Continue reading on for the schedule of this semester's RAP (Reflection, Action, Partnership) Sessions.
To register click here.
If you have any questions feel free to contact Laura Dammer-Hess or Amelia Smith at cesp (at) umn.edu or 612.626.2044.
Community Engagement? Service Learning in the Global South
Friday, February 13th 2-4PM, Nicholson Hall 335
What does it feel like to be a foreigner? To not know the language of the community you’re “serving?� How does this affect the way the community views you? This session will focus on the experiences of students who have or are planning to do community work in the “Global South,� or developing countries. Students who have participated in MSID, HECUA or other study abroad programs are particularly encouraged to attend.
Rethinking Higher Education: Access, Alternatives and Advocacy
Monday, February 16th, 5 – 7PM, Nicholson Hall 315
How do you define higher education? Is it an education from a 4-year college?
From a community or technical college? How does our society define higher education? Who has access to higher education and why? What are the alternatives to the official model of higher education? In this RAP Session, we will look at the U.S. model of higher education through a historical and multicultural perspective. We will raise critical questions about the role of higher education in our lives and in the global economy. Pulling from our own experiences as college students who are engaged in social justice work, we will also discuss the issues of equity and equality throughout the U.S. education system and how they affect access to higher education. Even if your community work does not directly relate to issues of equal access and education, please consider attending this session so that we can compare experiences and approaches to social justice advocacy.
Integrative Community Engagement Project (ICEP) Workshop
Thursday February 26th 5:30 to 7:30 PM, Lind Hall 229
The Integrative Community Engagement Project (ICEP) is the capstone experience for the Community Engagement Scholars Program, and a great chance to use your past community work and academic experiences to meet a need or build capacity within a community organization. In this workshop, we will hear from alumni of the Scholars Program about how they developed and implemented their ICEPs. We will also participate in activities meant to begin the brainstorming/planning process for your ICEP.
This workshop is open to all CESP students, but is especially recommended for those planning to do their ICEP in the Fall of 09 or Spring of 2010.
Mapping Our Comfort Zones
Friday, March 6th 1-3PM, Nicholson Hall 345
Why is it that we feel comfortable in some places and not others? In this RAP session we will expand personal spatial awareness from a physical geography (based on map making) to a more general discussion of "space". We will define space together and question how spaces are connected/disconnected. Some questions we will ask may include: How can space be imagined, constructed and perceived? How do we locate ourselves and others? What is the potential for universal space (a space for everyone)? We will explore these questions through looking at maps and creating our own maps.
Reflective Writing Workshop
Tuesday, March 10th 2-4 PM Physics (Tate) 236 A
Reflection is consistently seen as an essential element of engaged work, and writing is one of the most common ways in which people take on reflection. This workshop will explore different approaches to reflective writing for different contexts and purposes. Participants will gain insight into their own attitudes towards reflection and will have opportunity to consider how they might use writing to facilitate their own reflection.
Grants and Other Fund-raising Tools
Thursday, April 2nd 3-5 PM Akerman Hall 225
The word, "grant" tends to represent a big and scary document that any undergraduate student would feel nervous about approaching, but there are a variety of grants and key elements that can increase the success of a grant. This session will be a hands-on approach to researching for grants, as well as writing them, so bring your past community work experiences to the table because you could find them very useful during the grant finding/writing process. There will also be some discussion about other fund-raising methods which can be found if we "think outside the box."
Home Is Where the Help Is: Site visit to Project for Pride in Living
Monday, April 6th 12:30-2:30 PM
Helping people help themselves is the philosophy in which guides Project for Pride in Living (PPL). This nonprofit agency works with lower-income families and individuals in numerous ways such as housing assistance, employment training, education resources, and family support services. With these services PPL encourages people to become self-sufficient and achieve stability with their housing, finances, and family. PPL also coordinates the College House Program, a tutor and mentoring program which serves the needs of children directly from the community. All the individuals who live in these houses tutor two children and serve as healthy adult role models. For this RAP session we will visit various PPL’s various programs in the Seward Neighborhood, meet with students living in the College House, and discuss how the work of PPL addresses community issues present in all of our community work.
Housing and Homelessness in the Twin Cities
Thursday April 16th 2-4PM CSOM 1-122
Imagine working full-time for minimum wage with no benefits and not being able to afford to pay your rent. Imagine paying a damage deposit and first and last months rent on a home and two months later being evicted because the owner of the home had been foreclosed upon. In this RAP session we will participate in a dialogue about some of the many complicated issues facing individuals and families in the Twin Cities homeless population. Students engaged in community work of all types are encouraged to attend.
A CHANCE Tour of Cedar Riverside Neighborhood
Friday, April 24th 10 AM to 12 PM
How well do we know our neighbors? Cedar-Humphrey Action for Neighborhood Collaborative Engagement (CHANCE) is a group of students, staff, faculty and community partners that started with the realization that, in fact, in terms of the University’s relationship with the adjacent Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, we do not know our neighbors nearly well enough. In this RAP session, we will take a tour of some community-based organizations and meet with leaders in the neighborhood. We will follow the tour with a discussion and reflection on partnership and community-building. Dress for the weather.
Stay after for great food and further discussion! At noon we will make our way to Tam Tams, a locally owned African restaurant, for lunch and conversation. If you plan to eat with us, please bring $10 for the lunch buffet.