Gainesville — Three members of the North Central Texas College History, Humanities and Philosophy Department participated in the Southwest Regional Community College Humanities Association (CCHA) conference Nov. 1-3, in Dallas.

Crystal Wright, Pat Ledbetter and Jane England represented NCTC at the conference.

The CCHA is a national organization dedicated to providing a variety of professional development opportunities for community college humanities educators.  CCHA sponsors annual conferences that bring together colleagues from across the nation, publishes a newsletter The Community College Humanist and a scholarly journal The Community College Humanities Review, and develops and directs research workshops and institutes funded by the NEH.

NCTC faculty participation in the CCHA is expected to increase.

“There is a growing demand for Humanities courses and this was reflected in the recent reorganization of the social science department,” England said.

In 2011, the history, humanities and philosophy departments were combined into one.

Humanities courses are among the most popular classes offered at NCTC,” said Wright, chair of the HHP department. “Usually these classes close in early registration. We are hoping to expand our offerings to meet the demand.”

At the CCHA Regional Conference, Wright, Ledbetter and England served as moderators for separate sessions. Additionally, Ledbetter and England presented scholarly papers as part of a panel entitled “From the Ancient World to Modern Times: Places, Artifacts and Relevance.” Both professors’ presentations were based on research from 2012 National Endowment for the Humanities summer programs.

Dr. Ledbetter’s presentation, “Engaging the Past: Students as Historians and Preservationists,” related materials developed from the NEH Landmark Workshop “Along the Shore: Changing and Preserving the Landmarks of Brooklyn’s Industrial Waterfront” to local Cooke County history projects. Dr. Ledbetter said that she felt that the paper was well-received and she got valuable feedback in the discussion session that followed.

England presented information and images she developed while attending a three-week research institute in Italy in June 2012. The institute was funded by the NEH and directed by the CCHA. England’s presentation “Etruria: Aesthetic Seedbed of the Waestern Artistic Tradition” examined the crucial role of intersecting Etruscan, Greek and Roman styles of architecture, painting, pottery and burial rites in the formation of the western visual arts canon.

One of the highlights of the conference was a Thursday night guided tour of the Dallas Museum of Art’s Permanent Collection.

“While I regularly attend special exhibits and events at the museum, it’s been several years since I’ve revisited the permanent exhibit and I had forgotten how good it is,” Ledbetter said.