ABCS 2023-2024
ACADEMICALLY BASED COMMUNITY SERVICE (ABCS) COURSES
SPRING 2024 ABCS COURSES
UNDERGRADUATE
ACCT 2110 / BEPP 2110: TAX POLICY AND PRACTICE IN THE PHILADELPHIA COMMUNITY
Instructor: Edward Scott
Fulfills: SEAS Social Science (EUSS)
Read more: https://www.thedp.com/article/2023/11/penn-wharton-abcs-accounting-volun...
The academic component of the course will focus on several areas: (1) The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap. Students will read this book throughout the semester to support their understanding of the community that they will be serving. (2) Statutory tax system. Students will learn about the tax system as it relates to individuals and sole proprietors. The VITA training covers general tax preparation, with a specific focus on tax credits available to VITA-eligible taxpayers and the use of VITA software. In addition, one session of the course will include a guest lecture/discussion. It will focus on statutory tax issues related to organizational form choice for self-employed and gig economy workers, which is an important statutory issue in low-income communities. (3) Social policy debate. Tax policy, including deductions, subsidies and credits, are one tool that lawmakers can use to get more cash in the hands of individuals and families, especially for low-income groups. Students will consider the effectiveness and usefulness of tax policies relative to other tools that the government has available. There are three guest lecturers for the sessions on tax policy. (4) Working with people. Volunteering with VITA requires students to work with people from a low-income community on the sensitive issue of personal finances. Students will learn to discuss sensitive financial issues with lower-income adults (including many seniors) through readings and in-class discussions, and by reflecting on their real-life experiences in the local community. This skill is important in a variety of roles such as healthcare (physicians and nurses), business (e.g., the HR function), and education. The community service part of the course is volunteering with VITA, which is the IRS’s “Volunteer Income Tax Assistance” program. Following training, students will perform tax services for the West Philadelphia community during the tax season. The course will meet once a week in three-hour sessions for 8-9 weeks during the Spring semester. Students are expected to be in the field performing service throughout a significant portion of the semester. As described on the IRS website, the VITA program has operated for over 50 years. Volunteers offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including: • People who generally make $58,000 or less • Persons with disabilities; and • Limited English-speaking taxpayers.
AFRC 1780/HIST 0811/URBS 1780: FACULTY-STUDENT COLLABORATIVE ACTION SEMINAR IN UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Instructor: Ira Harkavy, Theresa Simmonds
Fulfills: College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD); NU Sector History&Traditions (NUHT); NU Sector ReaSys&Relationship (NURS); NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS); SEAS Social Science (EUSS); Wharton Core Cross-Cultural Perspective: US (WUCU); Wharton UG General Education - Social Science (WUSS)
This seminar helps students develop their capacity to solve strategic, real-world problems by working collaboratively in the classroom, on campus, and in the West Philadelphia community. Students develop proposals that demonstrate how a Penn undergraduate education might better empower students to produce, not simply "consume," societally-useful knowledge, as well as to function as caring, contributing citizens of a democratic society. Their proposals help contribute to the improvement of education on campus and in the community, as well as to the improvement of university-community relations. Additionally, students provide college access support at Paul Robeson High School for one hour each week.
ASLD 1032: DEAF CULTURE
Instructor: Jami Fisher
Fulfills: College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD); NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC)
This course is an advanced/conversational ASL course that explores several key topics related to Deaf Culture. Using only ASL in class, students will read and discuss books, articles, and films related to the following topics: What is Deaf Culture?; The History of the Deaf American; Deaf Identit(ies); Communication Debates and Language Deprivation; Technology and Deaf Culture; Deaf Art; Deaf-Space; and Deaf Families, Deaf-Hearing Families. Ultimately, students will work collaboratively on a final project that benefits local Deaf community members. Completion of at least the fourth semester of ASL (or the equivalent ASL experience with permission from the instructor) is required to take this course.
COLL 0135: THE ART OF SPEAKING
Instructor: Elizabeth (Sue) Weber
Fulfills: Wharton UG General Education - Humanities Course (WUHM)
This course is designed to equip students with the major tenets of rhetorical studies and peer education necessary to work as a CWiC speaking advisor. The course is a practicum that aims to develop students' abilities as speakers, as critical listeners and as advisors able to help others develop those abilities. In addition to creating and presenting individual presentations, students present workshops and practice advising. During this ABCS course, students will practice their advising skills by coaching and mentoring students at a public school in Philadelphia.
EAS 2420: ENERGY EDUCATION IN PHILADELPHIA SCHOOLS
Instructor: Andrew Huemmler
Students will learn about basic residential energy efficiency measures and practices from an established community based energy organization, the Energy Coordinating Agency of Philadelphia. Identify and understand fundamental core STEM energy concepts. Develop a short "energy efficiency" curriculum appropriate for middle or high school students. Teach three (3) sessions in a science class in the School District of Philadelphia.
EDUC 2100: URBAN FINANCIAL LITERACY: PEDAGOGY AND PRACTICE
Instructor: Brian Peterson, Brandon Copeland
Read more: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/financial-literacy-class-twist
ENGL 0200: SLOW-READING SHAKESPEARE WITH PAUL ROBESON HIGH SCHOOL
Instructor: Zachary Lesser
In this ABCS (Academically Based Community Service) course, we will read a single Shakespeare play slowly and carefully, through multiple methodologies and approaches, over the course of the semester. Students will also work on the same play with 10th graders at Robeson High School under the direction of their award-winning teacher, Ms Tiaw. “Slow reading” means an intensely detailed, iterative reading of the play through linguistic, cultural-historical, bibliographic, and performative lenses. We will gain a detailed knowledge of this play, but in doing so, we will also learn about Shakespeare’s style, dramaturgy, and theatrical context. Penn students will thereby become well-prepared to work with Robeson students as they work through a scene, or a piece of dialogue, or character motivations. The course will be a success if, through this work in tandem and in parallel, everyone in the Penn classroom and the Robeson classroom—both students and teachers—gains a deeper understanding of the play and of the benefits of the slow, patient, detailed exploration of a text. No previous experience with Shakespeare or with teaching is required. What is required is a serious commitment to the work of the class, including showing up to all sessions both at Penn and at Robeson. (Sessions at Robeson will meet during the same Penn time block so everyone will be free. There may be one or two events arranged outside this time.) If for some emergency reason you will be unable to do the work on a given day, you must commit to notifying Ms Tiaw and me with as much advance notice as possible.
