S360- Topics in Social Policy: Community-Building Across Generations
Professor Donna Eder, Ballantine 775
Phone: 5-4895
Fall, 2011
email: eder
This course focuses on some unique approaches for building community across generations. It is designed around a community service project, providing an opportunity for a “hands on” learning experience. This project will help to extend your understanding of course readings as well as show first hand how activities like storytelling help strengthen a sense of what it means to be a community member. (See S360 home page on mypage.iu.edu/~eder.) While the class is currently scheduled to meet from 1:00-3:20 on Thursdays, we will only be meeting for 90 minutes in class to allow time for service learning outside of class. In short, storytelling will be the vehicle through which we will be learning about a variety of themes including how to live as a community, learning from elders, ethical explorations, holistic teaching, and cross-cultural values.
We will begin by a focus on the role of storytelling as a means of teaching both ethical and social beliefs. We will then examine the role of storytelling in other cultures in which children are taught to be responsible community members. We will then examine the role of storytelling among elders in American communities. This section will end by considering how START (Storytelling as Reflecting Time) provides a vehicle for strengthening communities and the intergenerational lessons to be gained.
The second half of the course will focus on learning outside of the classroom. At this point all students will be actively engaged in START, working with children at either the Crestmont Boys and Girls Club or at The Rise (transitional housing for families who have experienced domestic violence) or collecting stories for elders in the community about their life lessons. Those working with children will learn skills of storytelling if they wish, while a few may choose to focus on leading reflective activities based on the stories. Both service projects will culminate in dramatic performances of the elders’ stories by the children at Crestmont and The Rise. During this half we will also be looking more closely at Bloomington as a source of local knowledge as well as at learning practices that emphasize forming caring connections with others. By the end of the course you should understand the way storytelling conveys life lessons and helps children explore ethical issues. You should also have a conceptual and real-life understanding of the importance of storytelling for building community across generations.
Requirements
We will be using the city of Bloomington as a site for learning, service, and research throughout this course. All students will do a service learning project which will take an average of 2-3 hours per week. Because of the extensive service component, there will be fewer readings and the main written assignments will be a series of journal reflections, culminating in a final report. (See the START Project description and Students’ Comments─both on mypage.) Students will keep a journal which will include several reflection assignments, give a group class presentation, and write a final report on their project. Students are also expected to attend all class sessions and do all reading prior to class. There will be one take home essay covering the readings, discussions, and guest speakers from the first half of the class.
The course grade is based on:
20% Take home essay
20% Service learning journal reflection assignments
15% Group assessment of your participation in the project
30 % Service learning paper
15% Attendance and professionalism*
*Since students will be meeting with their groups during class time and guest speakers will be providing necessary learning, it is critical that you attend class as well as your service learning sessions.
