DOCUMENT RESUME ED 449 740 HE 033 740 AUTHOR Ostrow, James, Ed.; Hesser, Garry, Ed.; Enos, Sandra, Ed. TITLE Cultivating the Sociological Imagination: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Sociology. AAHE's Series on Service-Learning in the Disciplines. INSTITUTION American Association for Higher Education, Washington, DC. ISBN-1-56377-017-2 ISBN PUB DATE 1999-00-00 NOTE 232p.; For other documents in this series, see HE 033 726-743. Initial funding for this series was supplied by Campus Compact. AVAILABLE FROM American Association for Higher Education, One Dupont Circle, Suite 330, Washington, DC 20036-1110 ($28.50). Tel: 202-293-6440; Fax: 202-293-0073; Web site: www.aahe.org. PUB TYPE Books (010) Collected Works General (020) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *College Students; Higher Education; Intellectual Disciplines; School Community Relationship; *Service Learning; *Sociology; *Student Participation ABSTRACT The articles in this volume, seventh in a series of monographs on service learning and the academic disciplines, discuss service learning in sociology or students engaging in sociological analysis through projects designed to make a positive impact on communities. The discussions consider ways that service learning projects can be adapted in most undergraduate curricula in sociology. The chapters are: (1) ------7----- "Service Learning -: Not Charity, but a Two-Way Street" (Judith R. Blau); (2) "Service-Learning and the Teachabillty_of Sociology" (James Ostrow); (3) "Sociology's Essential Role: Promoting Critical Analys-i-s_in Service-Learning" --7-----__ (Sam Marullo); "Building Campus-Community Connections: Using Servi-ce (4) Learning in Sociology Courses" (J. Richard Kendrick, Jr.); "A (5) Multicultural and Critical Perspective on Teaching through Community: A Dialogue with Jose Calderon of Pitzer College" (Sandra Enos); (6) "Service-Research Projects in the Urban School: A Dialogue with Frank Furstenberg, Jr., of the University of Pennsylvania" (Sandra Enos); (7) "Service-Learning as Symbolic Interaction" (Barbara H. Vann); "The Joys (8) of Your Troubles: Using Service and Reflection To Enhance Learning in the Community College Classroom" (Martha Bergin and Susan McAleavey); (9) "Service-Learning through Meta-Reflection: Problems and Prospects of Praxis in Organizational Sociology" (Hugh F. Lena); "Action Research: The (10) Highest Stage of Service Learning?" (Douglas V. Porpora); (11) "Examining Communities and Urban Change: Service-Learning as Collaborative Research" (Garry Hesser); "Sociology, Service, and Learning, for a Stronger (12) Discipline" (Carla B. Howery); and (13) "Sociology and Service-Learning: A Critical Look" (Kerry J. Strand). Each chapter contains references. An appendix contains an annotated bibliography of 81 items, 3 sample syllabi, and a list of contributors to the volume. (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. e . I 1 ; " : It IP. I I 4 II Sh ' OGYIIINSIIIGPh ACES i I 100ACCOL '11:101,SOt .. , ': , . . . ,, Al JONPlATHEfl /' UCA110 IHFIllu-OPHYHISIORYLhh,... ; k i L. 1 B10106YSPAr I ,H `I 11 ILA1 h ACHERF nuc AT II, SO our,' i,,Gsorto,oGy,,IIRSIIIL Ph ACF STIJD1I - OSOPHYHISTORYCOMI1111,1( ATIOPMATHENAIICSMAI - A .4 Z II ACHERED'ICAlIONPS-lC1- SPA11SHPOl111CAI SCIENCE: - z OC101. OGY*.101-ZSI'LI'LACh SI 101ESE IVII-t00"11-;,1 A STU: los IC 1, h,t1A,'Al,1-,,h I+ o f A T H it F B C H / Rh DIICATIOilF'F,YCHOL OLY.CC p / P A N I R I O I : I S S T U D 1 E S - S H O G Y S STODIE.SME DI INGSOCIOIOGY SFrIVIk01.1MF ACCOUNT AMF121CAN ASSOCIATION IIDUCAI ION FOR I 1:0h4t Hi IIAI 0 PHI OSOPHYH1STORY -01,VSPA::ISHI'01 1 I. CAl A C H F H19.1C11:0IiPSYCHOI (11:IVCOMPOS III F S1::V1HOIII.11:nALsrunII SMED1CAI [DU( IIIIGSOC1010GVHLIRSINGPF ACE S T U D I ICSFIAllA(IF MEN I 0r-IENSSTU111i SI ,OSOPHYHISTORYCOMMUilICA I TIOI:ACCOl 1 10IIPSYCHOI OGYCOPOS 1 A:.1511HOL ITICAL SCIE:ICE1 EA X Published in cooperation with American Sociological Association AAHE'S SERIES ON SERVICE-LEARNING IN THE DISCIPLINES -theme Soli° logical Imagination Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Sociology James Ostrow, Garry Hesser, and Sandra Enos, volume editors Edward Zlotkowski, series editor A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION Published in cooperation with American Sociological Association This monograph was published in cooperation with: American Sociological Association 1307 New York Avenue NW, #700 Washington, DC 20005 ph 202/383-9005 fax 202/638-0882 www.asanet.org Cultivating the Sociological Imagination: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Sociology (AAHE's Series on Service-Learning in the Disciplines) James Ostrow, Garry Hesser, and Sandra Enos, volume editors Edward Zlotkowski, series editor C 1999 American Association for Higher Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Opinions expressed in this publication are the contributors' and do not necessarily represent those of the American Association for Higher Education or its members. About This Publication This volume is one of eighteen in AAHE's Series on Service-Learning in the Disciplines to be released during 1997-1999. Additional copies of this publication, or others in the series from other disciplines, can be ordered