History Professor Ousmane Power-Greene doesn’t believe that the teaching and learning of college-level history should be contained only to a select few who can afford the privilege. This conviction leads him into neighborhoods in Springfield and Holyoke, where he engages students who are eager to access his expertise, but who, without a vital initiative supporting them, might otherwise be unable to do so.
The humanities are not just for college-educated elites.
Power-Greene is an instructor in The Clemente Course in the Humanities, a nationwide program providing free accredited college humanities courses to adults facing economic hardship and other adverse circumstances that impede them from pursuing higher education opportunities. The goal is to empower the participants not only to expand their knowledge and boost their careers, but also to “engage actively in the cultural and civic lives of their communities.”
Power-Greene, who has been teaching Clemente courses since 2014, said the thirst for humanities education is intense and egalitarian—participants can range in age from the late teens to 70s (or older) and represent a wealth of ethnic, cultural, and national identities. Some have long been living in the U.S.; others are pursuing citizenship. But when they walk into a Clemente classroom, they are united in one important way: They want to be there. Heartily.