A new class offered this semester gives students the opportunity to explore issues surrounding social change. ET 107: "Ethnic Studies Practicum: Strategy, Tactics and Tools for Social Change" integrates the pilot Activist-in-Residence program with a classroom setting to tackle questions in the field of activism.
The Activist-in-Residence program is run jointly by the Swearer Center for Public Service, the Urban Studies Program and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America and is supported by a grant from the Office of the President.
The purpose of the Activist-in-Residence program is to bring activists to campus for more than just a lecture, said Alan Flam P'05, senior fellow at the Swearer Center and senior associate University chaplain. Activists meet with small groups of students, hold lunches and informal meetings and attend classes such as ET 107 relevant to their current work, Flam said.
The course is co-taught by Flam and Professor of History Evelyn Hu-DeHart, director of the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America.
"We are trying to expose students not only to the theoretical ideas of community organizing for social change, but also to expose students to individuals who are doing that work in a variety of settings - to talk about the practice of organizing for change, not just the theories behind it," Flam said.
The course came out of the growing impulse to connect academic work to community-based movements, individuals and organizations, Flam said, noting that the ethnic studies discipline and the Swearer Center emphasize experiential learning.
Planned topics for the course this semester include urban education, socially responsible giving, activism and the arts and issues of race- and faith-based organizing on issues of peace and justice. Hu-DeHart and Flam have invited activists working in each of these areas to share their insights with the students in the class.
Last weekend, students in the class were required to attend an open panel about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Greensboro, N.C. The commission, which released its final report last year, spent two years examining the context, causes and consequences of a racially charged 1979 massacre that left five people dead.
The Activist-in-Residence program brought four people involved in establishing the Greensboro commission to serve on the panel. Three of those commission members held office hours on campus, met with graduate and undergraduate students in the ethnic studies department and helped conduct a session of ET 107.
The visiting activists discussed the impact of reports such as the one the commission issued and the University's recent report on slavery and justice.
"We worked with them to figure out what you do after you come up with the ideas to make a change, how you go about executing them," said Chelsea Miro '10, a student in the class. "They were able to help me better understand working within the limits of being an activist and being happy with the results."
"One of the other questions we are talking to the class about is how we can engage the Brown community with the slavery and justice report," Flam said. "One of the assignments for the class is coming up with a plan for provoking more intentional conversations about the report."
Seung Hwa Baek '09 said he was skeptical when he enrolled in the course because he thought activism was about being active, not sitting in a classroom. "The class showed me I can actually go out (in the world), and there are a lot of role models out there that I can talk to, read about and follow," he said. "My parents (would say) if you keep complaining about the system you're not going to go anywhere. ET 107 showed me the light, that I can do something."
The instructors say they hope students who take the course are engaged in their own community-based work. "We're asking students to think about the work that they're already doing. We're going to ask them to develop a proposal for a public awareness campaign, to write an op-ed article about their issue that would raise community awareness and to develop a strategic plan to engage more members in the work that they're doing," Flam said.
The course also encourages students to consider the difficulties involved in working for social change.
"By allowing students to meet these people over lunch or breakfast, it opens up different types of conversations," Flam said. "How does a person create a balanced life while working on something that you feel so much passion about? How do these activists sustain themselves and deal with discouragement and despair?"