using the form provided on the last page or by contacting: AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION One Dupont Circle, Suite 360 Washington, DC 20036-1110 ph 202/293-6440 x11, fax 202/293-0074 ISBN 1-56377-017-2 www.aahe.org ISBN (18 vol. set) 1-56377-005-9 Contents About This Series Edward Zlotkowski Preface Service-Learning: Not Charity, But a Two-Way Street Judith R. Blau ix Introduction Service-Learning and the Teachability of Sociology James Ostrow 1 Part 1 The Critical Examination of Social Life Sociology's Essential Role: Promoting Critical Analysis in Service-Learning Sam Marullo 11 Sociology and Service-Learning: A Critical Look Kerry J. Strand 29 Building Campus-Community Connections: Using Service-Learning in Sociology Courses J. Richard Kendrick, Jr. 39 Part 2 Pedagogical Advantages A Multicultural and Critical Perspective on Teaching Through Community: A Dialogue With Jose Calderon of Pitzer College Sandra Enos 55 Service-Research Projects in the Urban School: A Dialogue With Frank Furstenberg, Jr., of the University of Pennsylvania Sandra Enos 73 Service-Learning as Symbolic Interaction Barbara H. Vann 83 The Joys of Your Troubles: Using Service and Reflection to Enhance Learning in the Community College Sociology Classroom Martha Bergin and Susan McAleavey 93 Service-Le'arning Through Meta-Reflection: Problems and Prospects of Praxis in Organizational Sociology Hugh F. Lena 107 Part 3 Action Research Action Research: The Highest Stage of Service-Learning? Douglas V. Porpora 121 Examining Communities and Urban Change: Service-Learning as Collaborative Research Garry Hesser 135 Afterword Sociology, Service, and Learning, For a Stronger Discipline Carla B. Howery 151 Appendix Bibliography Sociology and Service-Learning Garry Hesser 157 Three Sample Syllabi 179 Contributors to This Volume 227 6 About This Series by Edward Zlotkowski The following volume, Cultivating the Sociological Imagination: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Sociology, represents the seventh in a series of monographs on service-learning and academic disciplinary areas. Ever since the early 1990s, educators interested in reconnecting higher education not only with neighboring communities but also with the American tradition of education for service have recognized the critical importance of winning faculty support for this work. Faculty, however, tend to define themselves and their responsibilities largely in terms of the academic disciplines/inter- disciplinary areas in which they have been trained. Hence, the logic of the present series. The idea for this series first surfaced late in 1994 at a meeting convened by Campus Compact to explore the feasibility of developing a national net- work of service-learning educators. At that meeting, it quickly became clear that some of those assembled saw the primary value of such a network in its ability to provide concrete resources to faculty working in or wishing to explore service-learning. Out of that meeting there developed, under the auspices of Campus Compact, a new national group of educators called the Invisible College, and it was within the Invisible College that the monograph project was first conceived. Indeed, a review of both the editors and contrib- utors responsible for many of the volumes in this series would reveal signif- icant representation by faculty associated with the Invisible College. If Campus Compact helped supply the initial financial backing and impulse for the Invisible College and for this series, it was the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) that made completion of the project feasible. Thanks to its reputation for innovative work, AAHE was not only able to obtain the funding needed to support the project up through actual publication, it was also able to assist in attracting many of the teacher- scholars who participated as writers and editors. Three individuals in particular deserve to be singled out for their contri- butions. Sandra Enos, former Campus Compact project director for Integrating Service With Academic Study, was shepherd to the Invisible College project. John Wallace, professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota, was the driving force behind the creation of the Invisible College. Without his vision and faith in the possibility of such an undertaking, assembling the human resources needed for this series would have been very difficult. and all that followed in its wake Third, AAHE's endorsement was due largely to then AAHE vice president Lou Albert. Lou's enthusiasm for the ZLOTKOWSKI V monograph project and his determination to see it adequately supported have been critical to its success. It is to Sandra, John, and Lou that the mono- graph series as a whole must be dedicated. Another individual to whom the series owes a special note of thanks is Teresa E. Antonucci, who, as program manager for AAHE's Service-Learning Project, has helped facilitate much of the communication that has allowed the project to move forward. The Rationale Behind the Series A few words should be said at this point about the makeup of both the gen- eral series and the individual volumes. At first glance, sociology may seem a natural choice of disciplines with which to link