The syllabus for Robert Franco s introductory course in Cultural Anthropology explains a set of outcomes that students are expected to achieve: for instance, understanding how anthropologists approach cultural analysis; observing differences and similarities between and within cultures, and developing a concept of culture that is applicable to local populations. Every one of these outcomes, the syllabus then explains, is best achieved through service-learning. Taking a truly anthropological perspective on service-learning, the syllabus goes on to say that you [the student] and I [the professor] are equal partners in this, emphasizing that service-learning is best done through mutual understanding. Students provide at least twenty hours of service in the community in any number of sites that put them into contact with people of the different cultures of Hawaii. Students maintain a journal, reviewed by the professor every two weeks, which they complete by writing an annotated social science essay on their experience.

From Service Matters 1998: Engaging Higher Education In the Renewal of America s Communities and American Democracy

Contact: Dr. Robert Franco at bfranco@hawaii.edu