The College
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UNC’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences is committed to the liberal arts tradition of advancing human knowledge through serious scholarship, superior instruction, and the freedom of academic inquiry. The faculty employs the latest teaching and learning technology while emphasizing accessibility and the benefits of student-teacher interaction.
The College is home to a wide array of academic disciplines organized into five schools: Communication; English Language and Literature; History, Philosophy, and Political Science; Modern Languages and Cultural Studies; Social Sciences; and Sociology and Criminal Justice.
These areas of study teach us about past, present, and future contributions to the shaping of human experience—contributions that are made both by individuals and by societies.
Recent Events
Reading in the Social Studies Project Receives $136,261 Grant
Matthew Downey |
Congratulations to Dr. Matthew Downey, Coordinator of the Social Science Program for successful funding of the Reading in the Social Studies Project (Phase II) in the amount of $136,261.00. The project is funded by the 2009-2010 No Child Left Behind Act 2001, Improving Teacher Quality, Title II, Part A federal grant. This three-year project will reach Denver elementary school teachers of grades 3, 4, and 5. The project is designed to prepare them to teach content-area reading in the core social studies disciplines (civics, economics, geography, and history) while integrating non-fiction social studies readings into literacy instruction. The first phase, which included teachers in 13 Denver public schools, was completed in May 2009. The second phase will reach an additional 25 schools. Phase II also will expand the partnership to include the Colorado History Museum, which will help the project add primary sources to the non-fiction texts.
Hispanic Associate Professor Earns UNC Academic Excellence Award
Efraín Garza |
Efraín E. Garza, Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies, has earned the 2009 UNC Academic Excellence in Undergraduate Education Award. The annual award recognizes a faculty member who demonstrates academic excellence in their various roles.
Prof. Garza, who has taught at UNC since 2004, obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the University of Texas at Brownsville. His Masters Degree, in Romance Languages, and his Ph.D. in Spanish are from Texas Tech University.
Prize-Winning Essay
Congratulations to Dr. Lahcen E. Ezzaher, Professor of English, whose essay, “Alfarabi’s Book of Rhetoric: An Arabic-English Translation of Alfarabi’s Commentary on Aristotle’s Rhetoric,” was selected as the best essay published in the Autumn 2008 issue of Rhetorica, published by University of California Press. In recognition of this honor, the International Society for the History of Rhetoric presented an award of $1000 to Dr. Ezzaher at its recent conference in Montreal.
New Projects in History
The Middle Ground Project
Photo by Greg Hobbs Window Rock |
One of two national programs funded in 2005 by the U.S. Department of Education under the Presidential Academy in American History and Civics Education program, the Middle Ground Project offers an intensive program for new and veteran middle- and high-school teachers of U.S. history and civics from the Navajo Nation. The goal of the project is to develop a national model for the integration of U.S. history and civics education. Moreover, the project incorporates local stories into the larger narrative of American history by including the Navajo Nation’s history, and materials on its government and legal system in its curriculum.
Teachers participating in this summer’s program will have a variety of opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for U.S. history and civics. Presenters from the National Archives, the American Historical Association, the University of Northern Colorado, the Colorado State Supreme Court, and Colorado History Day will offer workshops on best practices for history and civics education. Teachers also have hands-on opportunities to conduct research and historical inquiry, build their historical frame of reference, deepen their interest in civic life, and generate ideas for classroom application. Participating teachers work with historians, political scientists, legal and constitutional scholars, legal practitioners, and master teachers. For more information, contact Jennifer Newman.
The Colorado Academy of History
Colorado’s Capitol Building |
A collaborative partnership between UNC, Weld County School District 6, and other distinguished partners, the Colorado Academy of History is designed to promote the increased understanding of historical content and essential learning in history for teachers and students at all grade levels.
Activities in the CAH will consist of four workshops for teachers during the school year and a week-long institute during the summer. Two workshops will be in the form of “book clubs” focused on integrating ideas from books in American History into the classroom. The other two workshops will center on integrating primary sources into the classroom. This last year’s summer institute (June 24-29, 2007) featured prominent guest speakers and master teachers all working to increase teacher content knowledge and improve the delivery of American History content in the classroom. For more information, contact Fritz Fischer.
