The descriptions below highlight the academic civic engagement component of each class. Please check the Academic Catalog for complete course descriptions and prerequisites.
American Studies
AMST 100 American Culture: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Instructor: Jim Farrell
Students read Paul Loeb’s The Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in Challenging Times, a book that uses the stories of a number of social activists to encourage readers to get involved in their communities, both socially and politically. As a follow-up to the book, students interviewed local activists, probing for the ideas and commitments that have led them to opt for community involvement instead of “couch potatoism.”
English
ENGL 289 Journalistic Writing
Instructor: Jan Hill
Students chose one of two ACE project options to help gather and write community news, feature stories, or community member profiles. Some students collaborated with the Healthy Community Initiative to help Latino middle school students in the TORCH program write stories for a newsletter that goes home to families. Others students interviewed longtime members of the League of Women Voters to capture their stories online for the national LWV’s “Story Bank” project.
Environmental Studies
ES 137 Introduction to Environmental Studies
Instructor: Stephanie Schmidt
As part of an exploration of food systems, students assisted two student farms (STOWGROW and SEEDS) and learned from local food leaders.
ES 202 Culture of Nature
Instructor: Jim Farrell
Students developed materials for educating first-year students about sustainability in partnership with Residence Life.
GE
GE 111 First-year Writing
Instructor: Mark Allister
As part of an exploration of food topics, students provided assistance to the STOWGROW Farm, participated in local farm/food tours and wrote about their experiences.
Independent Study
IS 216 Ideals to Action: Cultivating Social Change
Instructor: Eric Fure-Slocum
Students explored social change academically and practically. Students created plans for developing, improving or marketing a program in collaboration with various community organizations. After presenting their project plans to the organizations and receiving feedback, the students assumed leadership in implementing the initial stages of the projects. Community partners included Three Rivers Community Action Center, Three Links, Growing Up Healthy, SEEDS Farm, St. Dominic’s School and the Hati Justice Alliance. Project Titles and Descriptions
Management
MGMT 229 Arts Management
Instructor: Sian Muir
Teams of students wrote grants for various local arts organizations, including Cannon Valley Youth Orchestra, VocalEssence, Northfield Youth Choir, Archibald Mill and the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Minnesota. Students also evaluated the WITNESS program for VocalEssence.
MGMT 250 Marketing
Instructor: Sian Muir
Student teams developed a strategic marketing plans for various local for profit and nonprofit organizations, including St. Olaf Financial Aid office, Compatible Technology, Sirius Software, Redoux Home, Nicollet South Bike Shop. Students presented their recommendations to the community partners at the end of the semester.
Philosophy
PHIL 254 Law, Politics and Morality
Instructor: Gordon Marino
Students wrote op-ed pieces relating to social issues and submit for publication.
Social Work
SW 254 Inclusive Practice with Individuals and Families
Instructor: Naurine Lennox
Each student in the class meet for nine weeks with a resident at the Northfield Retirement Center that they do not know and engaged in conversation. The student told a short personal story to engender a reciprocal story from their “partner” elder. Students participated in training sessions with a community professional and reflected on their experiences in writing and in class discussion.