The ES&L program offers two related program opportunities for students: Humanities for Humanity (or H4H) and Humanities for Humanity Two (or H4H2). Each brings together community participants with students from Trinity College and Victoria College to read and discuss rich, influential texts from the humanities; H4H2, a very fun, distinct spin-off project from H4H, is described just beneath the outline of H4H below.
Become a H4H or H4H2 Mentor
Each year, we recruit Trinity student mentors to facilitate Humanities for Humanity. The primary responsibilities of mentors are to create an inviting environment for our community participants and to help nurture conversation and discussion in small groups after the lecture. We are also recruit third- and fourth-year Trinity undergraduate students to act as mentors for Humanities for Humanity Two. Mentors in H4H2 read and discuss literature together with community members who face economic and other structural barriers to post-secondary education. These opportunities can be added to your Co-Curricular Record (CCR) and are a wonderful community service experience to highlight on your resume. Further information about these programs and mentorship opportunities will be sent to students in early September.
Humanities for Humanity (H4H)
In H4H, a joint program between Victoria College and Trinity College, we will work chronologically through significant humanities texts and examine what the past can teach us about the present. H4H is a unique course, because members of the community are invited into the college to listen to lectures by U of T faculty and guest speakers, and also engage in discussion about a selection of broad questions related to these topics. Currently we recruit participants for our programs from The Centre for Community Learning & Development (CCL&D), West Neighbourhood House, Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre, The Stop, Parkdale Project Read and the CRC in Regent Park.
We impose no specific criteria on community members for eligibility into the programs. Anyone intrigued by the idea of working through the subject matter is welcome! We cover the costs of the reading material and public transit to and from the college, and we provide a meal to be eaten in common before each session. There are also no exams or assignments. In other words, we aim to eliminate every barrier that would in many circumstances prevent individuals from enjoying a robust learning experience within the university.
H4H runs in the fall term. To learn more about H4H, visit our media page on the Victoria College website and watch the short documentary, The Ivory Castle, which gives a glimpse into Humanities for Humanity and the general spirit and goal of our programs that involve community members. Philosopher and cultural critic, Trinity Fellow Prof. Mark Kingwell writes about H4H.
Humanities for Humanity Two (H4H2)
Looking for a significant community engagement opportunity this year – or do you just love to read? Now in our sixth year (fall 2018), H4H2 is a spin-off of our very successful H4H program. H4H2 is for students interested in discussing great books with a group of diverse and economically marginalized individuals from the greater Toronto community who would not normally attend university. We will discuss one novel per term. Most of the community participants in this year’s H4H2 reading group are familiar with the H4H2 experience – they will help to welcome you into the community, if this is your first time! H4H2 runs in both the fall and winter terms.
If you have any questions about either program, please contact artsdean@trinity.utoronto.ca.