Service-Learning & Social Justice: Cuba
The comprehensive faculty development program at Butler
University is pleased to offer faculty a remarkable opportunity--in
support of the University's strategic plan--to participate in
several workshops on service-learning and social justice,
culminating in an international travel seminar in order to broaden
participants' understanding of global social issues. The
international component will take place in Cuba from June 1-10,
2012.
Participants will explore the theoretical and experiential
connections between social justice, global and local diversity, and
community engagement. In addition, participants will have a
hands-on opportunity to prepare a class with a service-learning
component. This small community of teacher-scholars will
engage in thinking about personal commitments to service-learning
and social justice, in both global and local communities. In
doing so, participants in the Service-Learning & Social Justice
seminar will work together to strengthen service-learning, social
justice, and community engagement in the curriculum of Butler
University.
Goals for Service-Learning & Social Justice seminar
include:
- To acquaint faculty with some of the literature and theory
about social justice and service-learning, and the implicit social
justice foundation in service-learning.
- To provide faculty with an opportunity to connect their
commitment to global and local issues and to change their
curriculum and pedagogy to reflect this commitment.
- To introduce faculty to local community organizations with
which they might build partnerships for service-learning in the
future.
- To provide faculty a retreat-like environment in which to
engage with each other and highly experienced facilitators in
discussions and explorations of social justice, education, and
human rights.
- To engage in recursive reflections about the theory and the
practice of civic engagement for ourselves and our students.
- To engage students in civic learning and the transformative
learning that comes from civic engagement.
Outline of the Yearlong Program:
This faculty development program, available for up to 22
faculty, has six integrated components that all participants are
expected to complete:
- A January/February 2012 workshop, providing nuts-and-bolts
information on service learning which will be vital in designing
future courses.
- A reading and conversation series in spring 2012 to prepare for
experiences in Cuba-history, geography, politics, economics, social
issues-and departure.
- A 10-day seminar in Cuba in June, 2012. Participants will
engage in readings, reflections, and conversations about social
justice, global citizenship, and education while visiting multiple
sites in country focused on the themes of the workshop. For a
fuller description of this program, see below.
- In fall 2012, a half-day immersion focused on local social
justice issues.
- Commitment to teach a class with a service-learning component
(ICR) during the 2012-13 academic year and an on-going commitment
to these new pedagogical approaches.
- Reports and evaluation on various aspects of the program.
Expectations:
Faculty are expected to participate in all six aspects of the
program, as well as a contribute $300 toward the cost of the
international travel component. Faculty may elect to pay this
cost out-of-pocket (due January 15, 2012), or, in order to ensure
that cost is not prohibitory to faculty participation, this cost
can be covered by submitting an application for a short
course/workshop grant, offered by the Butler and Holcomb
awards. Please submit an application for the international
Short Course/Workshop Attendance Grant (Butler or Holcomb) for at
least $300.
Applications for these grants must be submitted by November 22,
2011 in order to ensure timely payment of the $300-please submit
applications electronically to Rebecca DeGrazia. Please
complete applications according to criteria and directions listed
in the BIRS website.
Timeline:
- November 22, 2011: Applications due by 4 p.m.; applications
also due for Butler and Holcomb funding, if
relevant. Applications should be sent electronically to facultyaffairs@butler.edu.
- December 7, 2011: Notification of participants (selection of
participants recommended by faculty committee)
- January/February 2012: Service learning workshop
- March 2012: Participant discussion
- April 2012: Participant discussion
- May 2012: Pre-departure meeting
- June 1-10, 2012: International faculty development seminar:
Cuba
- AY 2012-2013: Service-learning course offered
- Fall 2012: Community social justice
immersion
Questions?
Please talk with Laura Behling, Associate Provost for Faculty
Affairs
Click
here to apply for the Service-Learning & Social Justice:
Cuba program
*****
Description of Summer 2012 International Travel Component:
Cuba
Overview:
Cuba offers a rich cross-cultural educational
opportunity--Cuba's political and socio-economic realities are
fascinating to explore, and the education and public health systems
are interesting, as well. Arts and culture are central in Cuba;
Afro-Cuban culture plays a key role in the country, as do the
legacy of Spanish colonialism and the roots of the Taino and
Ciboney cultures. Cuba is the most populous island nation in
the Caribbean with 11 million residents. The majority of days
during the international travel component will be spent in Havana,
the capital, with a day or two in a more rural setting.
The focus of the Butler international travel component in Cuba
will focus on education (including higher education), human rights,
and social justice issues. Potential visits may include a
visit the Che Guevara Monument and Museum, a visit the rural
community of Puerto Esperanza, known for their tobacco growing, a
discussion at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations, a meeting
with a member of the Cuban Federation of Women, and discussions
with educators and higher education educators. Other
possibilities include a trip to the Literacy Museum, conversations
with artists and performers, and visits at universities in
Cuba. The specific visits during the seminar will be
fine-tuned, if possible, to account for participant interests in
education, social justice, and human rights issues.
Staff:
The international travel component is offered through the Center
for Global Education at Augsburg College, a long-time leader in
such programs. Program staff come from one of the Center's
permanent sites in Central America or Mexico; coordination occurs
in conjunction with their partner in Cuba, the Martin Luther King
Jr. Memorial Center. The MLK Center's fundamental objective
is to stand in solidarity with the Cuban people and its churches.
The MLK Center is composed of many different faith communities
whose commitment to the goals of the Cuban Revolution unites them
in service. The MLK Center is also home to the Paulo Freire
Information and Documentation Center as part of its commitment to
the principles of popular education.
Logistics:
Lodging is in modest hotels or guest houses, with shared
rooms. In country, we will do a fair amount of walking, and
transportation is via school buses. Meals will be modest.
******************************************
This new faculty development
opportunity is being sponsored by the
comprehensive faculty development program at Butler
University,
with special assistance by the Center for Citizenship and
Community.
