Service Learning 293H - Learning/CommEngmnt

This course prepares students for the practice of community engagement and community-based learning, and is the first course students take for the Community Scholars Program (CSP), or as a foundation course for the Civic Engagement and Public Service Certificate. Students explore what constitutes appropriate, effective and reciprocal work with a community partner, and how best to integrate this experiential learning with academic learning. The course examines critical issues of social justice, civic leadership, advocacy/activism, social identity and/or other issues of public concern. Students collaborate with and/or are placed within a community organization that relates directly to the course topic. (Gen.Ed. SB, DU)

This course engages students in the critical examination of what constitutes appropriate, just and effective community partnerships and urges them to learn deeply from their experience in a reflexive way. Students will embark on a journey to explore themes that cross boundaries of race, ethnicity, class and other aspects of social identity as they unpack the concept of ?a good society?. Students will engage purposefully in learning within and outside the classroom in order to become familiar with theories and conceptual frameworks and, through collaborative group work, develop confidence to suggest potential methods for social change. Pedagogically, the course is driven by an asset-based approach that enables the student to build on and benefit from every individual?s strengths and potential in collaboration with community partners as they engage in the practice of community-based work. This course satisfies the general education requirements SB and U. Enrollment limited to students accepted into the Citizen Scholars Program.