Focused Discussions
Gaming the Humanities: Intersectionality of the Humanities and Video Games
Focused Discussion Fara Nizamani, Sonia Michaels
Since its beginnings, the field of video game development has been closely confined to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) arena, often brushing aside any notion that humanities education can be of value. However, the humanities share a powerful and mutually beneficial connection with game development through game narrative, world-building, characterization, musical scoring, and top-quality art. Questions of race, class, and gender, so common in the humanities classroom, are of vital importance to game developers striving to create unique games, helping them explore the nuanced and often controversial perspectives and moral dilemmas that man has grappled with for millennia. Based on our experience teaching humanities courses in a heavily STEM school, this focused discussion will address the inseparable connection that traditional humanities have with modern video game development.
Impact of Social Media Technologies on Adult Learning
Focused Discussion Khalil Alsaadat
Technology and social media have presented significant tools for adult learners to learn and advance continually. Fast technological advancements have enabled development of technologies used for learning. Expansion of various tools have given professors, educators, trainers, and instructors many alternatives towards the implementation of technology supported learning. The use of social media can improve adult learning outcomes and academic accomplishment. Social media is increasingly proven to be beneficial in adult learning and has a huge potential for adult education. This paper sheds some lights on benefits of social media for adult learners, incorporating review of previous work and some barriers that are encountered when using social media for learning purposes. Also some social media models are reviewed to show the growth and effect of social media in adult learning context, and suggestions and recommendations are provided.
Hamlet on Prozac: Critical Contributions of the Humanities to the Education of Healthcare Providers
Focused Discussion Maureen Donohue-Smith
Texts in medical fields routinely tell stories in the form of case studies to illustrate clinical problems. In typical case histories, data are clearly organized and care is taken to assure that readers are alerted to the most relevant clinical issues. However, this lack of texture, the absence of complexity and the distillation of complex interpersonal interactions into brief summary statements can promote an oversimplification of clients’ lives. On the other hand, fictional lives are often “messy” and, in most enduring literature, defy reductionist interpretation. Study in the humanities can provide a unifying frame of reference for engaging health care practitioners in exploring: 1) the multiple etiological factors contributing to the conflict; 2) characters’ perceptions of the conflict; 3) why characters chose the solutions to conflicts they did; and, 4) the outcomes of the paths chosen. Neuroimaging techniques now allow scientists to map the neural pathways associated with complex brain activity; for example, to “see” the brain experience emotions such love, anger, and fear. However exciting these advances have been in expanding our knowledge of the brain, we must retain and value efforts to understand the mind and the equally complex processes which makes us “human.” Holistic medical interventions draw upon the humanities to incorporate art, music, journaling, and bibliotherapy in various treatment modalities and as self-care strategies for practitioners. This discussion focuses on the essential role of the humanities in shaping the values, ethics and attitudes of healthcare providers and, by extension, in improving the quality of healthcare.
Designing an Integrated Humanities Program: Innovative Disciplinary Connections for the Humanities at Small Colleges
Focused Discussion Kathleen Hanggi, Bradley Johnson
The long-standing refrain about the crisis in the humanities has intensified over the past few years as colleges discontinue humanities majors and small colleges develop professional programs to attract students. This framing of the humanities’ future positions us on the defensive, always trying to work ourselves out of this negative narrative. Despite this perception in higher education and the media, humanities departments are developing innovative strategies for thinking beyond their own disciplinary boundaries. In this session, we will facilitate a conversation that emphasizes various interdisciplinary paths forward for the humanities. For this focused discussion, we will outline some of the recent voices on the necessity of the humanities to other disciplines, and some of the concerns with those approaches. We will also describe our NEH grant-supported project to create an Emphasis in the Integrated Humanities at Doane, where we are designing intentionally linked courses to deepen STEM and social sciences students’ preparation for working with diverse human populations. We will then open the discussion to attendees to share innovative strategies for designing the future of the humanities at liberal arts colleges
