Princeton University’s Program for Community College Engagement, the Princeton Humanities Initiative, the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges are hosting the first of several planned convenings at Princeton University starting this spring to discover, celebrate, and support the innovative work being done in the humanities at New Jersey community colleges. Select humanities faculty from all 18 community colleges in New Jersey will visit campus to discuss humanities initiatives at their colleges and then engage with Princeton’s academic and cultural resources for inspiration to bolster or reimagine initiatives on their campuses. 

The theme of the convening is “Where are the Humanities?” The day will fall into two main parts: a listening session, during which community college humanities faculty and administrators will share ideas and experiences with one another; and a “sandbox,” or experiential session, during which humanities faculty will tour various spaces on Princeton’s campus to explore where the humanities live, physically and intellectually. We plan to offer four separate tours: 

• a visit to Special Collections at the Firestone Library; 
• an architecture walking tour of campus; 
• a visit to a digital humanities makerspace; and
• a visit to the Princeton Seed Farm. 

This convening will be the first of several planned events that invite community college faculty to Princeton’s campus to consider opportunities and challenges for humanities in higher education, to celebrate the humanities’ vital function in our classrooms and in society, and to revitalize the role of the humanities in New Jersey and beyond.