ENGL 3306: WRITING AND POLITICS
Instructor: Lorene Cary
Fulfills: NU Sector Arts & Letters (NUAL); SEAS Humanities (EUHS)
This is a creative writing workshop for students who are looking for ways to use their writing to participate in electoral politics. Student writers will explore a number of different forms—such as blogs, essays, op-eds, fairy tales, social media posts, short videos, or podcasts. We will publish your work, in real time, with the multimedia platform #VoteThatJawn. Launched in 2018 after the March For Our Lives urged youth to register and vote, #VoteThatJawn greatly helped increase registration of 18-year-olds in Philadelphia in 2018, 2020, and 2022. Imagine a creative writing class that answers our desire to live responsibly in the world and to have a say in the systems that govern and structure us. Plus, a course devoted to learning to write with greater clarity, precision, and whatever special-sauce Jawn your voice brings. Student writers act as an editorial group sharing excellent, nonpartisan, fun, cool, sometimes deadly earnest content for and about fresh voters. In addition, you will gain experience in activities that writers in all disciplines need to know: producing an arts-based event and a social media campaign, working with multimedia content, and collaborating with other writers, artists, and activists. You will develop greater resourcefulness and initiative in writing, connecting, researching, editing, and publishing. English 3306 will sometimes work directly with diverse populations of youth from other colleges and high schools throughout Philadelphia, too. As it performs a civic service, this class is listed as an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course. This course is cross-listed with Africana Studies.
FREN 2180: FROM WEST AFRICA TO WEST PHILADELPHIA: CREATING COMMUNITY IN THE FRANCOPHONE DIASPORA
Instructor: Elizabeth Collins
Fulfills: NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC); SEAS Humanities (EUHS); Wharton UG Core Flex GenEd (WUFG)
This course explores the immigrant experience with a focus on migration from Francophone West Africa to this country, particularly the impact it has on children and young people. Through a close partnership with young Francophone immigrants at the Lea School, we will focus on the challenges they face adapting to a new cultural and linguistic environment. We will review the Francophone context in order to understand the place of the French language in Africa; look at the immigrant and refugee experience through a variety of texts in French; examine the issues of mono-, bi- and multilingualism both on an individual and a societal basis; look at the competing meanings the French language holds for Black Americans; and study the role of foreign languages in American schools. Students will participate in the weekly Francophone Community Partnership, an after-school program with K - 8 children at the Lea School which seeks to enhance the children’s self-esteem and pride in their linguistic and cultural heritage.
LGST 2300: SOCIAL IMPACT AND RESPONSIBILITY: FOUNDATIONS
Instructor: Djordjija Petkoski
What role can business play in helping to meet global societal needs, whether it involves the environment, improving health, expanding education or eradicating poverty? Is there any responsibility on the part of business to help meet those needs? What are models of successful business engagement in this area? How should success be measured? Are there limits to what businesses can and should do, and what institutional changes will enable businesses and entrepreneurs to better succeed? This survey course provides students the opportunity to engage in the critical analysis of these and other questions that lie at the foundation of social impact and responsibility as an area of study. The course involves case studies, conceptual issues, and talks by practitioners. The course is designed to help students develop a framework to address the question: How should business enterprises and business thinking be engaged to improve society in areas not always associated with business? The course is required for the secondary concentration in Social Impact and Responsibility.
MEAM 2300: BICYCLES: THE MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE
Instructor: Dustyn Roberts
Fulfills: SEAS Math/Science/Engrng (EUMS)
This interdisciplinary course combines bicycle design, engineering, and service learning to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the history, evolution, and impact of bicycles on society and the environment. Through hands-on projects, community engagement, and class discussions, students will develop bicycle design and engineering skills, gain practical experience and exposure to bicycle repair and maintenance, explore the impact of bicycles and related technologies on society and the environment, and understand the role of bicycles in sustainable urban mobility and planning.
MGMT 4020: SERVICE LEARNING CLIENT PROJECT
Instructor: Anne Greenhalgh, Keith Weigelt
MGMT 4020 builds on the foundation established by the pre-requisites in the Leadership Journey. As seniors, you will draw on the self-awareness you acquired in WH1010, the speaking skills you practiced in WH2010, and the teamwork and interpersonal skills you honed in MGMT3010. Moreover, MGMT 4020 serves as a capstone course by giving you the opportunity to work with a robust nonprofit and in order to frame the problems and address the challenges your host organization faces; in the process, you will use your creative and critical thinking skills, apply what you have learned, and reflect on your growth and development through iterative feedback and constructive coaching. As a highly experiential course, MGMT 4020 is relatively unstructured, giving you ample opportunity to demonstrate leadership by providing direction and teamwork by pulling together to deliver results for your host. MGMT 4020 will enable you to draw on your Wharton undergraduate education and apply what you have learned in a way that promises to provide real impact for your host organization and a meaningful and memorable experience for you. It is only open to Wharton seniors. In short, MGMT 4020 gives Wharton seniors the opportunity to: - Engage in a service learning and experiential course - Demonstrate leadership and work as a team on a real, host engagement - Think creatively, critically, and practically for the benefit of your host - Refine your interpersonal communication and presentation skills - Heighten your self-awareness through feedback and reflection.
MGMT 3530: WHARTON FIELD CHALLENGE: FINANCIAL LITERACY COMMUNITY PROJECT
Instructor: Keith Weigelt
Do you want to make a real difference in the lives of a student? Do you want to set kids on a path to becoming financially literate? Do you want to learn leadership skills in the classroom? Here at the Financial Literacy Community Project (FLCP) we are able to create an experience that achieves all three. We partner with various public schools around the West Philadelphia area and teach concepts integral to financial literacy. We teach a wide range of grades from middle school to high school, and work with students to help them learn how to be financially responsible. In addition to teaching in neighboring high schools, we also have group class meetings run by Professor Keith Weigelt on Mondays from 7:00 PM-8:30 PM. We learn about the disparity of wealth and how to best address it while also learning teaching techniques, classroom strategies, and overall basic financial literacy. A basic understanding of personal financial literacy is required.
