ABCS 2004-2005

Fall 2004 - ABCS Courses

Undergraduate Courses

URBAN UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS (BFS)

AFRC 078 401/HIST 214 401/URBS 078 401 - Ira Harkavy & Lee Benson

Inspired by Penn's founder, Ben Franklin, President Amy Gutmann has identified rising to the challenge of a diverse democracy and educating students for democratic citizenship as critical goals of her administration. Since the present undergraduate curriculum falls short in this regard, the seminar aims to synthesize numerous, unrelated, academically-based community service courses into an effectively integrated curriculum. As now envisioned, the new Penn curriculum developed by the seminar would have as a significant component, thematic, problem-solving clusters, i.e., interrelated, cross-disciplinary, complementary sets of courses designed to stimulate and empower students to produce, not simply consumer, societally-useful knowledge. By societally-useful knowledge, we mean knowledge actively used to solve global strategic problems of democracy and society, schooling and society, health and society, poverty and society, environment and society, culture and society, etc., as those global problems manifest themselves locally at Penn and in West Philadelphia/Philadelphia.

NUTRITIONAL ANTHROPOLOGY

ANTH 359 401/HSOC 359 401 - Francis Johnston

Human nutrition and nutritional status within context of anthropology, health, and disease. Particular emphasis on nutritional problems and the development of strategies to describe, analyze, and solve them. Students will participate in the Urban Nutrition Initiative, an academically based community service project in local area schools.

CROSS CULTURAL APPROACHES TO HEALTH

ANTH 441 401/HSOC 441 401 - Frances Barg

The relationships between the demographic, sociocultural, and biological structures of communities and their health problems will be examined from an anthropological perspective. Emphasis will be given to folk concepts of disease etiology and their assimilation of modern health care practices; the ecology and natural history of disease and characterizing the health status of population aggregates.

WRITING ABOUT ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES

ASAM 009 402/URBS 009 402 - Ajay Nair

A writing seminar and academically based community service course that explores and engages students to write about the social phenomena that have impacted Asian Americans. Students will employ critical thinking and writing skills in analyzing and questioning ideas about race, class, gender, family, and language barriers. Students will enhance their understanding of the course content by actively participating in community fieldwork that will challenge personal assumptions and biases. The community fieldwork component of the course will enhance leadership skills for participants.

RACE AND POPULAR CINEMA (Fulfills the writing requirement)

ASAM 009 403/AFRC 009 403/FILM 009 403 - Jacqui Sadashige

From the mainstreaming of performers such as Eddie Murphy and Ice Cube to the recent fixation on Japan, American cinema would seem to have become truly multicultural. By examining films across a spectrum of genres and from a range of time periods, we will explore film as a medium for reflecting and constructing attitudes about racial difference and related social issues such as the value of tradition, the defining of national character, and anxieties about sex and sexuality. As an Academically Based Community Service Course, we will be exploring some of these films with a partner class of local high-school students. Students will produce a series of critical responses to films as well as a larger research project in conjunction with our high school partners. Thus, students will „learn by teaching‰ while considering film as a determining force in culture as well as its value as a teaching tool.

NOTE: Mandatory film screenings M 3-5 pm

SEX DIFFERENCES: BEHAVIOR, BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION (Freshman Seminar)

BIBB 007 401 - Ruben Gur

The availability of new methods for studying the brain in humans and other species has resulted in a virtual explosion of studies on sex differences in neurobiology, and not all that has hit the media is based on solid grounds. However, some consistent findings indicate that sex differences in brain structure and functional activity exist in humans and other species and that they relate importantly to behavioral differences in health and disease. For example, men, who are more prone to physical aggression and sexual promiscuity, have less brain tissue in frontal brain regions implicated in the modulation of emotion. This is reversed in schizophrenia, a neurodevelopmental disorder that starts earlier and is more severe in men. These sex differences also have implications for understanding how sexual differentiation plays a role in evolution and perhaps even permit some speculation on their societal and cultural implications. The seminar will combine lecture with discussion of empirical research results with individual and team research projects focusing on aspects of sex differences. The framework will be oriented toward neurobehavioral research, so readiness to understand biological and cognitive concepts and methodology will be needed.

LEARNING MULTIMEDIA TOOLS BY TEACHING

EAS 296 - Mark VanLangeveld, Norm Badler

This course is open to undergraduates in the School of Engineering. This course is a survey of multimedia production tools, fusing the learning experience with the teaching process. In this course, each Penn student will focus on the most widely-used production tool chosen from one of six areas of multimedia production-2D graphics (PhotoShop), audio (Adobe Audition or Sound Forge), digital video (Premiere and AfterEffects), 3D graphics (Maya), 2D animation (Flash) and programming (HTML and Lingo). Students will be expected to become proficient at their chosen production tool.

