1:00P-2:15P  TR  (25) 3 cr
Topic: Community Service Writing: Writing for a Better Society

COAS INTENSIVE WRITING SECTION

Under what conditions does service to the community contribute to positive social change?  In
Writing for a Better Society, we will attempt to answer this question by going beyond the
classroom into the practical world of community service.  Students will volunteer at a
community service agency of their choice (dealing, for example, with homelessness, domestic
violence, elderly care, substance abuse, adult literacy, pre-school, after school, or mentoring
programs, HIV and AIDS support, animal protection, environmental concerns, etc.).  Part of this
service includes writing an assignment for in-house use or public distribution by the agency.
Based on knowledge acquired through their field experience, class activities, and library
research, students will focus on a social issue or problem and write a research paper.

As a class, we will explore the workings of communities and attempt to construct a "social map"
of Bloomington.  We will use this "social map" as a context for understanding what positive
social change and effective social action may mean.  Class activities -- assigned readings,
discussions, presentations, workshops, and a library session -- are designed to help us develop
the knowledge, the evaluative and writing skills, and the field work strategies needed for
academic research and effective persuasion.  In addition to keeping a journal, there will be
several short papers (1 to 5 pages) reflecting the stages of the research process and culminating in
the term paper.  For more information call Joan Pong Linton, 5-2285, e-mail JLINTON, or drop
in to see me in BH 425.

By locating community service at the heart of learning, this intensive writing course validates the
student's experience as a basis of authority in their academic research and writing.  Broadly
defined, this experience constitutes a "classroom without walls" in which students learn to draw
on multiple sources to develop a range of skills in evaluating information, negotiating between
positions, translating disciplinary knowledge, and transforming knowledge.  My hope is that, by
reflecting on social issues and their involvement in these issues, students would develop a sense
of their agency in the world and in their own learning.  The course also aims to provide an
opportunity for students to find their position within the politics of everyday life -- a position
from which to analyze issues and problems, to discuss available options and imagine alternatives,
to theorize their practice and other social practices, and to voice ideas for which they can be
responsible within a broader social conversations.