Alma Blount Service Opportunities in Leadership, Hart Leadership Program Duke University

Integrating Community and Classroom: Internship Reflection

PPS 137, Fall 2002

Wednesday, 5:30-8:00 p.m. 04 Sanford Institute Building

Duke University

Alma G. Blount, Instructor blount@pps.duke.edu

613-7323 Room 110 Sanford Institute

Sara Jewett, teaching assistant

jewett@pps.duke.edu 613-7349

Blackboard web site:

https://courses.duke.edu

This course offers students an opportunity to reflect upon their summer work in community-based organizations in order to make sense of their

experiences and to integrate what they have learned with concepts about service, citizenship, and leadership. The heart of the course is an investigation

of a social issue encountered by each student during the community internship experience.

The process of framing the issue and focusing the investigation will take place in consultation with the instructor and peers. During the semester students will present their work in progress to the entire class for critical

analysis and feedback. The final section of the research portfolio will include a memo of recommendations for policy reform.

Drawing upon a wide range of resources, with the students' narratives as a

starting point, we will explore how lives of commitment to the common good are formed and sustained. At the end of the course each student will submit a

paper that articulates a personal philosophy of service leadership.

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Course Outline Part One Service leadership Week 1, Aug. 28 Introduction: the course as an opportunity to reflect critically on your

summer experience, conduct research, and develop a framework for exercising leadership in complex social systems

Week 2, Sept. 4 Exploring the connection between service and social action (Essay #1) Week 3, Sept. 11 Taking a look at politics (Essay #2) Week 4, Sept. 18 Linking civic responsibility to policy change (Essay #3) Week 5, Sept. 25 Mentors, models, and the process of developing a compass of values

(Essay #4) Week 6, Oct. 2 Leadership as adaptive learning: helping groups face difficult, common

problems in order to create systemic change (Essay #5) Week 7, Oct. 9 Leadership as adaptive learning, continued (Essay #6) Week 8, Oct. 16 The inner work of leadership (Essay #7) Part Two Social issue presentations Week 9, Oct. 23 Student presentations begin Week 10, Oct. 30 continue Week 11, Nov. 6 Week 12, Nov. 13 Week 13, Nov 20 Week 14, Nov. 27 No class, Thanksgiving Break Week 15, Dec. 4 Student presentations conclude. Celebration dinner and wrap up

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Part One, Service Leadership Week 1, August 28 Introduction to the course

Reading packets for the semester will be distributed in class Week 2, Sept. 4 Exploring the connection between service and social action

King, Jr., Martin Luther. On Being a Good Neighbor. Service Learning Reader: Reflections and Perspectives on Service. Edited by Gail Albert. Raleigh: National Society for Experiential Education, 1994, pages 197-202.

Ingram, Catherine. Cesar Chavez, In the Footsteps of Gandhi. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 1990, pages 98-121.

Ingram, Catherine. A. T. Ariyaratne In the Footsteps of Gandhi. Pages 122-139. Rogers, Mary Beth. Moses and Paul: The Worlds Greatest Organizers. Cold Anger: A Story of

Faith and Power Politics. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 1990, pp. 13-17. Rogers, Mary Beth. The First Revolution is Internal. Cold Anger. Pages 55-64. Jay Walljasper, Jon Spayde and the editors of Utne Reader. Social Action Visionaries: People

and Ideas to Change Your Life. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers, 2001. Pages 85-135.

Caroline Kennedy, editor. Profiles in Courage for Our Time . New York: Hyperion, 2002. Hilda Solis, by Anthony Walton, pages 268-291; James Florio, by Anna Quinlen, pages 68-87; Corkin Cherubini, by Marion Wright Edelman. Pages 140-155.

Week 3, Sept. 11 Taking a look at politics

Thomas J. Volgy. Politics in the Trenches: Citizens, Politicians, and the Fate of Democracy. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2001.

The New Student Politics: The Wingspread Statement on Student Engagement. Campus Compact, 2002.

Makani N. Themba. Making More Pie: Local Initiatives that Increase Resources and Institutional Accountability. Making Policy and Making Change: How Communities Are Taking the Law into Their Own Hands. Berkeley: Chardon Press, 1999. Pages 55-80.

Week 4, Sept. 18 Linking civic responsibility to policy change

Robert B. Reich. Ill Be Short: Essentials for a Decent Working Society. Boston: Beacon Press, 2002.

Makani N. Themba. Plotting a Course: Lessons from the Front Lines. Making Policy and Making Change. Pages 81-116.

The John Locke Foundation web site: http://johnlocke.org The Common Sense Foundation web site: http://common-sense.org

Week 5, Sept. 25Mentors, models, and the process of developing a compass of values

Read 200 pages of a biography, autobiography, or profile of a Nobel laureate or other prominent social or political leader. (Please see list of suggested titles at the end of the syllabus.)

Week 6, Oct. 2Leadership as adaptive learning: helping groups face difficult problems and creating systemic change

Heifetz, Ronald A. Leadership Without Easy Answers. Boston: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. (Text available from Regulator Bookshop)

Week 7, Oct. 9Leadership as adaptive learning, continued.

