URBS 230—Community Leadership and Service Learning

Term: Spring, 2007 (Face-to-face)

Instructor: Tony Filipovitch, 106 Morris Hall, 507-389-5035, 507-388-2264 (home)

Office Hours: My office hours are posted here. I am available in my office at those times (or other times by appointment). I also check my e-mail daily (usually several times during the day), and have an answering machine on both my home and office phone.

There is no reason to flounder around, unsure of what “he wants” or confused about what you are doing; and even if everything is going fine with the coursework, there is more to learning than completing the assignments. I encourage you to visit me, in person or at a distance by phone or e-mail, many times during the course.

Text:

Davis, Adam & Elizabeth Lynn. (2006) The Civically Engaged Reader. Chicago, IL: The Great Books Foundation. (available online at http://www.greatbooks.org/civics/ )

Course Calendar

Due date	Topic	Reading from Text	Notes	Assignment
1/22	Course Intro		Service Learning	Writing Groups
1/29	SBS Alumni Lecture
2/5	Institutional Setting	Associating #1	Community Institutions	e-mail Service Learning specifics
2/19		Associating #1	“Bowling Alone”	Institutional Analysis
2/26	Civic Engagement	Serving #1	Smart Communities
3/5		Serving #2	Solutions for America	Biographical Story
3/19	Civic & Ethical Values	Giving #1	Democracy & Disagreement	Book Review
4/2		Giving #2	Getting Past No	Editorial
4/9	Leadership	Leading #1	Authentic Leadership
4/23		Leading #2	“Learning to Lead”	Elevator Speech
5/7	Finals week -- Service Learning Report & course evaluation due

Course Objectives:

The purpose of this course is to provide you with a comprehensive overview of community leadership in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, both through classroom work and through service learning. You will look at the principles and practices for managing community groups, and at the ethical and civic responsibilities of a democratic society. What makes this course unique is the students’ involvement with the community and its leaders. This course requires a high level of student involvement—volunteering, attending meetings, interviewing, working with both student and community teams, etc.

By the end of the term you will be able to:

1. Define and recognize leadership within the voluntary sector and compare/contrast this sector with the public and private sectors;

2. Understand and describe the significance/development of mission, leadership, resources, marketing, decision-making, and people development in institutional (public, private, nonprofit) settings;

3. Apply the criteria of civic and ethical values to behavior in public settings;

4. Demonstrate skill in fostering citizenship, representative government, collaboration, citizen participation, and citizen self-government;

5. Apply your knowledge and skills directly in community leadership.

In addition to the specific course outcomes, there are three additional outcomes that are common to most, if not all, courses at MSU:

1. Develop your creative and critical thinking powers in addressing problems and opportunities;

2. Develop personal communication skills, both oral and (especially in this course) written;

3. Improve your ability to work and interact with others in a team approach.

Instructional Methodology and Teaching Strategies:

My teaching style in this course is based on an "adult-centered" model which assumes that you are active participants, each responsible for your own learning, and I am a facilitator and resource who helps you advance your project. My goal for myself as a teacher is to "take you someplace you would never before have gone alone."

Instructional Management System & Communication Protocols:

The course will use D2L as the instructional management system. Assignments, grade rosters, and other course management issues will be handled through that site.

Assignments:

This is a “service learning” course which requires approximately 30 hours of volunteer activity in the community. It is also a “writing intensive” course, which means that you will be expected to do a fair bit of writing and to edit and rewrite what you have written.

Classwork:

In class, you will meet in groups to discuss readings from the textbook (and how those readings relate to the other Notes) and in writing groups to discuss each others’ writing. This peer-work is an important part of the learning in this course—this is, after all, a course about community leadership.

Service Learning:

This course is structured so that you have the opportunity to learn about community leadership (as a concept, as a skill, and as a value) both in the classroom and “on the ground.” You are required to spend a significant amount of time (minimum 30 hours) as a volunteer for a community-serving organization (in return, the amount of classtime is reduced compared to other courses). While there, you will have the opportunity to be of service, and to observe how those around you serve and lead.

Written Assignments:

This is a writing intensive class. Writing affords you the opportunity to practice and convey what you have learned including higher-order thinking (analysis, synthesis and evaluation). There are six different writing projects, which will give you the opportunity to practice writing for different audiences and different purposes. All writing assignments must be submitted electronically, using Microsoft Word. You will be assigned to a “writing group,” and you are expected to respond to each others’ writing. The author will then revised the text and submit it to me. In writing your projects, I expect you to refer to other people’s ideas and to footnote your sources. You may use any standard style manual (Harbrace, Chicago, Turabian, APA, etc.), but be prepared to document that your usage is supported.

