March 17, 2008...

The Charleston Clemente Course, a free college-level humanities course for impoverished, homeless, abused and otherwise disadvantaged people in the Charleston area, recently received a Service Learning Award from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. The Charleston Clemente Course, which is offered by Trident Technical College, was honored for its impact on the community. Dr. Mary Ann Kohli, director of the Charleston Clemente Course and an English instructor at TTC, received a plaque and $500 for the College.

Funded in part by a grant from The Humanities Council SC, the Charleston Clemente Course is based on the Clemente Course in the Humanities developed by author and educator Earl Shorris in 1995. Shorris developed the course on the premise that studying great works of art, literature, history and philosophy can spur reflective thinking and give people the tools to gain control of their lives.

TTC’s course is the first Clemente course in South Carolina. The course is offered to disadvantaged people in the Charleston area who are not currently enrolled in school, in the hope that a study of the humanities can offer a way out of poverty through intellectual freedom.

For more information, call Kohli at 843-720-5713.