Proseminar on Engagement.
RCAH 292A. Sec. 002. Offered fall
This proseminar on civic engagement is required in order for students to enroll in additional civic engagement coursework at the RCAH (starting fall 2011 it will be a prerequisite). Redesigned in the spring of 2010 by a student/faculty Task Force on Civic Engagement, the course uses hands-on learning to motivate, excite, inspire and sensitize students to deeper reflection and civic engagement activities in the college. Through service engagements, field trips, exploration of campus and local historical, social and environmental contexts and through discussions on the nature of civic engagement, students will engage in discovery of their local community. The above activities will guide us. But we'll add in texts, multimedia resources and additional hands-on activities to prepare students for higher-level thinking and involvement in engagement course work and community-based activism. Each course is a little different based on student and instructor interests. For specifics, contact Mr. Delgado (fall), Dr. DeLind (spring) or Dr. Jackson (spring).

Project Placeway: Sustaining Stories for Lansing's Newcomers
Section 002 (Terese Guinsatao Monberg)
Recent data show that immigrants and refugees new to Greater Lansing don't often settle permanently in the area. While some outmigration is connected to job prospects, many report leaving due to a lack of a sense of a clear means to connecting to the region's civic life (e.g. a sense of place); a lack of information on opportunities to develop their language and cultural literacy skills (e.g. way finding); and an unwelcoming attitude among some native born residents (e.g. a lack of information among those that live in the region about the critical contributions newcomers make to the region's economy). This course will participate in an ongoing project committed to creating stories that can help newly arrived and long-term immigrant residents make Lansing a place that feels like "home" and a place where they can thrive long-term. Working collaboratively with local immigrants at Peckham, Inc., through a dialogue-based process, students in this course will continue to build the stories and public installations of Project Placeway. For more, contact Dr. Monberg.

Urban Agriculture - Engaging with its purpose and possibilities
(Sec. 003- Laura DeLind)
Imagine a class in which getting really hot and dirty is a weekly assignment, in which you'll eat a carrot right out of the ground (ok, you might wipe it off on your sleeve first), and where you will work with elementary school children, refugees, or urban residents. The class introduces students to the urban food system - to critically consider its connections to health, the environment, history, culture, and power. Food and food production will become the lens through which students explore larger questions of urban/ rural relations, bio and cultural diversity, social equity and citizenship. Each week, one session will focus on academic readings and discussions that on the theory and practice of urban ag. The other session will be devoted to films, guest lectures and student-led conversations about experiences and self-reflection, capacity building, social research and activism. Students will participate in one of four possible urban ag projects: the Lansing Garden Project, the Urbandale Farm Project in the Urbandale neighborhood, the Hunter Park GardenHouse operated by RCAH partner the Allen Neighborhood Center, or the Central/Cedar Creek Garden Project. With support from Michigan Campus Compact, students will also be making grants totaling $4,500 to local urban ag communities. For more on this course, contact Dr. DeLind.

Art at Work -- The RCAH/Peckham, Inc. Collaborative
Section 004 (Guillermo Delgado)
Students will participate in and pilot experiential dialogues with team members at Peckham,Inc. and at MSU on topics of identity, citizenship, creativity, sustainability, work, justice, democracy and community. These dialogues will define a major public art installation on Lansing's northwest side. Students will explore the dialogue and creative processes required to collaborate with Peckham's vocational rehabilitation community and other RCAH students, faculty and visiting artists in the co-creation of a work of art on a 40'X200' concrete wall. Students will organize, participate in, and lead open workshops for students, faculty, and team members at Peckham and the RCAH to explore critical topics through creative work. These drop-in workshops will provide the "data" that will be used to begin deeper creative explorations that will result in the creation of a large, public installation in the spring 2011. Students will spend a portion their time refining their creative and collaborative skills in the RCAH art studio and the rest of their time collaborating and creating art with Peckham team members in the organization's cafeteria and art studio. For more, contact Guillermo Delgado.

Arts Now!
Section 005 (Diane Newman and Beth Post)
This course is designed to provide students with a current perspective and understanding of non-profit arts organizations and service-providers. Individual students will be paired with a local arts organization, exposed to the organization's day-to-day operations and gain useful job skills by being a part of the arts organization/service workforce. Students will closely examine the influence of the arts in multiple facets of human life and develop a personal response towards a projected prognosis for the future of the arts. With support from Michigan Campus Compact, students will also be making grants totaling $4,500 to local arts communities. Contact Ms. Newman or Ms. Post for more.


Spring 2011