Heifetz, Ronald A. Leadership Without Easy Answers.

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Week 8, Oct. 16The Inner Work of Leadership

Horton, Myles. Knowing Yourself. The Long Haul: An Autobiography, pp. 193-197. Palmer, Parker J. Leading from Within: Reflections on Spirituality and Leadership. (Presented at

the Annual Celebration Dinner of the Indiana Office for Campus Ministries in March 1990.) Laurent A. Parks Daloz, Cheryl H. Keen, James P. Keen, and Sharon D. Parks. Confession: The

Struggle with Fallibility, and Commitment: The Power of the Double Negative, Common Fire: Lives of Commitment in a Complex World. Pages 170-192 and 193-211.

Green, Tova and Woodrow, Peter, with Peavey, Fran. Strategic Questioning: An Approach to Creating Personal and Social Change. Insight and Action: How to Discover and Support a Life of Integrity and Commitment to Change. Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1994, pp. 90-116.

Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee. The Emotional Reality of Teams, Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2002. Pages 171-248.

Part Two: Social issue presentations Outlines will be provided in class by student presenters Books and articles Copies of the assigned articles will be handed out in class. In addition, three books are assigned for the first part of the course. They can be purchased in the textbook department of the Regulator Bookshop on Ninth Street, and will also on reserve at Perkins Library.

Politics in the Trenches: Citizens, Politicians, and the Fate of Democracy, by Thomas J. Volgy. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2001.

Ill Be Short: Essentials for a Decent Working Society, by Robert B. Reich. Boston: Beacon Press, 2002.

Leadership Without Easy Answers, by Ronald A. Heifetz. Boston: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1994.

Research support 1. Peer support groups Students will be assigned to small groups to provide peer support for designing the social issue investigations and planning presentations to the class. Instructions will be provided in class, and will also be available on the blackboard web site.

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Peer research support groups should arrange to meet several times from October 2-23 (three weeks), before student presentations begin. 2. Consultations and training sessions Instructor/student interviews by appointment: September 11-October 2 (three weeks). An Intermediate/Advanced workshop for electronic data base and web research will be offered on Monday Sept 9, and again on Monday, Sept. 16 at Perkins Library from 5:30-8:00 p.m. (This will be the same class, so you can choose one date or another.) Please plan to take this class no matter how advanced you think your electronic research skills may be right now. Reference librarian Catherine Shreve will design the training session to highlight several social issue topics identified by the class. This workshop will provide invaluable tools and resources for your research projects. Course Requirements 1. Please make a commitment to attend all our classes and to show up on time. 2. Carefully complete all the reading assignments before coming to class. 3. Write seven brief, powerful essays based on the reading assignments. Please post your

essays on our blackboard web site on or before 8:00 a.m. each Wednesday: Sept. 4, 11, 18, 25, and Oct. 2, 9, 16.

4. Find creative ways to help us learn together as a community. Contribute to our class discussions in order to help us deepen our conversations throughout the semester. If your tendency is to talk a lot in class, try listening and observing group dynamics more. If you are usually quiet in group conversations, stretch yourself and find your voice. Experiment with the role you play in our discussions with the purpose of intensifying the learning process for all of us, and also to develop a better understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses in creating great discussions.

5. Participate fully in the work of your peer research support group. 6. Conduct an extensive investigation of a social issue related to your internship experience.

Design a portfolio containing research, reflections, and key resources that illuminate and focus the issue youve identified. (Further guidelines will be provided in class.)

7. Present your research to the class in such a way that we become intrigued by your topic and

interested in your learning process. 8. Write a declaration of service leadership at the end of the semester that tells us what

engagement with the world means to you here and now, in concrete, specific terms.

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Grading Policy Class participation: 20% Weekly essays: 25% Social issue investigation portfolio: 30% Social issue presentation: 15% Declaration of service leadership: 10% Assignment Calendar Weekly essays are due by 8:00 a.m. each Wednesday, via the blackboard web site:

September 4, 11, 18, 25, October 2, 9, 16. Social issue presentations will take place from Wednesday, October 23 through

Wednesday, December 4. Assigned dates for individual presentations will be announced in class by October 2. October 23: Group #1 October 30: Group #2 November 6: Group #3 November 13: Group #4 November 20: Group #5 December 4: Group #6

Social Issue Research Portfolio Due Dates

Research Plan (informal email message) Wed., Oct. 2

Focusing Statement and Essay Wed., Oct. 23

Book Review (draft) Wed., October 30

Annotated Bibliography (draft) Wed., Nov. 6

Interview with a Practitioner (draft) Wed., Nov. 13

Policy Recommendations Memo (draft) Wed., Dec. 4

Final Portfolio Wed. December 11 Your declaration of service leadership essay is due by 5:00 pm on Friday, Dec. 13.

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Component Parts of the Social Issue Research Portfolio 1. Focusing Statement and Essay

A. What is the social issue you are investigating? Include key questions. Outline the dimensions of the problem. State it as clearly and succinctly as possible. Make it compelling, so that our curiosity is aroused and we want to know more. (One page)

B. Why is this issue something that concerns you? Tell the story. What experiences brought you to this issue? What have you learned in the process of experiencing its effects first hand (from your summer internship) and from investigating it further in this research project? Elaborate on the importance of this particular issue. Explore your own relationship with the issue in ways that seem relevant. What impact has the issue had on you? What impact can you have on this issue? (Three to five pages.)

