The Program

The minor in Prism Paterson - Texts and Contexts provides an immersive study of the arts, music, literature, and history of Paterson, New Jersey. Students will not only investigate the arts and literature of this city as an academic discipline but also gain a hands-on experience of the arts and humanities through field trips, interviews, writing, and studio work. Students will visit Paterson, read about it and write about it, learning about the famous people who have walked on the same streets they have and have been inspired by their same emotions and aspirations.

This 18-credit minor will prepare students for a variety of careers in the liberal arts, urban studies and urban education, non-profits, and for graduate study. Adding a minor gives students a unique area of specialization in addition to their major. Students will develop reading, writing, critical thinking, and analytic and research skills through their study of the arts and humanities.

A certificate in the Humanities and Humanistic Studies - Prism Paterson is also available and focuses on combined studies and research in the humanities subjects as distinguished from the social and physical sciences, and emphasizes languages, literature, art, and music.

Often students study the humanities only by looking at the arts from the distant past, created in distant places, but Paterson itself has many significant writers, poets, artists, and musicians inspired by the City. Prism Paterson offers students the experience of visiting historic and artistic sites in Paterson and meeting some of Paterson’s important artists, musicians, poets, and writers while studying their widely acclaimed works and discovering the complexity, relevance, and richness of the humanities and arts in Paterson.

Students complete 12 credits from the program in order to achieve a Certificate in diverse but interconnecting humanities courses. The Certificate provides students coursework that can be applied to, or is transferable towards, an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree at Felician or other institution.