NELC 0318 / RELS 0318 / URBS 0318: ABRAHAMIC FAITHS & CULTURES: CREATE COMMUNITY COURSE
Instructor: Talya Fishman
The aim of this course is to design a Middle School curriculum on “Abrahamic Faiths and Cultures” that will subsequently be taught in local public schools. First two hours will be devoted to study and discussion of primary and secondary sources grouped in thematic units. These will explore Jewish, Christian and Islamic teachings on topics including God, worship, religious calendar, life cycle events, attitudes toward religious others; internal historical developments. During the last seminar hour, we will learn from West Philadelphia clergy members, Middle School Social Studies teachers and principals about what they regard as necessary, and incorporate their insights. During the last hour, West Philadelphia clergy members, Middle School Social Studies teachers and principals will share with us what they believe is needed to enable the course to succeed. Class participants will attend prayer services on fieldtrips to a range of West Philadelphia houses of worship. In future semesters, some class participants may teach the resulting curriculum in selected neighborhood schools.
NRSC 1160: ABCS OF EVERYDAY NEUROSCIENCE
Instructor: Loretta Flanagan-Cato
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-netter-center-science-and-service
Fulfills: Wharton UG General Education - Nat Sci, Math, Eng (WUNM)
This course is an opportunity for undergraduates to share their interest and enthusiasm for neuroscience with students in grades 9-12 attending urban public schools in West Philadelphia. The course will allow Penn students to develop their science communication and teaching skills. Students will prepare neuroscience demonstrations, hands-on activities, and assessment tools. In parallel, the course aims to engage local high school students, increasing their interest and knowledge in science, and ultimately promoting lifelong science literacy.
SOCI 2610/LALS 2610: LATINOS IN THE UNITED STATES
Instructor: Emilio Parrado
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/Penn-CCATE-improving-college-access-Phi...
Fulfills: College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD); NU Sector Global&Cultural Studies (NUGC); NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS); SEAS Social Science (EUSS); Wharton Core Cross-Cultural Perspective: US (WUCU); Wharton UG General Education - Social Science (WUSS)
This course presents a broad overview of the Latino population in the United States that focuses on the economic and sociological aspects of Latino immigration and assimilation. Topics to be covered include: construction of Latino identity, the history of U.S. Latino immigration, Latino family patterns and household structure, Latino educational attainment. Latino incorporation into the U.S. labor force, earnings and economic well-being among Latino-origin groups, assimilation and the second generation. The course will stress the importance of understanding Latinos within the overall system of race and ethnic relations in the U.S., as well as in comparison with previous immigration flows, particularly from Europe. We will pay particular attention to the economic impact of Latino immigration on both the U.S. receiving and Latin American sending communities, and the efficacy and future possibilities of U.S. immigration policy. Within all of these diverse topics, we will stress the heterogeneity of the Latino population according to national origin groups (i.e. Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and other Latinos), as well as generational differences between immigrants and the native born.
URBS 2020: URBAN EDUCATION
Instructor: Michael Clapper
Fulfills: NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS); SEAS Social Science (EUSS); Wharton Core Cross-Cultural Perspective: US (WUCU); Wharton UG General Education - Social Science (WUSS)
This seminar focuses on two main questions: 1) How have US schools and urban ones in particular continued to reproduce inequalities rather than ameliorating them? 2) In the informational age, how do the systems affecting education need to change to create more successful and equitable outcomes? The course is designed to bridge the divide between theory and practice. Each class session looks at issues of equity in relation to an area of practice (e.g. lesson design, curriculum planning, fostering positive student identities, classroom management, school funding, policy planning...), while bringing theoretical frames to bear from the fields of education, sociology, anthropology and psychology.
PHYS 0137: COMMUNITY PHYSICS INITIATIVE
Instructor: Philip Nelson, Ryan Batkie
Fulfills: College-Sector - Natural Science Across the Disciplines (AUNM); NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS); Wharton UG General Education - Nat Sci, Math, Eng (WUNM)
This is an Academically Based Community Service Course (ABCS). The central purpose is to work in partnership with a local high school to improve physics education outcomes for their students. An immersive classroom experience will be enriched through instructional design work and grounded in a study of science education scholarship.
MUSC 0180B / URBS 0180B: MUSIC IN URBAN SPACES
Instructor: Molly Mcglone
Fulfills: College FND Cultural Diversity in US (AUCD); College-Sector - Humanities & Social Science (AUHS); NU Sector Arts & Letters (NUAL); SEAS Humanities (EUHS); Wharton Core Cross-Cultural Perspective: US (WUCU); Wharton UG General Education - Humanities Course (WUHM)
Music in Urban Spaces is a year-long experience that explores the ways in which individuals use music in their everyday lives and how music is used to construct larger social and economic networks that we call culture. We will read the work of musicologists, cultural theorists, urban geographers, sociologists and educators who work to define urban space and the role of music and sound in urban environments, including through music education. While the readings make up our study of the sociology of urban space and the way we use music in everyday life to inform our conversations and the questions we ask, it is within the context of our personal experiences working with music programs in public neighborhood schools serving economically disadvantaged students, that we will begin to formulate our theories of the contested musical micro-cultures of West Philadelphia. This course is over two-semesters where students register for .5 cus each term (for a total of 1 cu over the entire academic year) and is tied to the Music and Social Change Residential Program in Fisher Hassenfeld College House which will sponsor field trips around the city and a final concert for youth to perform here at Penn, if possible. Students are expected to volunteer in music and drama programs in Philadelphia neighborhood public schools throughout the course experience.
REES 1770: BUILDING INTERGENERATIONAL CONNECTIONS WITH HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS
Instructor: Maria Alley
Welcome to REES 1770! We are thrilled to have you join us on this transformative journey of service, discovery, and community engagement! This course connects Penn students who are studying or speak Russian with Russian-speaking Holocaust Survivors through the Holocaust Survivor Support Program at the Jewish Family and Children’s Service Of Greater Philadelphia. Throughout the semester, we will collaborate and engage in service activities, reflect on our experiences, and connect them to academic concepts and theories
SOCI 1150 / URBS 1155: FAIR HOUSING, SEGREGATION AND THE LAW
Instructor: Lance Freeman
This course introduces students to the variegated roles of housing in society and has three broad aims. First, the roles of housing as shelter, locus of community, financial asset, and determinant of political power and representation will be described and explored in detail. Second, the way the different functions of housing serve to create and reinforce social stratification is explored. Finally, the function and role of public policy in housing will also be examined..
UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE COURSES
ANTH 5467/EDUC 5467: COMMUNITY YOUTH FILMMAKING
Instructor: Amitanshu Das
This course focuses on how the filmmaking medium and process can provide a means for engaging youth in ethnographically grounded civic action projects where they learn about, reflect on, and communicate to others about their issues in their schools and communities. Students receive advanced training in film and video for social change. A project-based service-learning course, students collaborate with Philadelphia high school students and community groups to make films and videos that encourage creative self-expression and represent issues important to youth, schools, and local communities. Stories and themes on emotional well-being, safety, health, environmental issues, racism and social justice are particularly encouraged. A central thread throughout is to assess and reflect upon the strengths (and weaknesses) of contemporary film (digital, online) in fostering debate, discussion and catalyzing community action and social change. The filmmaking medium and process itself is explored as a means to engage and interact with communities. This course provides a grounding in theories, concepts, methods and practices of community engagement derived from Community Participatory Video, Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) and Ethnographic methods. For the very first time, Penn students will be trained to operate a state-of-the-art TV studio at PSTV (Philadelphia Schools TV). At the end of the semester approved films will be screened with an accompanying panel discussion at an event at the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). These films will also be broadcast on Comcast Philadelphia's PSTV Channel 52 and webcast via the district's website and YouTube channel. This is an ABCS course, and students will produce short ethnographic films with students in Philadelphia high schools as part of a partnership project with the School District of Philadelphia. EDUC 5466 Ethnographic Filmmaking (or equivalent) is a pre-requisite or permission of instructor.
CLST 3805/CLST 5805: CLASSICAL STUDIES IN PHILADELPHIA SCHOOLS
Instructor: James Ker
This course will focus on classical studies as a school resource, with a focus on present-day schools in the Philadelphia area. Our readings and discussions will focus on historical investigation, educational theory, and project-design. The course invites Penn undergraduates and graduate students to rethink how the field traditionally known as "classics" or "classical studies" (both in general and in specific sub-areas such as Latin language, ancient history, mythology, literature, etc.) is presented to school audiences and how classical studies itself must change to meet present social-justice concerns, with special attention given to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is an Academically Based Community-Service Course (ABCS), in which students will be required to consult with one or more local school personnel (teachers and/or students) as part of the coursework. The main assignments will be several short papers and presentations and a longer paper or curriculum-development project. Undergraduates should register for CLST 3805, graduate students for CLST 5805.
EDUC 5437: INTERFAITH DIALOGUE IN ACTION
Instructor: Stephen Kocher
Read more: https://www.thedp.com/article/2017/11/ibelieve-upenn-philadelphia-interf...
Fulfills: NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS); Wharton UG General Education - Social Science (WUSS)
This ABCS course explores religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue and action on college campuses. It brings together students with diverse faith commitments (including atheism) to engage with and learn from one another in academic study, dialogue, and service.
EDUC 5912: MATH TUTORING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Instructor: Caroline Ebby, Joy Anderson Davis
Read more: https://www.gse.upenn.edu/news/penn-gse%E2%80%99s-pilot-abcs-elective-bu...
This course is a collaborative tutoring partnership between public elementary schools in West Philadelphia and Penn GSE, open to undergraduate and graduate students. The service component of the course is focused on the provision of one-to-one high-impact tutoring for foundational math concepts and skills in the early grades. The course will be held twice a week at a local elementary school and will involve meeting together for regular class sessions and up to 12 sessions of one-to-one tutoring with an elementary student. The overall goal of the tutoring component is to increase students’ math confidence, engagement, and number sense and will include conducting a pre and post assessment In the course sessions students will learn about mathematics education and the communities in which they will serve, unpack and reflect on conceptions of help in academic contexts, interrogate the "achievement gap" and racialized experiences with mathematics, develop understanding of important concepts in early mathematics as well as research on how students learn those concepts, and refine their tutoring skills (e.g., how to ask effective questions, how to support productive struggle, the role of concrete and visual models). Students will also be guided to reflect on the implications of their work as tutors within the context of the longstanding, dynamic relationship between Penn and the West Philadelphia community.
NURS 3130/5130: OBESITY AND SOCIETY
Instructor: Colleen Tewksbury, Charlene Compher
Fulfills: NU Sector ReaSys&Relationship (NURS); NU Sector Society&Soc Struct (NUSS); SEAS Social Science (EUSS); Wharton UG General Education - Social Science (WUSS)
This course will examine obesity from scientific, cultural, psychological, and economic perspectives. The complex matrix of factors that contribute to obesity and established treatment options will be explored.
NURS 3570/5730: CASE STUDY: INNOVATION IN HEALTH: FOUNDATIONS OF DESIGN THINKING
Instructor: Marion LearyInnovation, defined as a hypothesis-driven, testable, and disciplined strategy, is important to improve health & healthcare. Employing new ways of thinking, such as with design thinking, will help open up possibilities of ways to improve health & the process of healthcare. Incorporating current & emerging social & digital technologies such as mobile apps, wearables, remote sensing, and 3D printing, affords new opportunities for innovation. This course provides foundational content & a disciplined approach to innovation as it applies to health & healthcare. A flipped classroom approach has the in-class component focusing on group learning through design thinking activities. The course is open to undergraduate nursing students as a case study & upper-level undergraduates and graduate students from across the Penn campus. The course provides a theoretical foundation in design thinking & may provide an overview of innovation technology & digital strategies as well as social & process change strategies. To enhance the didactic component, students will actively participate in a design case study. Students will be matched by interest and skill level with teams & will work with community-based organizations, healthcare providers and/or innovation partners. Student teams will meet their partners to identify & refine a health or healthcare problem to tackle. Students will work throughout the semester to create an innovative solution that will be pitched to their community-based organization, healthcare provider, and/or innovation partner at the end of the semester. Prerequisite: Completion of freshman & sophomore level courses
GRADUATE COURSES
AAMW 5720/ANTH 5720/CLST 7315/NELC 5925: GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTION FOR ARCHAEOLOGY
Instructor: Jason Herrmann
Fulfills: SEAS Humanities (EUHS)
This course focuses on real world community problems, engaged scholarship, and the evaluation of actively-running Penn programs intended to improve social conditions in West Philadelphia. Two trends emerge in public interest social science that students will explore through research and evaluation: 1.) mergingproblem solving with theory and analysis in the interest of change motivated bya commitment to social justice, racial harmony, equality, and human rights; and 2.) engaging in public debate on human issues to make the research results accessible to a broad audience. As part of the course, students will learn the foundations of anthropology, social theory, and evaluation as they work with qualitative and quantitative data while conducting an evaluation based on community and partner need. Students will gain direct experience conducting evaluation research as a collaborative process and have an opportunity to engage in academically-based community service with a focus on social change.
