In which we welcome our new Curriculum and Program Director, Jessica Isaac, to The Notebook and the Books@Work team. As Jessica writes of her passion for literature and culture: “Pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees in English satisfied my hunger for greater understanding about language and texts and their relationship to culture, but I am happiest when I am sharing that knowledge with others… with people who have felt excluded from the conversation, who haven’t had the time or money or invitation to have discussions about meaning and experiences of awe and delight. And what always happens when I have those conversations is that I see what I have learned completely differently.” How lucky we are to have Jessica on the team – help us welcome her!
Read MoreSignificant Grant From The Teagle Foundation Propels Books@Work
May 26, 2015 | Ann Kowal Smith, Felix Brueck
We are extraordinarily excited to share the news of our new partnership with The Teagle Foundation, enabling Books@Work to take a giant step toward significantly furthering its reach. Last week, the Foundation announced a $150,000 two-year grant to support and scale our programs and research activities. Established in 1944, The Teagle Foundation works to support and strengthen liberal arts education, as a prerequisite for rewarding work, meaningful citizenship and a fulfilling life. Books@Work forms a part of a new special project entitled, “Liberal Arts Education Beyond the Academy.” This initiative supports programs for individuals in underserved communities who may not have access to higher education but who may derive substantial benefit from exposure to the liberal arts and university communities.
Read MoreIn an opinion piece in the New York Times, Mark Bauerlein, Emory University English professor, took aim at an increasingly broken higher education system, this time with professors in his cross-hairs. “You can’t become a moral authority,” he writes “if you rarely challenge students in class and engage them beyond it.” But Books@Work demonstrates that the professor is not only a moral authority, but a powerful agent for effective change.
Read MoreHow Can Universities and Companies Partner to Create Critical Thinkers?
December 16, 2014 | Rachel Burstein
Rather than detracting from higher education’s efforts to define and measure critical thinking skills, the humanities can and should be front and center. Our own experience at Books@Work tells us that this is not only possible but powerful.
Read MoreWhat if the institution of higher education itself – rather than the students who shame it to act – becomes a powerful voice for social change? We consider this question on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the assassination of university leaders at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in El Salvador.
Read MoreThe Heart of the Matter, published last year by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, makes the case that the humanities and social sciences are essential for civic society, innovation, and life in a globalized world. The humanities and social sciences are, in the report’s own words, “the keeper of the republic.” At Books@Work we are bringing these ideas to life everyday.
Read MoreIn our recent discussions at Books@Work, we have been tossing around the term “ecosystem” to help us understand the many interconnected ways our program can make a difference. We are learning to see that every partner in a Books@Work program, from the individual participants to the companies and faculty, is connected to a whole network of relationships.
Read More