TUTORING IN SCHOOLS: THEORY & PRACTICE

EDUC 323 401/URBS 323 401 - Kira Baker-Doyle

The first few classes are devoted to learning about successful approaches for teaching biology in urban high schools. After this introduction, students begin a series of 11 weekly sessions of hands-on activities, which are first taught by the faculty to Penn students and then taught by the cooperative efforts of UCHS teachers and Penn faculty and students to University City High School Students.

URBAN ENVIRONMENT: WEST PHILADELPHIA (CWIC and BFS)

ENVS 404 401/HSOC 404 401 - Elaine Wright

Unbeknownst to most, lead poisoning is silently plaguing a great number of Philadelphia’s youth. Despite the fact that lead has been removed from many products such as paint and gasoline, thousands of Philadelphia children still have elevated blood-lead levels. Most children at risk are from low income families, living in poorly maintained homes built before the 1978 ban of lead based paint for residential use. In this course, Penn undergraduates aim to reach these children through community outreach education. Prior to conducting community outreach, students focus on the history and epidemiology of lead poisoning, and investigate pathways of exposure. They are additionally responsible for synthesizing creative and informative methods of community education. Penn students will collaborate with middle school teachers in West Philadelphia to engage children in environmental research relating to lead poisoning to their homes and neighborhoods.

URBAN ASTHMA EPIDEMIC (CWIC and BFS)

ENVS 408 401/HSOC 408 401 - Elaine Wright

Asthma as a pediatric chronic disease is undergoing a dramatic and unexplained increase. Recently, it has become the #1 cause of public school absenteeism and now accounts for a significant number of childhood deaths each year in the USA. ENVS 408 focuses on the epidemiology of urban asthma, the debate over probable causes of the current asthma epidemic, and the nature and distribution of environmental factors that modern medicine recognizes as potential triggers of asthma episodes. Penn students will collaborate with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) on a clinical research study entitled the Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP). Students will co-teach an environmental triggers class offered at community centers in West Philadelphia by CHOP. Some students will accompany CHOP staff to the homes of asthmatic children to educate families on mitigating environmental triggers in the home and conduct on-site tests. The CHOP study enables Penn students to apply their in-depth review of the urban asthma epidemic to real world situations.

THE BIG PICTURE: MURAL ART IN PHILADELPHIA

FNAR 222/622 401/URBS 222 401 - Jane Golden

The history and practice of the contemporary mural movement couples step-by-step analysis of the process of designing and painting a mural. In addition, students will learn to see mural art as a tool for social change. This course combines theory with practice. Students will design and paint a large outdoor mural in West Philadelphia in collaboration with Philadelphia high school students and community groups. The instructor, Jane Golden, is the founder and Director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

PENN AND WEST PHILADELPHIA (Majors Only)

HIST 204 402/URBS 227 402 - Mark Lloyd

This is a research seminar on Penn's past, present, and future relationships with West Philadelphia / Philadelphia, from 1870 to 2010, from town gown conflict to town gown collaboration. Students will conduct research in primary and secondary sources on Penn's three-stage transition over time:

indifference, conflict, and collaboration with West Philadelphia. The staff and resources of the University Archives will be available for consultation.

THE ILLUSIVE BOUNDARIES OF FREEDOM IN 19TH CENTURY AMERICA (DIST II: HIST & TRAD)

HIST 304 301 - Robert Engs

This seminar will explore the evolving and contested meanings of freedom and emancipation from the time of David Walkers Appeal, Nat Turner’s Rebellion and Garrison’s publication of the Liberator through the decades of debate and conflict to the enshrining of the Emancipation Amendments in the US Constitutions. The seminar will be based on the extensive use of primary sources and structured around the primary documents from the Library company of Philadelphia and the “Crisis of the Union” Electronic Archives online through the University of Pennsylvania Library and Department of History. A primary goal of the seminar will be to assist history faculty of a West Philadelphia high school in the development of lesson units on these subjects built around materials from the Archives. Interested students must have some grounding in 19th Century US history, preferably History 176 or 363. They may also enroll with History 20 or instructors permission.

