Renaissance Scholars

Throughout students' participation in the Renaissance Scholars Honors Program, special counselors are available to help plan courses of study and help students make decisions about their educational goals. Honors faculty and counselors assist Renaissance Scholars in identifying and applying for appropriate scholarships and other financial assistance beyond that already provided for the courses specified in the program.

Most Renaissance Scholars honors courses are offered in the evening and/or on weekends. This allows working students to participate in an honors curriculum. Students may take the other courses necessary to fulfill their degree requirements at a time convenient to them either on campus or online.

This program promotes an academic experience that fosters personal growth, critical thinking, multicultural and interdisciplinary perspectives, and the development of community. Membership in the Renaissance Scholars Honors Program includes numerous opportunities for social and intellectual experiences outside of the classroom. Students and faculty join one another for activities, such as theater events, museum visits, lectures, receptions, and dinners. The interaction of students with faculty members is a significant component of the Renaissance Scholars Honors Program.

An exciting feature of the Renaissance Scholars Honors Program is the opportunity to receive Montgomery College credit while taking part in a study/travel program. In July 2013, Renaissance Scholars joined the Montgomery Scholars in a study/travel program at Warren Wilson College and in Asheville, North Carolina. Students studied the culture, music and history of this part of Appalachia. Note: The study/travel experience is dependent on funding availability.

Renaissance Scholars have been accepted at a variety of universities, including American University, Baylor University, Catholic University, College of William and Mary, Columbia University, and many others.

Shayla Atkins (TP/SS)
Dr. Shayla Atkins has been a full-time faculty member at MC since 2018 in the English and Reading department. Dr. Atkins earned her B.A. in English from Florida A&M University, M.A. in English Language & Literature from University of Maryland, College Park, and Ph.D. in English with a specialization in African American literature and women's drama from Howard University. Her research interests are family dynamics, sites of trauma, performance, 20th- and 21st-century African American literature and drama, and women's literature and drama. She has published articles on Lynn Nottage and Lorraine Hansberry and was a contributor to an encyclopedia on the Harlem Renaissance. Dr. Atkins teaches composition (ENGL 101/011, 102, and 103) and a variety of literature courses including mythology, African American literature, drama, film and literature, and introduction to literature. As a member of the Renaissance Scholars Honors faculty, Dr. Atkins teaches the American Literature II course of the spring dyad. She also is the ENGL 101/011 course coordinator at TP/SS. Dr. Atkins has participated in the Honors Faculty Fellowship and Smithsonian-Montgomery College Faculty Fellowship. She has served as the Writing in the Disciplines (WID) campus coordinator, General Studies program advisor for students on the HACL track, and on the President's Advisory Council in Equity and Inclusion (PACEI). Dr. Atkins received an Excellence in Equity Award and the Outstanding Faculty - Excellence in Teaching Award. 

David Carter
David Carter began teaching at Montgomery College as an adjunct instructor in 1991. He became a member of the full-time art faculty in 2001. He has taught both studio and lecture courses, including a variety of topics in drawing, painting, design, color, digital art, and art history. David was an MC Smithsonian Faculty Fellow in 2012, and served as faculty in two MC Study-Abroad programs in Italy. Among other projects, in 2012 he directed selected students in the “Aesthetics of Math” – a semester-long project in which students produced a series of four large canvases depicting mathematical themes. Most of David’s time at MC has been on the Germantown campus where he served as department chair from 2009-2015 and currently functions as the art coordinator. Professor Carter joined the Renaissance Scholars program at Germantown in 2014. His own creative activities include painting, illustration, and photography.

Thomas Chen

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Sadegh Foghani

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Mohammad Ghaedi

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Chip Gladson

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Michael Harding
Born in New York, but raised in Texas, Dr. Michael P. Harding holds a BA from the University of North Texas (1999), MA degrees in philosophy and politics from the University of Dallas (2004 and 2007). Writing on Nietzsche's political philosophy, he earned his PhD from the University of Dallas (2013). His research interests can broadly be described as the history of philosophy - especially Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke and Nietzsche, as well as the American Founders and Progressives. Lately, he has been reading contemporary European political philosophy. He has been teaching philosophy at Montgomery College since 2013. His hobbies include reading, playing music, and traveling.  

