Course Description:
This is an intensive experience of community work in Tacoma's Hilltop and Salishan neighborhoods, in which you will learn first-hand about poverty and participate in community service projects. The class will volunteer in agencies that address problems of homelessness, hunger, employment, and learning English as a second language. We may be involved in physical work as well as human contact in food banks, day cares, shelters, and agencies serving refugee and immigrant populations. We will explore the meaning of service from multiple perspectives.
Course Objectives:
- To acquaint students with the issues that cause and mitigate homelessness and poverty.
- To engage students in reading about, hearing about, writing about, and doing thoughtful service.
- To develop a personal understanding and ethic of meaningful service.
- To put faces and names to "homeless and poor" people.
- To challenge one's own stereotypes and myths about people.
- To grow and learn in community with others.
- To learn about oneself as one encounters people from all walks of life.
Course Credit:
SOCW 175/491: January on the Hill (4 credits). A, S2 (GUR) or SO (GenEd), department credit, satisfies First-Year J-Term Residency Requirement.