ANTH 6180/3180: ANTHROPOLOGY AND PRAXIS
Instructor: Gretchen Suess, Paulette Branson
Fulfills: SEAS Humanities (EUHS)
This course focuses on real world community problems, engaged scholarship, and the evaluation of actively-running Penn programs intended to improve social conditions in West Philadelphia. Two trends emerge in public interest social science that students will explore through research and evaluation: 1.) mergingproblem solving with theory and analysis in the interest of change motivated bya commitment to social justice, racial harmony, equality, and human rights; and 2.) engaging in public debate on human issues to make the research results accessible to a broad audience. As part of the course, students will learn the foundations of anthropology, social theory, and evaluation as they work with qualitative and quantitative data while conducting an evaluation based on community and partner need. Students will gain direct experience conducting evaluation research as a collaborative process and have an opportunity to engage in academically-based community service with a focus on social change
CPLN 7200: HOUSING, COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRACTICUM
Instructor: Lisa Servon
Read more: https://www.design.upenn.edu/post/towards-greener-healthier-more-prosper...
The Housing, Community & Economic Development Practicum course is the capstone for the CED concentration. Using the skills and knowledge they have acquired in previous HCED coursework, students work in small groups on projects for local clients. These clients may include community-based organizations, public agencies, or other nonprofits
CPLN 6230: THE CARCERAL STATE
Instructor: Lisa Servon
Read more: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/weitzman-planning-students-gain-critica...
Fulfills: Wharton Core Cross-Cultural Perspective: US (WUCU); Wharton UG General Education - Social Science (WUSS)
This course examines the period of mass incarceration that began in the US in the 1970s, its impact on communities and its connection to economic development. We'll look specifically at policies that fostered mass incarceration, the financialization of the criminal justice system, and abolitionist movements that challenge the carceral state. We will examine the ways in which policies and practices have had disparate impacts on people of color and women, and we will also pay attention to space and place, endeavoring to understand differences at the local, county and state levels. This is an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course, and we will be partnering with the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund on a project. Students will also conduct courtroom observations, tour the Eastern State Penitentiary, learn from formerly incarcerated Philadelphians, and interact with relevant experts. Students will read books and articles from a range of disciplines including sociology, law, political science, and planning. We will also read poetry and memoir, and study places that have instituted cutting edge policies and practices. This course relies on student engagement and discussion.
CPLN 6290: PLANNING AS SPATIAL STORYTELLING - ENGAGING PLACES, TASTES, AND PUBLIC SPACE
Instructor: Matthew Kenyatta
The Black Bottom vs University City, South LA vs South Central, Callowhill vs Chinatown. Which place identity is real? Who legitimize which and where? Neighbors often have beloved names and place identities that are overlooked and forgotten, if not outright erased. Sometimes it happens when a foreign developer labels their property without consideration for the living histories of long-term residents, but mostly it is from lack of public attention. This class is how we learn how to intervene and prevent that not only as a planner or an artist, but as a lover of where you might live. How might you love on where you live and show place pride with integrity? Through a lens of design justice and cultural landscapes, this mini-studio will critically engage core design, environmental management, and planning concepts like “branding” and “placemaking” through case studies, reflection, and real-world creative contexts in historic West Philadelphia. Guest speakers will include leaders in arts, heritage, real estate, tourism, and policy.
DENT 7102: HEALTH PROMOTION II
Instructor: Joan Gluch
This course provides students with both seminars and clinical experiences in order to gain additional knowledge, skills and values to develop competency in health promotion activities. Seminars are scheduled throughout the third year and include the following topics: risk assessment for caries, periodontal diseases and oral cancer; customized oral health promotion plans to address risks and promote health; health promotion care with dentures and implants; modifying health promotion for patients with physical, developmental and emotional disabilities. Discussions also focus on communication to meet the different social and cultural needs of patients. Clinical experiences in the Primary Care Units and Community Clinics provide students with opportunities to develop skills and competencies related to health promotion. Oral health promotional activities are an integral part of the care students provide with their patients. Students complete a Caries and Periodontal Risk Assessment with each patient and provide customized oral health promotional services periodically throughout treatment. Students provide fluoride treatments, tobacco counseling and nutritional counseling as appropriate for their patients. In addition, edentulous patients receive special advice regarding mouth care, denture care and oral cancer self-examination procedures. Students must record the completion of health promotion procedures in Axium using appropriate codes to document completion of required clinical activities. In addition, students must record the completion of appropriate health promotion activities on the clinical charts.
DENT 6101: LOCAL, PUBLIC HLTH, ETHIC
Instructor: Joan Gluch
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.
DENT 6102: LOCAL & PUBLIC HEALTH II
Instructor: Joan Gluch
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.
DENT 7122: COMMUNITY ORAL HEALTH
Instructor: Joan Gluch
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/dental-schools-joan-gluch-promotes-acad...
Community Oral Health 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.