UNIVERSITY AND SOCIETY: FROM THE ORIGINS TO THE PRESENT (DIST II: HIST & TRAD/CWIC)

HIST 338 001 - Ed Peters

This course will deal with the university in society as it main theme, but it will also necessarily consider the roles of intellectual history and institutional identify, emphasizing both continuity and change. Because the university was an invention, the course will pay considerable attention to why and how it was invented, and by whom and when. Because it survived centuries of otherwise drastic and extensive intellectual, institutional and social change, its history and continuity of self-(and externally-simulated) adaptation must also be considered, even during those centuries when the university was allegedly a minor element in larger-scale and otherwise located change and when, around 1800 serious arguments for its utter abolition where mounted. And because it has not only survived, but thrived, having become virtually indispensable in a very different world, its history is essential to its present identity.

UNEQUAL TREATMENT: HEALTH IN AMERICA (DIST I: SOCIETY)

HSOC 015 301 - Judith Fisher

This seminar focuses on the tremendous disparities that exist in the health status of contemporary Americans. Led by a practicing physician who is actively engaged in training family practice residents, the course ask students to explore the current evidence for health disparities that exist in the United States and the role played by such factors as gender, race, geographic area, and socioeconomic status. Students will explore a broad gamut of societal factors -- nutrition, literacy, education, role-modeling and mentoring -- and the subsequent effects that these disparities have on the health of individuals and communities. Individually and in teams, students will evaluate a set of programs that address these disparities. These evaluations will include site visits to several such programs based in Philadelphia.

ADDRESSING COMMUNITY HEALTH DISPARITIES: DOING GOOD WELL

ID 143 (Undergraduates by permission) - Bernett Johnson and Ira Harkavy

The course will begin with an intensive tour of Philadelphia. The tour takes the perspective of minority communities and concludes with faculty led discussions. A second session will introduce students to problem-solving learning, community-based research, and ethics of community-based work, research and service. The students will select one of three West Philadelphia community-based health resources with which to work. The working groups and partners will be: Community schools with Sayre Middle School, community clinics with Meyers and/or UCC, global community partnering with SEAMAC. Students will participate in a monthly seminar organized around a particular theme and/or technical skill. These sessions will begin with a plenary presentation co-taught by medical faculty, SAS faculty and community members. Students will then break into site-based project groups to apply the topics/themes discussed to their own work. This will also allow time for planning the projects and on-going reflection on the experience and learning process.

AFRICAN AMERICAN & LATINO ENGLISH (DIST II: HIST & TRAD)

LING 160 401/AFAM 160 401 - William Labov

An introduction to the use and structure of dialects of English used by the African American and Latino communities in the United States. The field work component involves the study of the language and culture of everyday life and the application of this knowledge to programs for raising the reading levels of elementary school children.

CONCEPTS IN NURSING: PROMOTING HEALTHY LIFESTYLES I

NURS 104 001 - Barbara Riegel

This introductory clinical course deals with health promotion and disease prevention with healthy and at-risk individuals in the community. Students will address the theoretical component of the course in weekly seminars. The clinical component focuses on the communication techniques and basic clinical skills and technologies used to assess health status, promote health and prevent illness. Students integrate theoretical concepts and clinical skills and apply them in a variety of community settings, focusing on health promotion and disease prevention with healthy and at-risk individuals.

THE POLITICS OF FOOD (Fulfills 1/2 writing requirement)

PSCI 135 401/HSOC 135 401 - Mary Summers

This seminar will explore the politics that shape food production, marketing and consumption. Community service projects will involve opportunities to research and address problems in several different arenas: campus cafeterias, the West Philadelphia schools, anti-hunger campaigns, food workers' organizing efforts, and impact of food industry advertising on diets. A focus on case studies of leaders who are making a difference in the politics of food will include several guest speakers, who work on food related health, labor, farming, technology, and globalization issues.

CITIZENSHIP AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT (BFS)

PSCI 291 301 - Henry Teune

This class is designed to measure the effectiveness of Penn’s undergraduate education on the civic education and democratic development of its students. Seminar students will assist in the final development and administration of a survey instrument to measure levels of values, knowledge, skills, and participation of a random sample of undergraduate students. With the results of our analyses, the class will make recommendations to Penn for improving the curriculum and undergraduate experience. Additionally, the survey and its results will be distributed to other institutions so that they may engage in similar studies. The second phase of the seminar will utilize information gathering taskforces in West Philadelphia. The results of these efforts will also be used to make suggestions to Penn about better integrating the community and undergraduate education.

RELIGION IN PHILADELPHIA (Freshman Seminar, DIST II: HIST & TRAD)

RELS 107 301 - Leslie Callahan

This freshman seminar examines the history of diverse religious expression in Philadelphia. Students will explore the contemporary religious landscape of the city with special attention to University City and West Philadelphia. Through readings, site visits, and special projects, students will become familiar with the current manifestation of religiously historic Philadelphia.