Each of the six assignments are discussed in greater depth at their associated links. In brief, the assignments are:

1. Elevator speech: Write a 150-word piece of persuasive writing (“Suppose you are caught in an elevator with someone you need to convince….”)

2. Institutional Analysis: Describe an organization and analyze the role it plays as a community institution.

3. Biographical Story: Tell an interesting story about how someone or some organization did something that made a difference to a community in Minnesota.

4. Editorial: Write an editorial suitable for a local newspaper (this is a useful skill for a community leader to have).

5. Book Review: Write a review of a book on community leadership for the newsletter for a community action agency.

6. Service Learning Report: Write a reflective essay addressing the question, “What did your service learning experience teach you about community leadership?”

For a full description of each of these assignments, see the corresponding links on the Course Calendar.

Course Expectations:

Attendance & Class Participation:

It is your responsibility to post your writing in a timely fashion, interact with your mentors, and engage in the class discussions. I expect all writing projects to be submitted by the date listed in the Course Calendar. If there is an emergency which requires you to miss class, please contact me immediately. I will give partial credit for assignments that come in during the next time period; assignments posted after that will not earn course credit unless there is a prior agreement. You are paying for this class—make sure to get your “money’s worth.” Most importantly, this is an excellent foundation of knowledge for future activities, and it is a chance for you to learn, teach, and grow with others.

Grading:

8 discussion reports @ 3 pts. 24 + 1 pt. for all 12

5 writing projects @ 10 pts. 50

Service Learning Report 25

The final grade may be based on a curve, but students can expect at least an A if they achieve 90, a B with 80, etc.

Other Matters:

All assignments are due on the assigned date. Partial credit may be given for assignments that are less than one week late, unless other arrangements have been made in advance.

Written reports are expected to be free of grammatical, spelling, and content errors. They should be submitted in typewritten, standard formats (APA, MLA, URSI Style Sheets). You must familiarize yourself with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy. I encourage you to draw on the ideas of others—but you must also identify when you do so (you gain “brownie points” for citing the work of others!). Plagiarism is a serious breach of academic behavior and will result in an F for the course.

I will help you in whatever manner humanly possible. However, once the semester is over, there is not a great deal I can do. If there is something that you don’t understand, are having problems with, or need help on, please get in touch with me as early as possible.

Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities. If you area student with a documented disability, please contact us as early in the semester as possible to discuss the necessary accommodations, and/or contact the Disability Services Office at 507-389-2825 (V) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY).

Bibliography

1. Leadership

AUTRY, J.A. and S. MITCHELL. 1988. Real Power: Business Lessons from the Tao Te Ching. New York: Riverhead Books.

BOLMAN, L.G. and T.E. DEAL. 1997. Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice, and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

BOYTE, H.C. 2004. Everyday Politics: Reconnecting Citizens and Public Life. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

BURNS, J.M. 1978. Leadership. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.

CLEMENS, J.K. and D.F. MAYER. 1987. The Classic Touch: Lessons in Leadership from Homer to Hemingway. Homewood, IL: Dow-Jones Irwin.

DEPREE, M. 1989. Leadership Is an Art. New York: Dell Publishing.

GALBRAITH, J.K. 1983. The Anatomy of Power. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

GARDNER, H. 1995. Leading Minds: An Anatomy of Leadership. New York: Basic Books.

GARDNER, J.W. 1984. Excellence: Can We Be Equal and Excellent Too? Rev. ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

GREENLEAF, R.K. Servant Leadership. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1977.

HESSELBEIN, F., M. GOLDSMITH, and I. SOMERVILLE, eds. 1999. Leading Beyond the Walls. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

JACKSON, P. 1995. Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior. New York: Hyperion.

NANUS, B. and S. M. DOBBS. 1999. Leaders Who Make a Difference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

TERRY, RW. 1993. Authentic Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

WHEATLEY, M.J. 1999, Leadership and the New Science 2^nd Ed. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

WREN, J.T., ed. 1995. The Leader’s Companion: Insights on Leadership Through the Ages. New York: The Free Press.

2. Institutional Structure

ALINSKY, S.D. 1971. Rules for Radicals. New York: Random House.

BENDER, T. 1978. Community and Social Change in America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

GREEN, G.P. and A.HAINES. 2002. Asset Building and Community Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

HENDERSON, P. and D.N. THOMAS. 1980. Skills in Neighbourhood Work. Boston: George Allen & Unwin.