FRO 5350: FRONTIERS IN CULINARY MEDICINE
Instructor: Horace Delisser
Culinary medicine is a 4-week elective that is taught by a team of culinary experts, physicians, and registered dietitians, that integrates the science of medicine and the culinary arts into an interdisciplinary experience that prepares students to promote healthy eating in their future patients. Through didactics, case-based discussions, and virtual in-the-kitchen training by professional chefs, students will learn behavior change strategies regarding diet and nutrition, as well as explore healthier diets and the use of accessible and inexpensive substitute ingredients to prepare healthy, yet tasty meals. It is anticipated this course will stimulate students to incorporate healthy behaviors into their own personal lives, and in so doing, gain more comfort and confidence in sharing these behaviors with their future patients.
EDUC 7772: EXPANDING CIVIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH
Instructor: Rand Quinn
This Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course is designed for Penn graduate and undergraduate students invested in youth civic empowerment. Students design multi-session, project-based lessons on collective problem solving on a contemporary issue (for example, climate justice, political redistricting, or school gentrification). Students will then facilitate their workshops in Philadelphia public school classrooms. As part of the course, students will develop and implement an internal assessment plan that may include observation protocols, post-lesson debriefings, participant focus groups, and teacher interviews. The data from these assessment tools will contribute to a final report.
EDUC 7220: SEMINAR IN MICROETHNOGRAPHY
Instructor: Betsy Rymes, Hannah Brenneman, Katherine O’Morchoe, Suzanne Oh, Erica Poinsett
This course provides an introduction to theory and method in the unified analysis of verbal and nonverbal behavior as it is culturally patterned, socially organized, and socially organizing in face-to-face interaction, in an approach that integrates participant observation with the detailed analysis of audiovisual records. Students read relevant literature in linguistic anthropology, interactional sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, and embodiment in social interaction. Class requirements include in-class reading presentations, a small microethnographic research project, and several short data analysis reports drawing on differing levels of analysis and differing theoretical orientations. Students review and apply methods of audiovisual data collection, transcription, processing, archiving, and presentation.
IDT 2530: FOUNDATIONS OF CULINARY MEDICINE
Instructor: Horace Delisser
Foundations of Culinary Medicine is a one-year elective course for first-year medical students at the Perelman School of Medicine. Taught by a team of culinary experts, physicians, and registered dietitians, Foundations integrates advanced nutrition science and the culinary arts into a hands-on, interdisciplinary experience. Each session will run during a Module 2 organ system and disease block in order to integrate nutrition education with the basic science and clinical medicine concepts of a particular organ system. This training will provide students with the knowledge to understand the impact of healthy eating on normal human physiology and disease. Through evidence-based research, case-based discussions and in-the-kitchen, hands-on training, students will learn about the role of nutrition in integrated biological systems, with a focus on dietary recommendations for real-life patient care. Students will also learn by teaching, and partnering with Philadelphia schools and families to facilitate food educational programs and community dinners. It is anticipated that this course will provide a foundation for students to both understand and communicate the impact of good nutrition on their own health, as well as the health of their future patients.
LARP 7500: TOPICS IN CONSTRUCTION, HORTICULTURE & PLANTING DESIGN
Instructor: Abdallah Tabet
What is the role of the detail in landscape architecture? What makes a good detail, technically and conceptually? How do we understand "detailing" as a process? The detail is the moment of intersection between the conceptual and the practical, born out of the designer's effort to merge an idealized vision with a set of imposed --and often conflicting—parameters and constraints. For some, the detail may contain the essence of a project, a representation of the idea made manifest. Yet it may also be the reason the whole thing falls apart. Through case studies of exemplary projects, lectures, discussions, and design exercises involving drawing, modeling, and fabrication at a range of scales, this seminar course will explore detailing as an idea, as a process, and as a vital component of design practice and construction methodology. This course offers students the opportunity to develop a strong grounding in the logic and language of details, supporting continued inquiry and critical engagement with design over the course of a career.
NGG 5900: RESEARCH & COMMUNITY: BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE IN THE URBAN CURRICULUM
Instructor: Loretta Flanagan-Cato, Erin Purvis
NGG 5900 is an activity-based course with three major goals. First, the course is an opportunity for biomedical graduate students to develop their science communication skills and share their enthusiasm for neuroscience with high school students at a nearby public high school in West Philadelphia. In this regard, Penn students will prepare demonstrations and hands-on activities to engage local high school students, increase their knowledge in science, and ultimately promote their interest in science-related careers. Second, the course will consider the broader educational context, such as the conditions of the local high school and its overall progress in science education. Students will discuss the problems they encounter and learn how to develop effective proposals, taking into account the participants and the origins of current policies. Third, students will reflect and discuss the important connection between their biomedical research at Penn and the local Philadelphia community.
NURS 7350: PEDIATRIC ACUTE CARE NP: PROFESSIONAL ROLE & INTERMEDIATE CLINICAL PRACTICE
Instructor: Jessica Strohm Farber
Fulfills: Wharton UG General Education - Nat Sci, Math, Eng (WUNM)
This course focuses on the implementation of the professional role of the Pediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (PNP-AC). Particular emphasis is placed on the role components of the nurse practitioner in pediatric acute care. Applications of nursing, biological and behavioral science are emphasized in the advanced clinical assessment, clinical decision making and management skills needed to care for complex, unstable acutely and chronically ill children and their families. The role of the advanced practice nurse in promoting optimal child/family outcomes is emphasized.
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FALL 2023 ABCS COURSES
UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
AFRC 1780/HIST 0811/URBS 1780: FACULTY-STUDENT COLLABORATIVE ACTION SEMINAR IN UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
Instructor: Ira Harkavy, Theresa Simmonds
This seminar helps students develop their capacity to solve strategic, real-world problems by working collaboratively in the classroom, on campus, and in the West Philadelphia community. Students develop proposals that demonstrate how a Penn undergraduate education might better empower students to produce, not simply "consume," societally-useful knowledge, as well as to function as caring, contributing citizens of a democratic society. Their proposals help contribute to the improvement of education on campus and in the community, as well as to the improvement of university-community relations. Additionally, students provide college access support at Paul Robeson High School for one hour each week.
AFRC 2325 / ENGL 2222 / THAR 2325: AUGUST WILSON AND BEYOND
Instructor: Suzana Berger, Margit Edwards
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-s-netter-center-announces-faculty-... , https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/bridging-gap-between-penn-students-and-...