Graduate Courses

HEALTH PROMOTION INTRODUCTION

DENT 508 (full year course) - Judith Buchanan and Joan Gluch

Lectures, seminars, clinical sessions and community experiences are provided so that students gain the necessary knowledge and skill regarding the philosophy, modalities, rationale and evaluation of oral health promotion and disease prevention activities in community and public health. Course topics include personal wellness theory and practice; etiology, early detection and prevention of dental caries, periodontal diseases and oral cancer; and assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of community oral health programs.

LOCAL & GLOBAL PUBLIC & COMMUNITY HEALTH

DENT 612 (full year course) - Judith Buchanan

Lectures, seminars and community experiences provide students with foundation knowledge in general principles of public health and community health, with specific application to the following dental public health concepts: access to care, cost, quality of care and international health. Students complete community experiences that provide foundation experiences in developing and implementing community oral health promotion activities.

PRACTICUM IN COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION I

DENT 712 (full year course) - Joan Gluch

Experiences in selected community settings provide students with the opportunity to develop and expand their skills in community oral health promotion. Students are scheduled in a local elementary and/ middle schools and participate in the oral health education, screening and referral program under the direct supervision of faculty members. In addition, students complete activities from a selected list of programs at local community agencies and/or schools. Students attend small group seminars to discuss their experiences and theoretical underpinnings of community oral health activities.

PRACTICUM IN COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION II

DENT 812 (full year course) - Peter Berthold

Experiences in alternate oral health care delivery settings provide students with the opportunity to develop and expand their skills in providing comprehensive oral health care in community based settings under the direct supervision of faculty members. Students are scheduled in the mobile dental vehicle, PENNSmiles, and are also scheduled at Community Volunteers in Medicine, a community based medical and dental treatment facility in West Chester, PA. Students attend small group seminars to discuss their experiences and theoretical underpinnings of community oral health activities.

ADDRESSING COMMUNITY HEALTH DISPARITIES: DOING GOOD WELL

ID 143 (Undergraduates by permission) - Bernett Johnson, Ira Harkavy

PRIMARY CARE CONCEPTS IN URBAN HEALTH

NURS 656 (Corequisite: NURS 657) - Ann O’ Sullivan

Intended for nurses planning a career in primary health care practice, this course includes lectures, discussions and readings focused on health, social, economic and professional factors influencing health care delivery. It is a companion course to NURS 657.

Spring 2005 - ABCS Courses

Undergraduate Courses

CULTURE CLASH (FRESHMAN SEMINAR, DIST I: SOCIETY)

ANTH 115 301 - Paula Sabloff

This course is designed to introduce students to the connection between anthropology, philosophy, and personal experience. Starting from the anthropological position that many of the social problems of our time are the result of conflict between or within cultures, we will read anthropological accounts-ethnographies-of problems such as globalization, cultural survival, class and ethnic conflict. We will also read the political philosophers from Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith to Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu) quoted by the anthropologists. In this seminar, students will form their own social theory by integrating the readings with first-hand experience in the West Philadelphia community as they perform community service. In this ABCS course, they will turn their personal experience into an anthropology practicum, seeing social theory and anthropology operating "on the ground".

ANTHROPOLOGY & POLICY: HISTORY, THEORY, PRACTICE

ANTH 305 and 609 401/URBS409 401 - Paula Sabloff

From the inception of the discipline, anthropologists have applied their ethnographic and theoretical knowledge to policy issues concerning the alleviation of practical human problems. This approach has not only benefited peoples in need but it has also enriched the discipline, providing anthropologists with the opportunity to develop new theories and methodologies from a problem-centered approach. The class will examine the connection between anthropology and policy, theory and practice (or 'praxis'), research and application. We will study these connections by reading about historical and current projects. As an ABCS course, students will also volunteer in a volunteer organization of their choice in the Philadelphia area, conduct anthropological research on the organization, and suggest ways that the anthropological approach might support the efforts of the organization.

HEALTH IN URBAN COMMUNITIES (DIST I: SOCIETY)

ANTH 312 401/HSOC 321 401/URBS 312 401 - Francis Johnston

This course will introduce students to anthropological approaches to health and to theories of participatory action research. This combined theoretical perspective will then be put into practice using West Philadelphia community schools as a case study. Students will become involved in design and implementation of health-related projects at an urban elementary or middle school. As one of the course requirements, students will be expected to produce a detailed research proposal for future implementation.

