Public Service, Community Organizing, and Social Change

Through service-learning, this seminar explores the experience of democratic citizenship in a multicultural society, focusing on the role of the activist in public service, community organizing, and social change. Internships in Philadelphia or Chester (5 hours/week), dialogue with local activists, and popular education pedagogy enrich reflection upon and analysis of other topics, including: individual and community empowerment; public policy at the grassroots; urban politics; communication and coalition-building across differences of race, gender, class; leadership and organizing skills development. In the United States near the end of the 20th century, poverty, racism, homelessness, inadequate education, lack of access to health care,…