If you want to get to know community members from West Philadelphia, collaborate deeply with classmates, gain deeper and more nuanced understandings of African American history and culture, engage in a wide range of learning methods, and explore some of the most treasured plays in the American theatre, then this is the course for you. No previous experience required, just curiosity and willingness to engage. In this intergenerational seminar, Penn students together with older community members read groundbreaking playwright August Wilson's American Century Cycle: ten plays that form an iconic picture of African American traditions, traumas, and triumphs through the decades, nearly all told through the lens of Pittsburgh's Hill District neighborhood. Class members develop relationships with one other while exploring the history and culture that shaped these powerful plays. The class plans and hosts events for a multigenerational, West Philadelphia-focused audience with community partners West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance / Paul Robeson House & Museum, and Theatre in the X. Class members come to a deeper understanding of Black life in Philadelphia through stories community members share in oral history interviews. These stories form the basis for an original performance the class creates, presented at an end-of-semester gathering. Wilson's plays provide the bridge between class members from various generations and backgrounds. The group embodies collaborative service through the art and connection-building conversations it offers to the community.
ANTH 0930 / ENVS 0054 / LALS 0093/ SPAN 0093 / URBS 0093: LATINX ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (English version)
Instructor: Teresa Gimenez
This course explores the involvement of the Latinx environmental justice movement since the 1960s. It addresses theories and concepts of environmental racism and environmental justice, underscoring how Latinx have challenged, expanded, and contributed to the environmental justice discourse. In this course, students will explore national case studies of environmental and racial injustice as they bear on Latinx communities both in rural areas and in urban barrios throughout the United States. The course will analyze these case studies through the lens of Latinx artistic and literary texts (essays, paintings, short stories, documentaries, and short films) as they provide a unique historic and multicultural perspective of the Latinx experience with environmental injustice and of how Latinxs imagine alternative transitions and responses to environmental marginalization. In addition, the works of Latinx artists and writers will serve as case studies to deconstruct racial stereotypes of Latinxs as unconcerned about environmental issues, shedding light on how they share a broad engagement with environmental ideas. The case studies analyzed in this course emphasize race and class differences between farmworkers and urban barrio residents and how they affect their respective struggles. The unit on farmworkers will focus on workplace health issues such as toxic chemicals and collective bargaining contracts. The unit on urban barrios will focus on gentrification, affordable housing, and toxic substances in the home. We will also review current and past programs that have been organized to address the aforementioned problems. This is an Academically Based Community Service Course (ABCS course) through which students will learn from and provide support to a Latinx-serving organization in the City of Philadelphia on preventing exposure to hazardous substances, thus bridging the information gap on environmental justice issues in the Latinx community in Philadelphia. Information dissemination and education efforts will be conducted by collaborating with Esperanza Academy Charter School in Philadelphia to implement lessons on preventing exposure to hazardous substances. Studying environmental justice and pairing it with community service will heighten students' awareness of the complexities of culture, race, gender, and class while providing them with an invaluable experience of cross-cultural understanding.
ANTH 3930 / ENVS 3445 / LALS 3930 / SPAN 3930 / URBS 3930: LATINX ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (Spanish version)
Instructor: Teresa Gimenez
This course explores the involvement of the Latinx environmental justice movement since the 1960s. It addresses theories and concepts of environmental racism and environmental justice, underscoring how Latinx have challenged, expanded, and contributed to the environmental justice discourse. In this course, students will explore national case studies of environmental and racial injustice as they bear on Latinx communities both in rural areas and in urban barrios throughout the United States. The course will analyze these case studies through the lens of Latinx artistic and literary texts (essays, paintings, short stories, documentaries, and short films) as they provide a unique historic and multicultural perspective of the Latinx experience with environmental injustice and of how Latinxs imagine alternative transitions and responses to environmental marginalization. In addition, the works of Latinx artists and writers will serve as case studies to deconstruct racial stereotypes of Latinxs as unconcerned about environmental issues, shedding light on how they share a broad engagement with environmental ideas. The case studies analyzed in this course emphasize race and class differences between farmworkers and urban barrio residents and how they affect their respective struggles. The unit on farmworkers will focus on workplace health issues such as toxic chemicals and collective bargaining contracts. The unit on urban barrios will focus on gentrification, affordable housing, and toxic substances in the home. We will also review current and past programs that have been organized to address the aforementioned problems. This is an Academically Based Community Service Course (ABCS course) through which students will learn from and provide support to a Latinx-serving organization in the City of Philadelphia on preventing exposure to hazardous substances, thus bridging the information gap on environmental justice issues in the Latinx community in Philadelphia. Information dissemination and education efforts will be conducted by collaborating with Esperanza Academy Charter School in Philadelphia to implement lessons on preventing exposure to hazardous substances. Studying environmental justice and pairing it with community service will heighten students' awareness of the complexities of culture, race, gender, and class while providing them with an invaluable experience of cross-cultural understanding.
ASAM 1020: THE ASIAN AMERICAN ENTREPRENEUR
Instructor: Rupa Pillai
Blog post: https://asam.sas.upenn.edu/news/2023/03/30/how-better-support-asian-amer...
From shopkeepers to motel owners, the Asian American entrepreneur is frequently celebrated and offered as proof that the American Dream is achievable and that the United States is a meritocracy. This seminar challenges this view. Through interdisciplinary texts, qualitative research assignments, and speakers, we will explore the transnational forces and structural limitations within the United States that produce Asian ethnic niches and the bamboo ceiling which limits the success of Asian Americans.
ASLD 1033: ASL/DEAF STUDIES - ABCS
Instructor: Jami Fisher
This Academically Based Community Service course is intended to be the final course in the ASL/Deaf Studies course sequence. Students will work with a Deaf community partner to learn about the organization and work on a mutually agreed on research project. Students will also have course meetings on a weekly basis with discussions and activities centering on reflection of community experiences through linguistic as well as cultural lenses. Ongoing reflections and discussions—formal and informal—on Deaf cultural/theoretical topics drawing from readings as well as community experiences will be integral to the course experience.