PUBLIC INTEREST ANTHROPOLOGY (DIST I: SOCIETY, WATU CREDIT OPTIONAL)

ANTH 416 401/AFRC 416 401/WSTD 416 401 - Peggy Sanday

Because of its four-field, holistic approach anthropology is uniquely equipped to address a wide range of public and community service issues such as health, teen pregnancy, sexuality, domestic violence, ebonics, race, repatriation, and cultural heritage. Because of its emphasis on participant observation and seeing things from "the other's" point of view, anthropological methods are helpful to all professionals working in the U.S. public sphere, be it government, law, education, or health fields. This course introduces the student to public service issues, from the perspective of selected Penn anthropology faculty. Lectures will be given by faculty representing the four fields. With the course coordinator, students will be encouraged to pursue several public interest issues of their choice. Undergraduate and graduate students from all departments and schools are encouraged to take the course.

RACE AND POPULAR CINEMA (Fulfills the writing requirement)

ASAM 009 402/FILM 009 402 - Jacqui Sadashige

From the mainstreaming of performers such as Eddie Murphy and Ice Cube to the recent fixation on Japan, American cinema would seem to have become truly multicultural. By examining films across a spectrum of genres and from a range of time periods, we will explore film as a medium for reflecting and constructing attitudes about racial difference and related social issues such as the value of tradition, the defining of national character, and anxieties about sex and sexuality. As an Academically Based Community Service Course, we will be exploring some of these films with a partner class of local high-school students. Students will produce a series of critical responses to films as well as a larger research project in conjunction with our high school partners. Thus, students will learn by teaching while considering film as a determining force in culture as well as its value as a teaching tool.

NOTE: Mandatory film screenings M 3-5 pm

THE ABCs OF NEUROSCIENCE (Prerequisite: BBB 109)

BIBB 150 001 - Steve Fluharty

In this BBB course students will have the opportunity to work with Sayre High School students to develop projects hands-on educational activities for a reverse science fair. The science fair is a day-long event held for local third and fourth graders who participate in and evaluate the Penn and high school students' hands-on demonstrations, which are designed to teach concepts in neuroscience. The Penn class will meet twice a week with one period being held at Penn to brainstorm, develop, and evaluate the projects while the other period will be spent at the high school helping the high school students learn neuroscience by developing activities for the elementary students. Penn students will be responsible for various course readings, attending the Behavioral Neuroscience retreat in February, developing & presenting a project at the reverse science fair in March, and follow-up & evaluation of the project.

LEARNING BIOLOGY BY TEACHING BIOLOGY (Registration Required For Lecture and Lab, Prerequisite: One semester of college biology or AP credit in biology. May not be counted toward the Biology Major.)

BIOL 150 - Ingrid Waldron and Jennifer Doherty

In this course, Penn students teach a series of hands-on activities to students in biology classes at a local high school. Each week, Penn students learn the relevant biology background and techniques for one or two hands-on activities and then teach these activities to small groups of high school students. Topics for the hands-on activities include cellular biology, microbiology, genetics, animal anatomy and physiology, and evolution. The course begins with several classes concerning successful approaches to teaching biology in urban high schools.

UNIVERSITIES IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

CPLN 590/URBS 490 - Ira Harkavy, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell

This interdisciplinary course will explore the role of University-Community-City Government partnerships in enhancing the quality of life in American cities. Universities are rich in intellectual, cultural and economic resources. They exert great influence on their local communities, affecting the economy, housing, employment, retail climate and cultural options. The quality of life in the surrounding communities influences the quality of the University. Students will employ Penn-West Philadelphia experiences as case studies and will explore innovative Penn-Community-City Government partnerships that could further support West Philadelphia’s economic and community development. Students will be directly engaged in the analysis, planning and development of programs designed to improve the quality of life within West Philadelphia and Philadelphia, as well as advance research, teaching, learning and service at Penn.

LEARNING MULTIMEDIA TOOLS BY TEACHING

EAS 296 - Mark VanLangeveld

This course is a survey of multimedia production tools, fusing the learning experience with the teaching process. In this course, each Penn student will focus on the most widely-used production tool chosen from one of six areas of multimedia production-2D graphics (PhotoShop), audio (Adobe Audition or Sound Forge), digital video (Premiere and AfterEffects), 3D graphics (Maya), 2D animation (Flash) and programming (HTML and Lingo). Students will be expected to become proficient at their chosen production tool.

