Spring ’24 Institute on Teaching Social Action – Feb 23

Posted by Corella & Bertram F. Bonner Foundation on January 16, 2024

We would like to invite you and your colleagues to apply to the Spring ’24 Institute on Teaching Social Action at Rhodes College in Memphis on March 9-10, 2024. We also have two virtual Institutes scheduled, as well as a Fall ’24 Institute at the University of Michigan (see below).

These cost-free Institutes are designed to give faculty and staff the knowledge and tools to incorporate student-led social action campaigns into a current or new course (or co-curricular activity). Social action is a transformative experiential learning model where students in a college course launch their own campaign or join a community organization’s campaign. As you can see on our website, student campaigns seek to change a policy (i.e., a rule, law, regulation, norm, or practice of an institution) on campus or in the community. This spring semester, 14 social action courses will be taught across the nation in a variety of disciplines.

We just completed our Fall ’24 Institute with 42 faculty and staff from 33 campuses. Here is what Kujegi Camara from Fordham University said about the Fall Institute:

“I loved it. It was so powerful to be in this community and to get such great tips about how to do social action. We dived right in, which was really great and set the tone for the rest of the Institute. I loved Scott guiding us through the companion guide and sharing his experience with us and providing examples. It was also really great to be able to hear from fellow practitioners who have gone through this experience and are now teaching social action courses and also hearing from students who have gone through this experience.”

The host for the Spring ’24 Institute is Dr. Austin Harrison from Rhodes College. Food is covered during the Institute; applications are due on Friday, February 23. Click here to apply for the Spring ’24 Institute.

If you can’t make the Spring ’24 Institute, please consider applying to the two virtual Institutes (Summer and Winter), or the Fall ’24 Institute at the U. of Michigan, which is hosted by Professor Arun Agrawal with the Pathways Alliance at the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS).

Please share this opportunity with faculty and staff colleagues at your institution and beyond. If you have any questions, please contact Scott Myers-Lipton at smlipton@sjsu.edu.