Naliyah Kaya (TP/SS)
Dr. Kaya is a “poetic” public sociologist, spoken word poet, jewelry maker, and artist. Her courses highlight the intersections of art and activism (e.g., artivism).  She has served as a cultural consultant, guest lecturer, artist, and evaluator for multiple cross-cultural community-based art exhibits addressing social issues. Dr. Kaya's work focuses on counter narratives, the self, multiraciality—specifically mixed Middle Eastern & North African experiences (MENA), antiracism, leadership, ableism & accessibility, and supporting incarcerated and formerly incarcerated community members. Her most recent publications include: “Existing In-Between: Embodying the Synergy of My Ancestors” in Multiracial Experiences in Higher Education: Contesting Knowledge, Honoring Voice, and Innovating Practice and “Challenging and Changing Racial Categories? Interracial Marriage and Multiracial Americans” in Race and Ethnicity: Sociology in Action. Dr. Kaya has received an Excellence in Equity award from Montgomery College and the Excellence in Service Medal for Outstanding Mentor from the Office of Multi-ethnic Student Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received an A.A.S. from Shoreline Community College, B.A. in Sociology from Hampton University, and her M.A. & Ph.D. in Sociology from George Mason University.

Kateema Lee

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Kelly Livernoche
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Mike McDavit

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Esther Schwartz-McKinzie (TP/SS)
Esther Schwartz-McKinzie has taught Composition, Literature and Women’s Studies at Montgomery College as a full-time faculty member since 2001. She earned her Ph.D. in British and American 19th Century literature from Temple University, and her scholarly work includes efforts to recover the voices of marginalized women writers who used literature as a way to expose injustice and to expand imaginative possibilities for their readers. At the Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus, she has served as Women’s Studies Coordinator, Department Chair, and Literature Coordinator. College-wide, she has served as Paul Peck Humanities Institute Director, Bringing in the Bystander Coordinator, and as the Academic Area’s Title IX representative. She completed an Honors Faculty Fellowship in 2018, and her chapter, “Keep ‘Doing Good’: Women’s and Gender Studies Programs and VAWA Education Initiatives Against the Tide,” appeared in Theory and Praxis, Women’s and Gender Studies at Community Colleges in 2019. Also in 2019, she was among the first recipients of the College’s Excellence in Equity Award, recognizing individuals who demonstrate a commitment to social justice, equity, inclusion, antiracism, and diversity. Her book, Speaking Out: Families of LGBTQ+ Advance the Dialogue, was published by Gival Press in 2022. She has mentored many students completing Paul Peck Humanities Internships, and she particularly enjoys learning with Renaissance Scholars who love stories and are excited to explore world cultures.

Karl T. Smith (TP/SS)
Professor Karl Smith completed his undergraduate studies at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He has a MA in political science with a specialization in international relations from Northeastern University and an MA in ESL from Simmons College in Boston. He has taught ESL and EFL courses in Mexico, Switzerland, Macau, and Boston and has also taught developmental writing, sociology, and a variety of history and political science courses at community colleges since 1996.

Professor Smith became a member of the Montgomery College faculty in 2004 where he teaches political science and history. He has taught honors American history as well as political ideology as part of Renaissance Scholars dyads along with an honors seminar on American foreign policy for the Renaissance Scholars Program. He also attended the Cambridge Summer Seminar with Renaissance Scholars at the University of Cambridge in 2007. He has participated in study abroad activities in Peru, Cuba, and Ethiopia. Furthermore, he was a member of the Montgomery County delegation that traveled to Morazan, El Salvador for the Sister City Project in 2011, and traveled to China in 2013 as a part of the MC delegation to China for the Sister City Project in Xian. He was a Smithsonian Faculty Fellow in 2010, and was awarded a Globalizing the Humanities Fellowship in 2015.  In 2015 he received an award for Outstanding Faculty.

From 2007-2014 he was the co-chair of the Social Sciences Department at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus. He is currently the coordinator for Jefferson Cafes at the TP/SS Campus.

Maria Sprehn

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Deborah Taylor (TP/SS)
Deborah Taylor has been a Professor of English, Women’s Studies, and Global Humanities at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus since 2003. 

She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Women’s Studies and History at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. After many years of teaching at University of Maryland, she earned her PhD in English in 2007. Montgomery College was and still is her “dream” job.  She tries to weave topics associated with her dissertation – Women Writing Dystopias – into her composition and literature class.   

She is excited to be working with the Renaissance Scholars program; she’s happy to report that working across disciplines makes her entirely (too) happy. She teaches honors Women’s Studies paired with International Relations as part of the Renaissance Scholars Program.

She loves to travel, to see and do new things, to walk her dog, and to bike; she hopes that some of these interests will intersect with her work with Renaissance Scholars.