URBAN EDUCATION

EDUC 202 401/URBS 202 401 - Maia Cucchiara

Through an examination of national and state policy formulation regarding public education, and an examination of issues, concepts and characteristics of urban public school systems, this course is intended to help address the question of whether urban public schools as presently constituted and conducted can bring about an equitable society.

PREVENTION OF TOBACCO SMOKING IN ADOLESCENTS (CWIC and BFS, Local middle school visits required)

ENVS 407 401/HSOC 407 401 - Elaine Wright

This course will examine the short and long term physiological effects of smoking, social influences, the effectiveness of cessation programs, tobacco advocacy and the impact of the tobacco settlement. Penn Students will work with middle school students on a campaign to prevent addiction to tobacco.

THE URBAN ASTHMA EPIDEMIC (CWIC and BFS, Visits to community centers required)

ENVS 408 401 /HSOC 408 401 - Elaine Wright

This course will examine the epidemiology of asthma, the potential causes of asthma, the public health issues and environmental triggers. Penn students will collaborate with the Children's Hospital's clinical research study - Community Asthma Prevention Program. Students will conduct environmental triggers classes in the community.

THE BIG PICTURE: MURAL ART IN PHILADELPHIA

FNAR 222 401 and 622 401/URBS 222 401 - Jane Golden, Don Gensler

The history and practice of the contemporary mural movement couples step by step analysis of the process of designing with painting a mural. In addition students will learn to see mural art as a tool for social change. This course combines theory with practice. Students will design and paint a large outdoor mural in West Philadelphia in collaboration with Philadelphia high school students and community groups. The instructor Jane Golden is the founder and Director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

EXPLORING MEMORY AND TRADITION IN WEST PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITIES

FOLK 321 401 - Meltem Turkoz

In this ethnography-based course we will explore the integral role of traditional arts in the lives of a group of elderly men and women in West Philadelphia. We will begin with readings about groups, communities and identity as they are formulated in folklore and anthropology. We will then survey a selection of readings that lay out approaches to fieldwork and ethnography, focusing specifically on interview techniques, interpretation, and ethical responsibilities in fieldwork situations. Students will learn and use oral historical and ethnographic interview skills to develop their own research papers and also to serve particular needs of the community. Our readings will be drawn from folklore, anthropology and oral history. Students will gain critical thinking skills from the readings and discussions, drawn from folklore, anthropology and history, and learn how to design, conduct and complete an ethnographic fieldwork project. The fieldwork component of this class will take place within a community formed around a senior center for African elderly in West Philadelphia. Part of the requirements of this class will involve preparing a brochure and newsletter for the center. The other element of the class will involve interviewing the elderly men and women and documenting the traditional skills that they know such as mat and basket weaving, fishnet making and traditional costume making. This is a great opportunity to become involved with a Liberian community in West Philadelphia and learn more about issues affecting the elderly in cities, refugee populations in Philadelphia, and to assist in enhancing the lives of elderly refugees, for whom displacement is a great challenge.

URBAN-UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY RELATIONS: FACULTY-STUDENT COLLABORATIVE ACTION SEMINAR (BFS)

HIST 214 401/AFRC 078 401/URBS 078 401 - Lee Benson, Ira Harkavy

AMERICAN NATIONAL CHARACTER (DIST II: HIST & TRAD)

HIST 443 001 - Michael Zuckerman

Who ARE the Americans, anyway? And are they still what they once were? The course will consider some classic and modern theories of American identity. It will address some allegedly quintessential expressions of this elusive, perhaps essential idea, in Puritanism, Jefferson, Franklin, and Whitman. And it will examine contemporary West Philadelphia to see if the old characterizations still apply in a new day (or ever did apply outside small-town American among affluent white males). Work in, and observation of, a local school will be an integral part of the course.

PUBLIC HEALTH IN AMERICA: HISTORICAL TRADITIONS OF EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY

HSOC 317 401/HSSC 317 401 - Carolyn Cannuscio

For most Americans, the quest for complete physical, mental, & social well being remains an elusive goal. Join us in HSOC 317, “Public Health in America” to examine our country’s health report card. Sometimes sobering and sometimes hopeful, the course readings will draw from award-winning investigative journalism to examine pressing public health concerns:

• What are we feeding our children? The politics, policies, & corporate practices driving America’s obesity epidemic

• We’ve heard that sex can kill you—but can love make you stronger? The science & social realities of relationships and health

• How toxic are our workplaces? The perils of going to work in America.

The course also will explore environmental activism, racial and socioeconomic disparities, and emerging threats to public health. This is an academically based community service course with health promotion field placements in the Philadelphia schools.

