SPIA 1024: Community Service Learning
This course provides an introduction to community service learning with an emphasis on the development of civic agency. Students will explore critical perspectives on community, ethical community engagement, service and volunteerism, servant leadership, and social change. They will discuss the socio-political dynamics inherent in community development and problem solving, and will participate in significant community engagement, service-learning experiences, reflection, and the development of a personal community engagement plan.
Why take it?
This course will allow students to identify their strengths and develop new skills and competencies relevant to civic agency and leadership of community initiatives. Through team-based experiences and service learning, students will develop interpersonal communication, problem solving, and critical thinking skills which will be transferable to a variety of professional contexts.
SPIA 1024 fulfills an elective in the Global Business Practices to Improve the Human Condition and Leadership and Social Change Pathways minors.
Requirements
There are no prerequisites for this course.
This course fulfills Pathways requirements in Reasoning in the Social Sciences, Ethical Reasoning, and Intercultural and Global Awareness.
“Catherine shared her opinions in class regarding community service learning, which allowed me to become involved in group discussions with classmates (as a whole) to share ideas, thoughts, and other relevant topics. With this learning experience, I plan on applying my knowledge to other organizations that may be present in our current community, along with volunteer opportunities back at home.”
“This class had a very comfortable environment and everyone was encouraged to participate in class discussions. The students are very active and kind towards each other and turned out to work together very well on work sites as well.”
“By allowing the class to hear from many different guest speakers students were allowed to connect with a variety of different people giving us a deeper form of learning. The documentaries and speakers were great to listen to and could be very insightful for the material at hand.”
“[This class] is a great fit for those interested in social change, and [you] can learn lots from taking the class. I very much enjoyed this class and felt respected while in the room and in the assignments that I submitted. I felt that I had a voice that was not just being heard but being listened to."
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