ILLICH, I. 1973. Tools for Conviviality. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.

KORTEN, D.C. and R. KLAUSS. 1984. People Centered Development. West Hartford, CN: Kumarian Press.

KRETZMANN, J.P. and J.L. MCKNIGHT. 1993. Building Communities from the Inside Out. Chicago: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Northwestern University/ACTA Publications.

LAKEY, G. 1968. Strategy for a Living Revolution. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Co.

LIPPITT, R., J. WATSON, and B. WESTLEY. 1958. The Dynamics of Planned Change. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.

MORRIS, D. and K. HESS. 1975. Neighborhood Power: The New Localism. Boston: Beacon Press.

NISBET, R.A. 1953. The Quest for Community. New York: Oxford University Press.

POPLIN, D.E. 1972. Communities: A Survey of Theories and Methods of Research. New York: The Macmillan Company.

RUBIN, H.J. and I. RUBIN. 1992. Community Organizing and Development, 2^nd Ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

URY, W. 1993. Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation, Rev. ed. New York: Bantam Books.

WARREN, R.B. and D.I. WARREN 1977. The Neighborhood Organizer’s Handbook. Notre Dame, IN: The University of Notre Dame Press.

WARREN, R.L. 1963. The Community in America. Chicago: Rand McNally & Company.

ZANDER, A. 1990. Effective Social Action by Community Groups. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

3. Civic & Ethical Values

BELLAH, R.N. et alii. 1985. Habits of the Heart. New York: Harper & Row.

BELLAH, R.N. et alii. 1991. The Good Society. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

BIERMAN, A.K. 1973. The Philosophy of Urban Existence. Athens: Ohio University Press.

BOYTE, H.C. 1989. CommonWealth: A Return to Citizen Politics. New York: The Free Press.

DEWEY, J. 1927. The Public and Its Problems. New York: Henry Holt & Co.

FRIEDMANN, J. 1979. The Good Society. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

GUTMANN, A. and D. THOMPSON. 1996. Democracy and Disagreement. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

KEMMIS, D. 1990. Community and the Politics of Place. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

KEMMIS, D.1995. The Good City and the Good Life. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

KOTLER, M. 1969. Neighborhood Government: The Local Foundations of Political Life. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co.

LIPPMANN, W. 1947. An Inquiry into the Principles of the Good Society. Boston: Little, Brown and Co.

MATHEWS, D. 1994. Politics for People: Finding a Responsible Public Voice. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

TUAN, Y-F. 1986. The Good Life. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.

VILLA, D. 2001. Socratic Citizenship. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

4. Fostering Civic Engagement

CHISHOLM, D. 1989. Coordination Without Hierarchy. Berkeley: University of California Press.

CHRISLIP, D.D. and C.E. LARSON. 1994. Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

DAVIS, P. ed. 1986. Public-Private Partnerships: Improving Urban Life. New York: The Academy of Political Science.

GRAY, B. 1989. Collaborating: Finding Common Ground for Multiparty Problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

HARWOOD GROUP. 1993. Meaningful Chaos: How People Form Relationships with Public Concerns. Dayton, OH: Kettering Foundation.

WINER, M. and K. RAY. 1994. Collaboration Handbook: Creating, Sustaining, and Enjoying the Journey. St. Paul, MN: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation.

5. Leadership in the Community

ADDAMS, J. 1990. Twenty Years at Hull-House, with Autobiographical Notes. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

COLBY, A. and W. DAMON. 1992. Some Do Care: Contemporary Lives of Moral Commitment. New York: The Free Press.

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FREEDMAN, M. 1993. The Kindness of Strangers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

HAWKINS, J.D., R.F. CATALANO, Jr. 1992. Communities That Care: Action for Drug Abuse Prevention. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

KOZOL, J. 1988. Rachel and Her Children: Homeless Families in America. New York: Fawcett Columbine.

LOEB, P.R. 1999, Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin.

MCLAUGHLIN, M.W., M.A. IRBY, and J.LANGMAN. 1994. Urban Sanctuaries: Neighborhood Organizations in the Lives and Futures of Inner-City Youth. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

MURRAY, H. 1990. Do Not Neglect Hospitality: The Catholic Worker and the Homeless. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

RIIS, J.A. 1971. How the Other Half Lives. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.

ST. ANTHONY, N. 1987. Until All Are Housed in Dignity. Minneapolis, MN: Project for Pride in Living.

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