ADDRESSING COMMUNITY HEALTH DISPARITIES: DOING GOOD WELL

ID 143B (Undergraduates can enroll in URBS Independent Study by permission) - Bernett Johnson, Ira Harkavy

THE SOCIOLINGUISTICS OF READING (DIST I: SOCIETY, Prerequisite: LING/AFRC 160 or permission of instructor)

LING 161/AFRC 161 - Bill Labov

This course will be concerned with the application of current knowledge of dialect differences to reduce the minority differential in reading achievement. Members will conduct projects and design computer programs to reduce cultural distance between teachers and students in local schools and to develop knowledge of word and sound structure.

COMMUNITY MATH TEACHING PROJECT

MATH 123 001 - Sarah Mason

This course allows Penn students to teach a series of hands-on activities to students in math classes at University City High School. The semester starts with an introduction to successful approaches for teaching math in urban high schools. The rest of the semester will be devoted to a series of weekly hands-on activities designed to teach fundamental aspects of geometry. The first class meeting of each week, Penn faculty teach Penn students the relevant mathematical background and techniques for a hands-on activity. During the second session of each week, Penn students will teach the hands-on activity to a small group of UCHS students. The Penn students will also have an opportunity to develop their own activity and to implement it with the UCHS students.

INTRODUCTION TO WORLD MUSIC & CULTURES (DIST III: ARTS & LETTERS)

MUSC 050 401/AFST 050/ANTH 022/FOLK 022 - Carol Muller

The general purpose of Music 50 is to introduce students to the scholarly study of traditional music from around the world and their incorporation into US popular and classical music, through in-depth reading and close listening to assigned sound recordings, increasingly available on the course website. This semester the focus will be on music of indigenous peoples from what, in the United States, may seem to be fairly remote regions of the world. These musicians and their music travel around the world, either in person or in sound recordings. A new feature of the class is the group ethnography project students will engage in with older African American residents in West Philadelphia. Its goal is to create an oral history archive and website of jazz performances in Philadelphia. The project replaces the individual interviews students conducted in prior classes.

INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL MUSIC (DIST III: ARTS & LETTERS) (Prerequisite: MUSC 070. Fulfills the requirements of the Music Major)

MUSC 150 001 - Carol Muller

This course is intended to introduce students to enthnomusicology as a field of study through in-depth examination of a group of musical cultures. These cultures will be selected for the diversity of perspective they bring to the course, including issues pertaining to gender, spirituality, creativity, politics, and popularity. Open to all students.

CONCEPTS IN NURSING II: HEALTHY LIFE STYLES

NURS 106 - Eileen Sullivan-Marx

This course focuses on health promotion and disease prevention across the health continuum for developmentally defined populations in a variety of community-based settings. Students will explore mechanisms of the assessment process focusing on individuals within the context of the family and community. Through the evaluation of theories of behavior and health, epidemiologic principles, and critical thinking skills (which include the nursing process), students will determine applicability of the theories in certain situations, and utilize data from various sources to develop health promotion and disease prevention strategies across populations. Development of communication skills and the professional role are essential and integral, and include understanding of the influence of gender, life span, history, and culture on the work of nurses and the care received by clients.

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WORLD HUNGER

NURS 316/516 - Janet Chrzan

A detailed consideration of the nature, consequences, and causes of hunger and undernutrition internationally. Approaches are explored to bringing about change, and to formulating and implementing policies and programs at international, national, and local levels, designed to alleviate hunger and undernutrition.

U.S. URBAN POLITICS: CLOSING DIGITAL AND OTHER DIVIDES

PSCI 298 602 - John Diulio

Over the last quarter-century, America's big cities have lost national political power, lost federal government financial support, and been forced to deal "on their own" with ever higher concentrations of poverty, crime, illiteracy, inadequate housing, and other social and civic ills. This seminar is an academically-based service learning course that begins with classic and contemporary works on urban politics, examines several practical problems that have been effective in addressing big-city problems, and engages students in one or more of several problem-solving projects in Philadelphia. Meetings on some Saturdays may also be required.

URBAN YOUTH, COLLEGE, AND CAREERS

URBS 327 301 - Theresa Simmonds, Wendy Tank-Nielsen

Students will learn how to help University City High School seniors explore career paths and the post-secondary education necessary for those paths. They will work with the high school students for the first hour of each class. The remaining time will be devoted to studying the connections between high school, post-secondary education, and work for urban students.

