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Mrs. Lisa Kenna to attend NEH Summer Institute for Teachers
English Master Teacher Lisa Kenna was recently accepted to the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for Teachers. She will attend a course at Baylor University in Waco, Texas this coming summer 2023.
The course, titled “Disputatio and the Pursuit of Wisdom in the Humanities,” plans to bring together humanities teachers and equip them to teach their students to engage with ideas in a philosophical way, whether in a philosophy course, or while studying literary texts, history, or government.
“I am always learning and seeking to improve my craft of teaching,” Mrs. Kenna said. “I am excited to learn more about how to bring together reason and the imagination through Wisdom questions which shape human experience: ‘Who are we? Why are we here? What helps us to flourish as humans and as a society?’
“The program focuses on the theme of justice in the stories of Hamlet and Antigone, and in the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle, and St. Thomas Aquinas, and in modern writers like Dr. Martin Luther King,” she added. “Throughout our studies at Oakcrest, the theme of justice grounds my own classroom discussions in my literature classes, and I know that participating in this NEH summer seminar will help me to refine my own thinking, writing, and teaching.”
The course will be led by professors from Baylor University, University of Virginia, as well as other professionals in the field.
Mrs. Kenna has spoken at the National Endowment for the Humanities conference on teaching Dante, and has attended two previous NEH Summer Institute courses, “Dante’s Inferno: Influence, Adaptation, and Appropriation” and “Moby-Dick and the World of Whaling in the Digital Age.”
Congratulations, Mrs. Kenna!