service-learning. However, "natural fit" has not, in fact, been a determinant factor in deciding which dis- ciplines/interdisciplinary areas the series should include. Far more impor- tant have been considerations related to the overall range of disciplines rep- resented. Since experience has shown that there is probably no disciplinary from architecture to zoology where service-learning cannot be area fruitfully employed to strengthen students' abilities to become active learn- ers as well as responsible citizens, a primary goal in putting the series together has been to demonstrate this fact. Thus, some rather natural choic- es for inclusion disciplines such as anthropology, geography, and religious studies have been passed over in favor of other, sometimes less obvious selections from the business disciplines and natural sciences as well as sev- eral important interdisciplinary areas. Should the present series of volumes prove useful and well received, we can then consider filling in the many gaps we have left this first time around. If a concern for variety has helped shape the series as a whole, a con- cern for legitimacy has been central to the design of the individual volumes. To this end, each volume has been both written by and aimed primarily at academics working in a particular disciplinary/interdisciplinary area. Many individual volumes have, in fact, been produced with the encouragement and active support of relevant discipline-specific national societies. For this volume, in fact, we owe thanks to the American Sociological Association. Furthermore, each volume has been designed to include its own appro- priate theoretical, pedagogical, and bibliographical material. Especially with regard to theoretical and bibliographical material, this design has resulted in considerable variation both in quantity and in level of discourse. Thus, for example, a volume such as Accounting contains more introductory and less bibliographical material than does Composition simply because there is less written on and less familiarity with service-learning in accounting. However, no volume is meant to provide an extended introduction to ser- VI SOCIOLOGY 8 vice-learning as a generic concept. For material of this nature, the reader is referred to such texts as Kendall's Combining Service and Learning: A Resource Book for Community and Public Service (NSIEE, 1990) and Jacoby's Service- Learning in Higher Education (Jossey-Bass, 1996). I would like to conclude with a special note of thanks to Jim Ostrow, Garry Hesser, and Sandra Enos, coeditors of this volume. The care they have taken to build on other, related efforts in sociology has helped ensure the special value of this volume. I would also like to acknowledge the generous assistance of Michelle Loyd-Paige of Calvin College, who provided feedback on the manuscript. March 1999 9 VII ZLOTKOWSKI Preface Service-Learning: Not Charity, But a Two-Way Street by Judith R. Blau Volunteering is arguably one of America's most distinctive social practices. Its organizational base, participants, and source of legitimacy have greatly var- ied over time, and it reveals important aspects of changes in American soci- ety as it implicates other important social institutions. The purpose of my prefatory piece is to examine this assumption more carefully, because I will contend that significant recent trends in higher education have been accom- panied by developments in service-learning programs. I also suggest that the motivations that students bring to a service-learning course are different today from what they were 20, or even 10, years ago. As a result, the instruc- tor may gain more than she or he ever anticipated. Service-learning may lie in the direct historical path of "charity" and welfare, but it is based on very different assumptions, namely, that it is quid pro quo: It is difficult to know in which direction the services are flowing, and whether the students are helping to empower the clients or the other way around. A historical and interpretive overview sheds some light on recent changes in volunteering as a social institution, and also, I believe, on our own and our students' concep- tions of citizenship in the classroom and in the worlds outside of it. From Volunteering to Charity Tocqueville (1991) described American volunteering in around 1830 in these citizens are independent and feeble; terms: "Among democratic nations . . . They all, therefore, become they can do hardly anything by themselves. . . . powerless if they do not learn voluntarily to help one another" (109). Volunteering as a democratic activity among equals made particular sense from early colonial times into the 19th century. There were high rates of immigration and geographical mobility, and this encouraged cooperation as communities needed to quickly absorb newcomers and to maintain stability. Both in sparsely populated rural hinterlands and in densely populated cities, residents were mutually dependent on one another. Given the absence of class traditions associated with an aristocracy and the ritualized patterns of aristocratic etiquette (noblesse oblige), a fairly distinctive American egali- tarian ethos encouraged a free and easy pattern of giving and receiving. I X B L A U 10