New program brings activism to the classroom
Jonah Fabricant
Issue date: 2/15/07 Section: Campus News
A new class offered this semester gives students the opportunity to explore issues surrounding social change. ET 107: "Ethnic Studies Practicum: Strategy, Tactics and Tools for Social Change" integrates the pilot Activist-in-Residence program with a classroom setting to tackle questions in the field of activism.
The Activist-in-Residence program is run jointly by the Swearer Center for Public Service, the Urban Studies Program and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America and is supported by a grant from the Office of the President.
The purpose of the Activist-in-Residence program is to bring activists to campus for more than just a lecture, said Alan Flam P'05, senior fellow at the Swearer Center and senior associate University chaplain. Activists meet with small groups of students, hold lunches and informal meetings and attend classes such as ET 107 relevant to their current work, Flam said.
The course is co-taught by Flam and Professor of History Evelyn Hu-DeHart, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.
"We are trying to expose students not only to the theoretical ideas of community organizing for social change, but also to expose students to individuals who are doing that work in a variety of settings - to talk about the practice of organizing for change, not just the theories behind it," Flam said.
The course came out of the growing impulse to connect academic work to community-based movements, individuals and organizations, Flam said, noting that the ethnic studies discipline and the Swearer Center emphasize experiential learning.
Planned topics for the course this semester include urban education, socially responsible giving, activism and the arts and issues of race- and faith-based organizing on issues of peace and justice. Hu-DeHart and Flam have invited activists working in each of these areas to share their insights with the students in the class.
Last weekend, students in the class were required to attend an open panel about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Greensboro, N.C. The commission, which released its final report last year, spent two years examining the context, causes and consequences of a racially charged 1979 massacre that left five people dead.
The Activist-in-Residence program is run jointly by the Swearer Center for Public Service, the Urban Studies Program and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America and is supported by a grant from the Office of the President.
The purpose of the Activist-in-Residence program is to bring activists to campus for more than just a lecture, said Alan Flam P'05, senior fellow at the Swearer Center and senior associate University chaplain. Activists meet with small groups of students, hold lunches and informal meetings and attend classes such as ET 107 relevant to their current work, Flam said.
The course is co-taught by Flam and Professor of History Evelyn Hu-DeHart, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.
"We are trying to expose students not only to the theoretical ideas of community organizing for social change, but also to expose students to individuals who are doing that work in a variety of settings - to talk about the practice of organizing for change, not just the theories behind it," Flam said.
The course came out of the growing impulse to connect academic work to community-based movements, individuals and organizations, Flam said, noting that the ethnic studies discipline and the Swearer Center emphasize experiential learning.
Planned topics for the course this semester include urban education, socially responsible giving, activism and the arts and issues of race- and faith-based organizing on issues of peace and justice. Hu-DeHart and Flam have invited activists working in each of these areas to share their insights with the students in the class.
Last weekend, students in the class were required to attend an open panel about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Greensboro, N.C. The commission, which released its final report last year, spent two years examining the context, causes and consequences of a racially charged 1979 massacre that left five people dead.