The Divisions of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences encompasses four academic departments, two academic support centers, and numerous programs of study. Learn more about the division, the programs, departments, and centers on this website. Introduce yourself to the Instructional Dean who heads the division and find contact information for department chairs.
 

What’s New in AHSS 

January 2012

The spring 2012 semester started smoothly. The campus is abuzz with students, with overall enrollment at just over 101% of projection and the Department of English, Reading World Languages and AELP at 110.97%. Vice President and Provost Brad Stewart and a number of faculty, staff and administrators were on hand to greet students arriving for their first days of classes—tense, uncertain expressions were transformed to bright smiles as students were welcomed, handed maps and given an opportunity to ask questions.

The TP/SS Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Area, in collaboration with the TP/SS Division of Natural and Applied Science, Business, Management, and Information Science, invited the MC community to attend a special “welcome back”/multicultural professional development event: “Multicultural Tales That Connect Us, A Storytelling Performance with Noa Baum” on Thursday, January 19th 2:00-3:00 at the Cultural Arts Center, Theatre II.

The inaugural issue of "The Sligo Journal," a campus and community-based journal of arts and letters featuring the art, photography, and literature of students and community members is now available at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus bookstore.

Marcia Bronstein, a 2011 Smithsonian Faculty Fellow, co-presented with other SFFs at the AFACCT Conference on January 6th.  In the session, entitled "Using the Community in Community College Teaching: Dialogues of Race and Identity," Marcia showed a music video project of her African American Voices learning community students. 

Ivonne Bruneau-Botello, professor of world languages, also presented at the AFACCT Conference on January 5th.  Her session was “Engaging Community College Students and Faculty: Understanding Students with Learning Disabilities.”

The  Department of Visual Art and Design featured its annual Faculty and Staff Exhibition, Evidence of Growth, which is on display at Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Arts Center until January 27th.  The work of artist in Residence Mariah Anne Johnson will also be on display until May 20, along with “Our Small Rooms,” an exhibit featuring works by DC artists Michelle Banks and Kendall Nordin, until February 9.

Finally, the Montgomery College grants office is putting the finishing touches on an NEH Challenge Grant Proposal for an Institute for Global Humanities Initiatives (IGHI) at Montgomery College. The grant responds to the NEH’s Bridging Cultures Endowment-wide program and will be submitted through the NEH Challenge Grant Program for Two-Year Colleges.

Quick Facts

• The largest unit at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus, delivering 53.5% of all student hours of enrollment in AY2010 at the TP/SS Campus
• Employs 54 full-time faculty; 20 full-time staff , plus over 100 part-time faculty (adjunct instructors)
• Just over 50% of all course sections offered by the unit are from the English Department; the other 50% typically represent General Education courses which students need to prepare them for transfer to four-year institutions
• Experienced a 12.1% increase in the number of student hours of enrollment in AY2010 (compared to a campus-wide increase of 11.5% for the same period); in comparison, the division experienced a 7.9% increase in the number of student hours of enrollment in AY2009 (compared to a campus-wide increase of 6.5% for the same period in AY2009)
• Delivered 7 of the 10 most highly enrolled courses at the campus, based on student hours of enrollment, in fall 2009. Most popular courses offered by the unit in fall 2009, in order of popularity, included:
   
• EN101: Techniques of Reading & Writing English I
• PY102: General Psychology
• EN102: Techniques of Reading & Writing II
• SO101: Introduction to Sociology
• SP108: Introduction to Human Communication
• EN001: Basic English I
• EN101A: Techniques of Reading & Writing English I, designed for students needing additional instructional time for grammar and mechanics review