Instructor
Amy Howard, Ph.D., Director, Bonner Center for Civic Engagement
Academic Year(s) Offered
2009 - 2010
Overview
The Civic Engagement House is designed for students who have an interest in civic engagement, social problems, and working for social change. Students take the “Urban Crisis in America” history course (HIST 305) in the fall, where they have the opportunity to explore social issues from a historical context and connect their learning to related activities and programs on civic engagement outside the classroom. In the course we will investigate the history and current effects of poverty, segregation, deindustrialization, public housing, suburbanization and sprawl on metropolitan regions. At different points throughout the course we will use Richmond as a case study to understand both the specific challenges the region faced as well as the problems that had an impact on urban regions nationally. In groups, we will put together short documentaries on social issues in metro Richmond, including ideas for enacting change. Outside of class we will take a bus tour of Richmond, meet with local government officials, examine downtown development plans, and discuss social issues with non-profit leaders. During spring break we will travel to New York and Chicago to examine and compare how leaders, planners, and activists have worked to improve their cities and to share what we have learned about Richmond.
Related Information
Dr. Howard has offered earlier versions of the course above as part of the University’s living/learning programs. The three links below are to articles mentioning the class and its impact. The third link describes all the living and learning program last year, so you will need to scroll down to find information of the Civic Engagement House.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/01/04/history
http://oncampus.richmond.edu/news/richmondnow/2008/03/urbanproblems.html
http://magazine.richmond.edu/summer07/feature_1/index.html
During the previous course the students took bus excursions to various parts of the City of Richmond. Dr. Howard has provided a few snapshots from those events.
View of Downtown Richmond Skyline and James River
Touring the City of Richmond (last year and this year)
Dr. John Moeser is the guide.
Stop at Slave Jail Site
Stopping for Lunch at Bottom’s Up Pizza
