Three Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College instructors have been chosen to receive the 2015 Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC) Humanities Teacher Awards. They are Rodney Mooney, intermediate English and reading, composition, and literature instructor at the Jackson County Campus; Angela Frazier, composition and world literature instructor at the Jefferson Davis Campus; and Stacey Payton, beginning and intermediate English and reading, composition, and world literature instructor at the Perkinston Campus.

The Humanities Teacher Awards recognize the contributions of humanities faculty at each of the state’s colleges and universities in the fields of English, history, music, art and philosophy. Nominations are made by the college or university president, vice president, or dean of instruction. Each award recipient is required to prepare and deliver a public lecture during October, National Arts and Humanities Month, or November. The lectures given by each of the recipients are free, and the public is encouraged to attend.

MGCCC honorees will make their presentations during November.

• Stacey Payton – “A Stitch in Time” – November 3, 12:30 p.m., Perkinston Campus, Community Arts Center

The lecture will explore, through film and literature, the bountiful history of quilting as an art form that tells stories, creates memories, and preserves rich family and community history. Local artists will display their stunning quilts to complement the presentation. Attendees will participate and contribute to the building of a special memory quilt that will tell the story and conserve the memory of this special event.

• Angela Frazier – “Contents May Vary: Marketing the Humanities to Our Students” — November 10, 12:20-1:20 p.m., Jefferson Davis Campus, Cafeteria Banquet Room

Because so many incoming students are members of the millennial generation, also called Generation Me, the humanities are increasingly important in higher education.  However, many Millennials view courses within the humanities as complete wastes of time, though required.  As our students become increasingly more self-centered, they are in greater need of the lessons contained within the humanities, those emphasizing the life experiences that connect us all.  Yet, if we as faculty want to reach these students, we cannot rely on teachings of the past; rather, we must find a new common ground.

• Rodney Mooney – Teaching Comics “Rise of the Underdog” – November 17, 12:30-2 p.m., Jackson County Campus, Warner Peterson Administration Building, Lecture Hall. 

From the award-winning series “The Walking Dead” to the Pulitzer winning “Maus,” comics are an overlooked art form that should not only be recognized as legitimate literature, but incorporated as part of the standard college curriculum.  “The Walking Dead” does not have to refer to our students in the classroom anymore!  Comics will not only inspire students to engage in their work but also awaken instructors to the joys of learning something new again.  Learn why and how to teach comics!

The Mississippi Humanities Council will hold an awards banquet honoring the instructors on Friday, February 12, 2016, at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson.