NCLC 231:  Introduction to Community Studies

 

 

Professor John O’Connor                                                         Fall 2005

Office: 408 Enterprise Hall                                                        TTh 3-4:15

Phone: 703-993-1455                                                              Office Hours: Mon 6-7, Tues  2-3

Fax: 703-993-1439

Email: joconnor@gmu.edu

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

 

There is a lot of talk and texts about community these days: Communities of interest, of practice, of identity; neighborhood communities; virtual communities, campus communities, global communities, and so on.  The meaning(s) of the word has become so stretched, that some argue it is meaningless.  Yet, a cluster of images, connotations, and values—often idealized, and often in some imagined past—keep recurring across definitions.

 

Conservatives speak of the erosion of community values and community standards. For these conservative thinkers as well as for many moderate "new communitarians" successful community is threatened by heterogeneity—by many voices expressing diverse interests and needs. These conservative voices recall for the good old days when everyone got along and people were united around community institutions such as church and school and civic holidays. Progressives, on the other hand, have lamented the emergence of a culture of selfishness that has undermined the ability of people to see their common interests and their willingness to work together (the Reagan “me decade,” which has returned in the political practices of the current administration).  Progressives see community as purposeful association based on connection, commitment and mutual responsibility. Meaningful community is seen as collection of diverse people who recognize their common cause and who contribute in some way to the common good. 

 

Since September 11th, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, there seems to be a new faith in government, a new commitment to community values and to community service.  Will this spirit and attitude last?  Historically, one of the central tensions in the United States has been the struggle between independence of self and responsibility to the community.  Tolerance, cooperation, mutual understanding, mutual assistance and social justice matched against individualism, materialism and competition.  

 

Such binary thinking is belied by how people live their lives with others in multiple communities. This course will consider theoretical issues by exploring real, complex communities, defined by geography, interest, and practice.  We will explore traditional community studies focused on place, as well as more recent studies of communities of identity based around constructs of race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality and the emergence of virtual and electronic communities.  This course addresses the fragility of some communities and the importance of sustainable communities in America over time. It will consider the interrelationships between five key elements of community: (1) the natural and built environments, (2) demographics, (3) technology and virtual networks, (4) formal and informal institutions, and (5) values.

 

The study of community is integrative and interdisciplinary. This course will draw on materials and perspectives on sustainable communities from many fields of study including American studies, local and urban affairs, environmental studies, literature and arts, social work, human ecology, and anthropology and sociology. The course will explore how these perspectives are useful in the understanding of the concept of sustainable communities.

 

Class will be primarily seminar. We will have a number of guests who will join us for specific topics. We will watch a few short videos in class and longer ones may be assigned for out-of-class. We will regularly debrief your service-learning experience and occasionally role play some community conversations.

 

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

 

This course is designed to examine the relationship between sustainable communities and democratic citizenship in a diverse society. Everything we do this semester will in some way, either broadly or narrowly, relate to improving your understanding of and thinking critically about communities and democratic principles, theories, and practice. This includes identifying and studying problems that communities address by your working in a community (service-learning).

 

Specific goals for the course are:

 

1. Introduce the field of community studies by investigating a community issue of interest to you.

2. Explore the origins and evolution of key issues facing contemporary American communities, by examining the ways in which communities organize themselves in response to internal needs and external phenomena.

3. Examine key role of values in the creation of sustainable communities by appreciating the significance of diversity and complexity within contemporary communities.

4. Acquire the knowledge and skills for responsible citizenship and community participation, in part by becoming experienced with community service.

 

 

COURSE COMPETENCIES:

 

Communications—write, speak, and read

Group Interaction—collaborate on projects and negotiate roles in class and the community

Critical Thinking—analyze written texts and constructed spaces

Valuing—recognize different value systems and perspectives

Citizenship—examine the relationship of individual to society

Information Technology—appreciate the role of technology on our individual and

collective lives

 

 

TEXTS:

F. Hesselbein et al. The Community of the Future. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1998.

Course packet

Library e-reserve

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

 

Attendance, promptness, and participation constitute critical components of your overall grade.  Active listening and honest, respectful, and empathetic dialogue are expected. Constructive disagreement and challenge of ideas in a supportive and sensitive manner are encouraged.

You are expected to read carefully the assigned materials and article information and to complete all written/oral assignments according to the schedule.

 

Written assignments:

1. A reading log or journal.  Write a paragraph to a page on the assigned reading for each class meeting (due each Thursday).  Make notes about ideas you wish to discuss, make connections with prior reading and experiences, question assertions that don’t seem to make sense.  Write before the reading is discussed in class, but you might also include commentaries about previous class as part of your log or journal.

2.  One short (1000 words, 3-5 “pages”) hypertext essay, “me and my communities.”  Due October 13th. After a month spent defining community, how would you identify yourself in communities?  How important are they for you?  How did you become part of these communities?  How has your role in and understanding of community changed?  Images and sounds can be part of your hypertext. (I will help you if you are unfamiliar with web composing.)

3. Reflections on your service-learning experience (2-3 pages, due first of each month).   What are you learning by working in a community setting?  How does it relate to what you are studying for the classroom? What are some of the community issues? How do political, social, economic, cultural forces shape those issues? Who are the leaders and how do they lead? What is the history of this setting and organization, and what difference does this make? These are some questions to help you structure your reflection; others will be available through the web resources listed in the online syllabus.

4. A research proposal (10-12 pages) on a community issue of interest to you posted to the web for class discussion. Due December 6th.  How would you identify the issue? What are your specific research questions? How would you propose to answer them? Give yourself time by starting early and meet with me to discuss your topic.  A research log and progress report will be due a month before the research proposal.

 

One credit of this course is for service-learning and that credit will count toward your experiential learning requirement.  You will work at community sites, preferably in teams, contributing to the well-being of that community, learning about community issues, and reflecting upon the issues that arise between classroom study and community practice.

 

 

GRADING:

 

Class participation                    25%

Reading log or journal               15%

Hypertext                                 15%

Research proposal                    25%

Service-learning reflections        20%

 

 

NCC/GMU POLICIES & RESOURCES:

 

NCC Commitment to Diversity
New Century College is an intentionally inclusive community that celebrates diversity and strives to have faculty, staff and students who reflect the diversity of our plural society. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, class, linguistic background, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, or physical ability.

 

The Honor Code and Academic Integrity

The integrity of the University community is affected by the individual choices made by each of us. This is especially true in New Century College. GMU has an Honor Code (see attached) with clear guidelines regarding academic integrity. Three fundamental and rather simple principles to follow at all times are that: (1) all work submitted be your own; (2) when using the work or ideas of others, including fellow students, give full credit through accurate citations; and (3) if you are uncertain about the ground rules on a particular assignment, ask for clarification. No grade is important enough to justify academic misconduct. If you feel unusual pressure or anxiety about your grade in this or any other course, please talk with us or to a trusted friend or counselor to get your situation in perspective. The University provides a range of service to help with test anxiety, writing skills, study skills, and other related concerns.

Using someone else’s words or ideas without giving them credit is plagiarism, a very serious offense. It is very important to understand how to prevent committing plagiarism when using material from a source. If you wish to quote verbatim, you must use the exact words (including punctuation) just as it appears in the original and you must use quotation marks and page number(s) in your citation. If you want to paraphrase ideas from a source, that is, convey the author’s ideas in your own words—you must still cite the source, using MLA or APA format.

The re-use of papers, presentations, etc., from one course in another course is not appropriate. In every NCC course, faculty expect that work that is submitted has been done only for that class. An exception is made for materials included within course and year-end portfolios.

 

NCC’s Homepage   www.ncc.gmu.edu/

Disability Resource Center    www.gmu.edu/students/drc

Writing Center        writingcenter.gmu.edu

On-line Writing Guide     classweb.gmu.edu/nccwg

Counseling Center    www.gmu.edu/departments/csdc

 

Key dates:

Last day to add, Sept 13th

Last day to drop, Sept 30th

Last day of class, Dec 8th

 

 

SCHEDULE:

 

8/30     introduction & film

9/1       introduction continued; revision of syllabus

Wheatley, Paradox and Promise of Community (CF)

introduction to service learning

            http://www.servicelearning.org/welcome_to_service_learning/service-learning_is/index.php

http://www.compact.org/faqs/s-ldefinitions.html

http://www.gmu.edu/student/csl/whatissl.html

                        Practicing Sociology 23-46 (reserve)

 

9/6       theories of community

                        Wood, Conversations, 7-27, 165-74 (reserve)

                        Bender, Social Theory and the Problem of Community, 15-43 (reserve)

                        Keller, Key Theories, 37-48 (reserve)

                        Covey, the Ideal Community (CF)

                        Resource: Wellman, The Persistence and Transformation of Community

                         http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman/publications/lawcomm/lawcomm7.htm

                        (parts 1&2, pp1-44)

 

9/8       community citizenship, social capitol, and civil society

                        Barber, Blood Brothers, Consumers, or Citizens? 3 Models of Identity (reserve)

Putnam, “Thinking about Social Change” from Bowling Alone (cp)

Putnam, Bowling Together http://www.prospect.org/print/V13/3/putnam-r.html

                        Lemann, Kicking in Groups,

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/assoc/kicking.html

Spina, Virtually Alone

http://www.americanoutlook.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=article_detail&id=1142

 

Social Capitol Survey,  http://www.cfsv.org/communitysurvey/results.html

Resource:  Sagura Seminar, Better Together introduction

            http://www.bettertogether.org/pdfs/Introduction.pdf

           

9/13     community and place:  rural, urban, suburban

                        Davis Fortress Los Angeles (cp) 

                        Pratt, Grids of Difference (cp)

                        The New Urbanism http://www.cnu.org/

Maverick Gardens, Public Housing http://themavericksite.org/

                        Beans and Rice http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/121/Pearson.html

 

9/15     patriot’s day—no class, but attend community service fair on campus

 

9/20     suburban neighborhood

                        Jackson, Crabgrass Frontier, ch 15 (xerox)

Langdon, A Better Place to Live (electronic book)  

                                               

9/22     planned community

                        Greenbelt http://otal.umd.edu/~vg/

                        Reston   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reston,_Virginia

                        Florida, Creative Class  (handout)

 

9/27     community as interest groups: voluntary associations, religion, hobbies/clubs;

campus organizations

                        Ulrich, Six Practices for Creating Communities of Value (CF)

                        Interview parent or other relative about memberships

                       

9/29     faith communities

                        Readings TBD

 

Optional: Community cohesions

 http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/docs2/cc_guidance10.html

                        Resource:  Sagura Seminar, Better Together, Religion

                                    http://www.bettertogether.org/pdfs/Religion.pdf

 

10/4     on line communities; real people in virtual places                                     s-l reflections due

Rheingold, Virtual Communities (CF)

“Online Communities”

http://www.ifsm.umbc.edu/onlinecommunities/CHAPTERS/chap01.htm

Fernback & Thompson, “Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure?”

            www.rheingold.com/texts/techpolitix/VCcivil.html

The Dot Commons, http://www.democraticmedia.org/issues/digitalcommons/

Browse/sample the following sites:

http://designforcommunity.com/

http://www.onlinecommunityreport.com/.

                                    http://www.onlinecommunityreport.com/features/10

 

10/6     Association for Integrative Studies Conference—no class                    

 

 

10/13  Community as identity: social class, ethnic groups, gay community & diversity

    hypertext essay

            (no class on the 11th; Monday classes meet on Tuesday, because of Columbus Day)     

                        Rosenblum and Travis, “Constructing Categories of Difference” 1-33 (cp)

Collins, “Toward a New Vision” (cp)

                        Kerchis & Young, Social Movements and the Politics of Difference (cp)

Thomas, Diversity in Community (CF)

Yzaguirre, The New American Identity (CF)

 

10/18  

 

 

10/20   AACU Integrative Learning—no class

                                   

10/25   participatory research, action research

                        Guest speakers

                        Appreciative inquiry, http://www.iisd.org/ai/

                        Draft of proposal for research

                       

10/27   community development, community building, and community organizing, non-profit organizations

                        Heskett, Managing Results in the Community of the Future (CF)

Tichy, High-Tech Inner-City Community Development (CF)

Sen, Stir it up, lessons in community organizing and advocacy (electronic  book)

More than Bricks and Sticks: five components of cdc capacity

http://policy.rutgers.edu/cupr/ford/brickst.pdf

                        Community building; coming of age

                                    http://www.cpn.org/topics/community/commbuild.html

                       

11/1     schools and communities; campus communities                         

                        Gaudiani, Wisdom as Capital in Prosperous Communities (CF)

Schools of Thought http://www.prospect.org/print/V14/9/just-r.html

Education in our communities

http://www.cpn.org/tools/manuals/Youth/education.html

optional:  campus/community partnerships http://www.oup.org/

 

11/3     youth development                                                                                 s-l reflections due

Barton, W. H., Watkins, M., & Jarjoura, R. Youth and communities:  (reserve)

Finn, Janet and Checkoway, Young People as Competent Community

            Builders: Social Work,43(4), 335-345.  (reserve)

Schubert, Our Children are the Community of the Future (CF)

Youth issues, youth voices

http://www.cpn.org/tools/manuals/Youth/voices.html

New generation, New politics http://www.prospect.org/print/V14/9/greenberg-a.html

Optional: Pittman, “Community, Youth, Development: Three Goals in

Search of Connection” http://www.cpn.org/topics/youth/comm_youth.html

Optional: http://www.movingideas.org/content/en/report_content/youth_politics.htm

Resource: Saguaro Seminar, Better Together: Youth and Social Capitol 

            http://www.bettertogether.org/pdfs/Youth.pdf

 

 

11/8     discussion of research proposals                                 

                                                                                   

11/10   AACU Civic Engagement Conference—no class

 

11/15   public and community art; social role of art                                research log and progress report

                        Greene, Multiculturalism, Communty, and the Arts (reserve)

Heath, making learning work: social enterprise and organizational learning

                                    http://www.infed.org/enterprise/briceheath_making_learning_work.htm

Resource: Saguaro Seminar, Better Together, The Arts

            http://www.bettertogether.org/pdfs/Arts.pdf

           

11/17   storytelling & memory

                        Heath, Stories as Ways of Acting Together, In the Need for Story

                        http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html

                        http://www.tech-head.com/dstory.htm

                        optional: http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/mit4/papers/beeson%20miskelly.pdf

 

11/22   immigration

                        Readings TBD

 

11/29   leadership

                        Chrislip, Collaborative leadership, learning from research and experience (reserve)

                        “Developing Leadership” at www.tenant.net/Organize/devlead.html

                        Organizing http://www.virginia-organizing.org/

optional:  www.tenant.net/Organize/orgbas.html

 check http://www.communityleadership.org/

 

12/1       corporate communities; workplace community                                      s-l reflections due

                        Wenger, Communities of Practice (cp)

Pinchot, Building Community in the Workplace (CF)

Cattaui, Opportunities in the Global Economy (CF)

Enterprise zones: http://www.ezec.gov/About/4_keys.html

Resource: Saguaro Seminar, Better Together, The Workplace 

            http://www.bettertogether.org/pdfs/Work.pdf

 

12/6     healthy communities (health, environment)                                            research paper due

Morone, Healthy, Wealthy, & Fair (excerpt)

Kari & Boyte, Health as a Civic Question

http://www.cpn.org/topics/health/healthquestion.html

 

12/8     summing up

                        Hesselbein, The Dream that Lies before Us (CF)

                        Ayala, Anticipating the community of the Future (CF)

 

 

SELECTIVE WEB RESOURCES:

 

Institute for Community Studies http://communityknowledge.net/

Community Resource Network http://www.crn.org/

National Civic League (community building, democratic citizenship) http://www.ncl.org/

Community Connections (HUD) http://www.comcon.org/

National Community Building Network http://www.ncbn.org/

Project for Public Spaces http://www.pps.org/

electronic policy network  http://www.movingideas.org/

community organizing:

http://www.grassroots.org/do/Home

http://www.communityleadership.org/

“ways we live: exploring community” http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/wwls.html