Service Learning 293H - Learning/CommEngmnt

This is the first course in the four-course Citizen Scholars Program. In this course, we ask how society would be organized if it truly were good, and students are encouraged to unleash their imaginations?to envision the social structures and shared understandings that would characterize a truly good society. Cross-cultural examples and models from utopian fiction will help generate ideas about alternatives. The vision of the good society articulated by each student by the end of this course will serve as a point of departure for the next 3 semesters in the program, as students develop tools to enable them to work toward their vision. Throughout this course (and throughout each of the following 3 courses), each student will participate in a weekly service placement with a community-based organization which works to improve the quality of life for its constituents. Preparing for and learning from these experiences will be a major component of the course. Other major components include inquiry into the meanings of the social identities we each carry, and practice in the skill of dialogue with people whose perspectives and life experiences differ significantly from our own.

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.