2. Book Review:

List the title, author, and vital information about the book. Why did you choose this book? What are the authors main points? Where do you agree? What is your critique of the book? How does this particular text help you deepen your understanding of the social policy issue you are investigating? (Five pages.)

3. Annotated Bibliography:

Provide a descriptive listing, written in your own words, of key resources about your social issue that interest you. Include brief descriptions of relevant books, magazine and newspaper articles, films, videos, and web sites. (Several pages of annotated bibliography listings, around one paragraph for each listing; and then several pages that describe three key resources in greater depth. Total of 12 brief annotations and 3 extended annotations. (Around five to six pages.)

4. Interview with a Practitioner:

Find someone who is a practitioner in your field of interest, someone who can illuminate and focus some of the key issues you have been investigating. Concentrate on asking great questions. Write a brief description of the practitioner, and explain his or her connection to the social issue you are researching. The interview can be verbatim, in a Q and A format; it can be an edited and condensed version of the Q and A format; or it can be written in the format of an article. (Three pages.)

5. Policy Recommendation Memo

Draft a policy memo of recommendations about the social issue. What are the underlying structures or systems that need to change in order to make serious progress on this issue? Who are the key players that need to be involved in the change process? What policy options can you identify? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different options? Which option or approach seems the most

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viable, from your own perspective? What are your specific recommendations for action? (Three to five pages.)

Weekly Essay Guidelines

Length: 500 words.

Essays are by 8:00 am each Wednesday on the blackboard web site group pages:

September 4, 11, 18, 25, October 2, 9, and 16. https://courses.duke.edu

Read the assignments carefullytake note of the themes that emerge.

Before you begin writing ask yourself, What is each author saying? What are the key

concepts? How do these ideas speak to me? Do I agree? Do I disagree? What do I find

interesting? Do I find myself resonating with one set of ideas more than others? Which

ideas do I find the most compelling? Why? What meaning do these ideas have for me in

light of my own experiences, ideas, and questions about this issue?

Write a concise essay that brings the two parts together: #1) reflection on the authors

ideas, and #2) your response--your own questions, ideas, and insights. From week to

week you'll be laying the ground work for your final paper, the declaration of service

leadership. It's important that you make the effort to carefully develop your own insights,

and your own voice, each week.

You will be graded on the overall quality of your inquiry and your growth over the course of

the semester. You will not be graded on each paper individually. During your mid-course

evaluation meeting, I'll give you specific feedback on your weekly essays as well as your

participation in class discussions.

Please keep author quotes to a minimum; paraphrase when necessary. Engage with the

material in a fresh, original way and develop your own distinctive voice.

Please take a look at the essays of the other students in your assignment group before

coming to class each Wednesday. (Your group members will be listed in the group pages

section of the blackboard web site.)

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Books available in the Hart Leadership Program library for the mentors and models assignment Nobel Laureates--Nobel Peace Prize: I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala, by Rigoberta Menchu The Voice of Hope, by Aung San Suu Kyi, et al. Aung San Suu Kyi: Standing Up for Democracy in Burma (Women Changing the World) Freedom From Fear, by Aung San Suu Kyi Mandela, by Charlene Smith, Desmond Tutu Mandela: The Authorized Biography, by Anthony Sampson Long Walk to Freedom, by Nelson Mandela No Future Without Forgiveness, by Desmond Mpilo Tutu Suffering into Joy: What Mother Teresa Teaches about True Joy, by Eileen Egan, Kathleen Egan No Greater Love, by Mother Teresa, et al Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams: Making Peace in Northern Ireland (Women Changing the

World), by Sarah Buscher, et al. After Guns Fall Silent: The Enduring Legacy of Landmines, by Shawn Roberts, Jody Williams Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, by

David J. Garrow Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have A Dream: Writings and Speeches that Changed the World, edited by

James M. Washington Transforming the Mind: Teachings on Generating Compassion, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama Ethics for a New Millenium, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama And the Sea is Never Full, Memoirs, 1969, by Elie Wiesel Other political and social leaders: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, by Mohandas K. Gandhi Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope, by Judith Brown Eleanor Roosevelt, Volume One: 1884-1933, by Blanche Wiesen Cook Eleanor Roosevelt, Volume Two: The Defining Years, by Blanche Wiesen Cook Jane Adams and the Dream of American Democracy: A Life , by Jean Bethke Elshtain Lincolns Virtues: An Ethical Biography, by William Lee Miller The Better Angel: Walt Whitman in the Civil War, by Roy Morris, Jr. Open Letters, by Vaclav Havel Margaret Sanger: An Autobiography Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate, by Barbara Mikulski, Kay Bailey Hitchison, Dianne

Feinsteirn, Barbara Boxer, Patty Murray, Olympia Snow, Susan Collins, Mary Landrieu, Blanch L. Lincoln; written with Catherine Whitney.

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Rosa Parks, by Douglas Brinkley