Cheryl Tobler
Professor Cheryl Tobler teaches world music at all three Montgomery College campuses. She earned BMEd, BA and MA degrees in music and English at James Madison University. She completed her PhD in ethnomusicology from the University of Maryland, where she was a University Fellow. 

Her research areas include music tourism, identity, Korean and Celtic traditional music, and gypsy studies. She has presented her research at conferences throughout the United States and in England, Scotland, South Korea, and South Africa. In addition to performing Celtic and Appalachian music, she enjoys travelling and experiencing other cultures and their music first hand.

Professor Tobler finds teaching in the MC honors programs (both Montgomery Scholars and Renaissance Scholars) to be awarding and challenging. She particularly enjoys mentoring students and co-teaching with various colleagues.

Carole Wolin (TP/SS)
Carole Wolin is the Director of the Renaissance Scholars at the TP/SS campus as well as a Professor of Biology. She has a B.A. from Reed College in biology, an M.S. from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Davis in Zoology with an emphasis in ecology. She has a passion for helping students develop their potential. As Director of the Renaissance Scholars she guides students through their path at Montgomery College and in the transfer process. She teaches a Renaissance Scholars seminar on Scientific Inquiry as well as the Renaissance Scholar’s summer study/travel course. She is very excited about learning that involves interdisciplinary connections. She loves working with the Renaissance Scholars because of their enthusiasm for learning, and their diverse perspectives and backgrounds. As a Professor of Biology she teaches and coordinates Human Anatomy and Physiology. Dr. Wolin has participated as a Smithsonian Faculty Fellow while at Montgomery College and she has been recognized with the Outstanding Faculty Award in 2006 and 2016 and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Excellence Award in 2007 and 2017.

Option 1: HONR 101AE, CRN 23009, Culture, Identity, & Storytelling in Latinx Literature 
Wednesday, 9/03-10/15/2025, First seven weeks, 4:00-5:50 p.m. (1 honors credit)  
PK 153, Professor Leopardi

Latinx authors deal with a cultural landscape shifting between acceptance and rejection & an internal identity struggle. This breeds emotionally fueled, culturally complex fiction. This course explores the impact multiple identities has on storytelling through authors, such as Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvarez, Daniel Alarcon, Lisa Bradley, and Elizabeth Acevedo.
 
Option 2: HONR 101AG, CRN 22991, Cultural Memory in Music, Literature, and Film 
Tuesday, 9/02--10/14/2025, first seven weeks, 6:00-7:50 p.m.  (1 honors credit)          
PK 153, Professor Gladson

A song, a short story, or a film can be the birthplace and repository of cultural memory. We will explore selected works from the African-American, Jewish-American, and American-West culture through the lenses of ethnomusicologists, literary scholars, and film critics. With the authority derived from their participant-observer status, students will analyze works from their own cultural traditions. 

Option 3: HONR 110AN, CRN 23678, Plato’s Dialogues 
Wednesday, 9/03-10/15, first seven weeks, 2:00-4:00 p.m. (1 honors credit)      
HS 209, Professor Harding

While students often have the opportunity to study, in class, texts such as the Apology or the Republic in the course of their education, many who do not major in philosophy will not have the chance to read, in class, other important and interesting texts from Plato. This seminar will be an opportunity to do so. Specific dialogues will be determined by student interest. 

Option 4: HONR 110AE, CRN 21453, Art & Reason: Pathways to Meaning  
Tuesday, 9/02-10/14/2025, first seven weeks, 7-8:50 p.m. (1 honors credit)        
HS 209, Professor Carter 

Is there meaning and value in human existence?  This course will explore answers to this question through art and reason.  Through reading, reflection, and discussion, this course will analyze and compare these two fundamental ways—aesthetic appreciation and rational understanding—of finding meaning and value in human existence.  Readings distributed: selected passages from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and other sources. 

Option 5: HONR 105AJ, CRN 23660, Natural Science and Humanism
Tuesday, 9/02-10/14/2025, first seven weeks, 1-2:50 p.m. (1 honors credit)    
HS 209, Professor Chen 

What is the value of scientific research? What are the responsibilities of a scientist? How do scientific theories and discoveries influence other aspects of human society? Through discussion on the assigned readings, we will explore the impact of alchemy in poetry and religion; survey the beliefs of prominent scientists on non-scientific issues and create crafts while learning about the science behind them. Readings and videos will be available online. 

Dyad Option 1: This dyad is on campus.           