URBAN COMMUNITIES AND THE ARTS: RESEARCH & POLICY (DIST I: SOCIETY, This course may not be counted as a required studio course for Fine Arts major and minor)

URBS 410 401/FNAR 201 401/SWRK 510 401/URBS510 401 - Mark Stern and Lee Nunery

The course will explore methods for examining the role that arts and cultural activities play in urban communities and its implications for urban policy. The course will focus on: 1) examining theories of culture's social impact and how they might be used to formulate research; 2) methods for conducting research on arts and culture; and 3) how cultural research is relevant for various spheres of urban policy, including community development, urban economies, and the needs of children and youth. The major project for the course will require students to collaborate with community resources in studying the connection of theory, research, and policy.

GENDER, POLICY AND COMMUNITY SERVICE (DIST I: SOCIETY)

WSTD 259 301 - Dana Barron

This seminar integrates community service with academic analysis and research on gender and public policy. Each student will intern with an organization in the Philadelphia area that works on gender issues. Semester-long internships will be integrated with readings and assignments on topics related to gender and policy.

Spring 2005 - ABCS Courses

Graduate Courses

UNIVERSITIES IN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

CPLN 590/URBS 490 - Ira Harkavy, Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell

This interdisciplinary course will explore the role of University-Community partnerships in enhancing the quality of life in American cities. Universities are rich in resources – intellectual, cultural, economic and more. They often exert great influence on their local communities, affecting the economy, housing, employment, retail climate and cultural options. The quality of life in the surrounding communities influences the quality of the University. Students will employ Penn-West Philadelphia experiences as case studies and will explore innovative Penn-City Government partnerships that could further support West Philadelphia economic and community development. Students will be directly engaged in the analysis, planning and development of programs that will contribute to improving the quality of life within West Philadelphia and Philadelphia while advancing Penn's educational, research and service mission.

HEALTH PROMOTION INTRODUCTION

DENT 508 (full year course) - Judith Buchanan and Joan Gluch

LOCAL& GLOBAL PUBLIC & COMMUNITY HEALTH

DENT 612 (full year couse) - Judith Buchanan

PRACTICUM IN COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION I

DENT 712 (full year course) - Joan Gluch

PRACTICUM IN COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION II

DENT 812 (full year course) - Peter Berthold

PROGRAM EVALUATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS

EDUC 591 001 - Rebecca Maynard

This course is intended as an applied policy analysis workshop focused on the development and application of indicators of the health, education, and welfare of urban populations and their neighborhoods. The course will operate as a field-based workshop that will define, plan, and undertake a significant project related to the development of urban indicators; monitoring the health, education, and welfare of urban neighborhoods; and/or the development and implementation of one or more policies in response to a particular set of indicators of local need. Topics will change each time the course is offered in response to community need, the interests and skills of the students in the workshop, and opportunities for sound and productive learning experiences.

ADDRESSING COMMUNITY HEALTH DISPARITIES: DOING GOOD WELL

ID 143B (Undergraduates can enroll in URBS Independent Study by permission) - Bernett Johnson, Ira Harkavy

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WORLD HUNGER

NURS 316/516 - Janet Chrzan

PRIMARY CARE OF THE MIDDLE AGED AND OLDER ADULT

NURS 647 (Prerequisite: NURS 657. Corequisite: NURS 646) - Eileen Sullivan-Marx and Ann O'Sullivan

Management and evaluation of primary care problems of middle-aged and older adults in a variety of ambulatory and occupational settings. Opportunity to implement the role of the nurse practitioner with middle-aged and older adults and their families in the community. Interdisciplinary experiences will be pursued & collaborative practice emphasized. Students are expected to assess and begin to manage common chronic health problems in consultation with the appropriate provider of care. The initiation of health promotion & health maintenance activities with individuals and groups is stressed. Includes 16 hours a week of clinical experience with a preceptor.

PRIMARY CARE WITH YOUNG FAMILIES

NURS 659 (Prerequisite: NURS 656, 657. Corequisite: NURS 658) - Ann O'Sullivan

Management and evaluation of primary care problems of children in a variety of ambulatory settings. Opportunity to implement the role of nurse practitioner with children and their families in the community occurs under the guidance of faculty and experienced preceptors. The initiation of health promotion and health maintenance activities with individuals and groups is stressed. Collaborative, interdisciplinary practice is emphasized as students assess and manage common problems in consultation with an appropriate provider of care. 20 hours a week of clinical experience with a preceptor is arranged.

Report of the Ad Hoc Faculty Committee on Community Engaged Scholarship Now Available

PENN STUDENTS: click here to browse opportunities to engage with the West Philadelphia community!

ABCS 2004-2005