their exercises and hand them in to instructors for feedback. Learners should also be prepared to participate in class discussions. Classes also typically include a final project that the class works together to complete and learners are expected to contribute to this capping project. We are currently working towards supporting an independent and sustainable group of alumni learners in partnership with FGSR and EPL.
How long does the course run?
The Humanities Program typically runs for about 12 weeks. The class is offered once in the Fall and once in the Winter.
- The Learning Centre Literacy Association
- Wings of Providence Second Stage Women's Shelter
- Office of the Provost
- USchool
- FGSR
- Edmonton Public Libraries
- The volunteers who keep the program going
- The learners who continue to contribute to the program in and out of the classroom
The Humanities Program is facilitated by instructors and course assistants who are all volunteers from the University of Alberta.
If you are interested in teaching or assisting with a course, please contact Lisa Prins. The Humanities Program welcomes Faculty, Graduate Students, Contract Instructors and senior Undergraduate Students to help out with our courses.
Categories of Identity, Who Decides Who We Are?, Winter 2017
Women's Knowledge, Winter 2017
Geocaching for Storytelling, Winter 2011
Alternative Guide to the City, Fall 2010
Mapping Community & City, Winter 2010
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