ARTT102HC (CRN 32682) and PHIL101HC (CRN 32683) (Monday & Wednesday 1:00-5:10 p.m.)  (6 honors credits) 

Two-Dimensional Design combined with Introduction to Philosophy, Professors Carter and Harding

Art 102HC: An introduction to the elements and principles of visual expression with an emphasis on two-dimensional form. Students will explore a wide range of conceptual approaches and media to develop critical visual thinking and the capacity to engage in creative problem-solving. (Art Studio MW 5:45-7:10)

Philosophy 101HC: Introduction to the philosophical analysis of the problem of knowledge, reality, and the good. Major philosophical attitudes of Western civilization are introduced.  The basic themes and questions of the course are concerned with the nature and meaning of human existence.

Dyad Option 2: This dyad is on campus.
BIOL105/106 HC (CRN 32685/32684) & GHUM 101 (CRN 32780) (Mon 11:00-1:45; Wed 11:00-4:40) (7 honors credits)

Environmental Biology combined with Global Humanities, Professors McDavit and Lee

Biology 105 &106HC: This course examines environmental problems confronting society, including ecological principles, human population dynamics, energy sources, land and soil use, air pollution, water pollution, and endangered species. 

Global Humanities 101HC: This course examines many humanities themes—human rights, global health, environmental justice, corporate responsibility, and immigration—from the standpoint of global interconnections.

Dyad Option 3:  This dyad is on campus.  

POLI 211HC (CRN 32687) and ENGL 235HC (CRN 33434)  (Tuesday & Thursday 2:00-4:40 p.m.) (6 honors credits)
Comparative Politics combined with Film and Literature, Professors Ghaedi and Leopardi

Political Science 211HC: The course compares historical processes and current issues facing countries domestically and internationally.  Selected countries from both the developed and developing worlds illustrate broader concepts and provide practice in comparative political analysis.

English 235HC: A comparative study of films and the literary sources upon which they are based. The course explores how character development, plot, narrative, symbols, and language are translated from literary texts to film and the basic differences between the two. 

Dyad Option 4: This dyad is on campus.  

ANTH201HC (CRN 33432) & HIST117HC (CRN 33433)  (Monday & Wednesday 9:00-11:40 a.m.) (6 honors credits)
Sociocultural Anthropology combined with World History: Survey 1500-present, Professors Sprehn and Foghani

Anthropology 201HC: An exploration of fundamental anthropological concepts, methods, and theories used to interpret traditional and modern cultures.  Emphasis is placed on the components of cultural systems and the investigation of the impact of globalization on changing cultures worldwide.

History 117HC:  Covers autonomous local developments in various parts of the world & the settling of the New World; scientific & industrial revolutions & their diffusion; Western dominance of the non-Western world & its decline; rise of mass societies, Marxism, worldwide revolutions; effects of two world wars; the struggles to modernize.

Option 1: HONR 105AA - Scientific Inquiry (CRN 21626)
Meets alternate Wednesdays, 7:00-9:00 pm, CM214 (1 honors credit)    
Professor Carole Wolin

Explore how knowledge is acquired in science, the nature of “proof” in science, and concepts of experimental design.  These concepts will be applied to pressing issues such as the covid pandemic and sustainability.

Option 2: HONR114AA – Globalization Issues (CRN 23574)
Meets weekly on Tuesdays for first half of the semester, 7:00-9:00 pm, CM214 (1 honors credit) 
Professor Deborah Taylor

Explore globalization issues from the perspective of women.

Option 3: HONR101AA – Literature, Art, and Mythology (CRN 22173)
Meets weekly on Mondays for first half of the semester, 7:00-9:00 pm, CM214 (1 honors credit) 
Professor Esther Schwartz-McKinzie  

Heroes, tricksters and monsters! Join us as we take an intimate look, through literature and art, at mortals, monsters, and the gods who love them--and love to destroy them. 

Dyad Option 1: SOCY105HC and ENGL212HC
Social Problems and Issues combined with Survey of American Literature II
Tuesday &Thursday, 3:30-6:15 pm, 6 honors credits
Professors Atkins and Kaya

Sociology 105HC: Social Problems and Issues. An analysis of social problems such as social inequality with respect to race, class, gender, and economic status, urbanization, crime, demographic change, terrorism, and environmental issues.

English 212HC: Survey of American Literature II. A survey of American literature from the mid-19th century to the present, including fiction, essays, poetry, drama, and oral traditions with an emphasis on understanding literature as an integral part of intellectual development and understanding of social issues.