EDUC 2002: URBAN EDUCATION
Instructor: Tawanna Jones
This seminar focuses on two main questions: 1) How have US schools and urban ones in particular continued to reproduce inequalities rather than ameliorating them? 2) In the informational age, how do the systems affecting education need to change to create more successful and equitable outcomes? The course is designed to bridge the divide between theory and practice. Each class session looks at issues of equity in relation to an area of practice (e.g. lesson design, curriculum planning, fostering positive student identities, classroom management, school funding, policy planning...), while bringing theoretical frames to bear from the fields of education, sociology, anthropology and psychology.
EDUC 2140: EDUCATION IN AMERICAN CULTURE
Instructor: Charles Adams, Noemi Fernandez
This course explores the relationships between forms of cultural production and transmission (schooling, family and community socialization, peer group subcultures and media representations) and relations of inequality in American society. Working with a broad definition of "education" as varied forms of social learning, we will concentrate particularly on the cultural processes that produce as well as potentially transform class, race, ethnic and gender differences and identities. From this vantage point, we will then consider the role that schools can and/or should play in challenging inequalities in America.
ENGL 0051 / URBS 0051: COMMUNITY WRITING: POST-COVID UNIVERSITY
Instructor: Zita Nunes
Community Writing combines theory with practice: students will first study critical and creative writing pedagogy, and then visit a range of Philadelphia communities to write creatively together and form new kinds of community through writing. The moment seems ripe for assessing and planning for the [post] COVID university. The epidemic has challenged the certainties that undergraduate students may have expected about the role and form of their engagements with the university. This class provides a way to analyze and communicate about this experience, while building the individual and collaborative skills students need to thrive. The course would open with a discussion of short articles on the [post]Covid university and a selection of literature and films set on college campuses (with a focus on underrepresented minorities). Then, in concert with peers at local universities (Lincoln, Drexel, and Temple), students, individually and in groups, would research different aspects of their home institutions in their university archives as well as other sources—the university’s founding, its funding, mission, composition of student body, athletics, libraries, dorms, clubs, history of English (or other majors), Black, LGBTQ, etc. student activism. Students would then translate their research into forms (scholarly essay, white paper, policy proposal, grant proposal, video, podcast, art project, exhibition, etc.) of communication to a clearly identified audience (prospective students, administration, local community, legislature, scholars, etc). Student work for the course would be presented at an undergraduate conference during the subsequent term and students invited to serve as undergraduate TAs for future courses. Assignments will be scaffolded in preparation for a final project.
LALS 3020 / PSCI 2420: DIPLOMACY IN THE AMERICAS - THE PENN MODEL OAS PROGRAM
Instructor: Catherine Bartch
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/latin-american-latinx-studies , https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/new-moas-program-promotes-international...
"Diplomacy in the Americas" an academically based community service course in which students work with Philadelphia and Norristown public school students to explore solutions to critical problems facing the Americas. Entrenched political, economic, and social inequality, combined with environmental degradation, weak institutions, pervasive health epidemics, weapon proliferation, and other issues pose formidable hurdles for strengthening democratic ideals and institutions. The Organization of the American States (OAS), the world's oldest regional organization, is uniquely poised to confront these challenges. "Diplomacy in the Americas" guides students through the process of writing policy resolutions as though the students were Organization of the American States (OAS) diplomats, basing their research and proposals on democracy, development, security, and human rights - the four pillars of the OAS. Students will also read literature about what it means to educate for a democracy and global citizenry, and they will have the opportunity to turn theory into practice by creating and executing curriculum to teach and mentor the high school students through interactive and experiential pedagogies.
LALS 4240 / SOCI 2931: LATINX COMMUNITIES AND THE ROLE OF CBO'S IN SOCIAL CHANGE
Instructor: Johnny Irizarry
The purpose of this course to create a Latino Studies/Service Learning ABCS course that cultivates dialogue and knowledge about the social, political, cultural and historical complexities of the Latinx experience in the United States (Philadelphia in particular) and the roles Latinx CBO's play in meeting the needs of Latinx communities and in impacting social change.
MATH 1234: COMMUNITY ALGEBRA INITIATIVE
Instructor: Mona Merling
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/math-education-and-engagement-west-phil...
MATH 1234 is an academically-based community service (ABCS) course which provides the opportunity to Penn students to develop effective methods for teaching and understanding, to enhance their math communication skills, and to share their passion for math by teaching fundamental concepts to students in one of our partnership schools. At the same time, the course aims to academically engage local high school students, sharpen their math skills while getting them excited about the subject, and ultimately promote their interest in STEM.
MGMT 3530: WHARTON FIELD CHALLENGE: FINANCIAL LITERACY COMMUNITY PROJECT
Instructor: Keith Weigelt
Do you want to make a real difference in the lives of a student? Do you want to set kids on a path to becoming financially literate? Do you want to learn leadership skills in the classroom? Here at the Financial Literacy Community Project (FLCP) we are able to create an experience that achieves all three. We partner with various public schools around the West Philadelphia area and teach concepts integral to financial literacy. We teach a wide range of grades from middle school to high school, and work with students to help them learn how to be financially responsible. In addition to teaching in neighboring high schools, we also have group class meetings run by Professor Keith Weigelt on Mondays from 7:00 PM-8:30 PM. We learn about the disparity of wealth and how to best address it while also learning teaching techniques, classroom strategies, and overall basic financial literacy. A basic understanding of personal financial literacy is required.
MUSC 0180A/ URBS 0180A: MUSIC IN URBAN SPACES
Instructor: Molly Mcglone
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/music-connects-penn-students-and-west-p... , https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/students-penn-s-netter-center-take-soun...
Music in Urban Spaces is a year-long experience that explores the ways in which individuals use music in their everyday lives and how music is used to construct larger social and economic networks that we call culture. We will read the work of musicologists, cultural theorists, urban geographers, sociologists and educators who work to define urban space and the role of music and sound in urban environments, including through music education. While the readings make up our study of the sociology of urban space and the way we use music in everyday life to inform our conversations and the questions we ask, it is within the context of our personal experiences working with music programs in public neighborhood schools serving economically disadvantaged students, that we will begin to formulate our theories of the contested musical micro-cultures of West Philadelphia. This course is over two-semesters where students register for .5 cus each term (for a total of 1 cu over the entire academic year) and is tied to the Music and Social Change Residential Program in Fisher Hassenfeld College House which will sponsor field trips around the city and a final concert for youth to perform here at Penn, if possible. Students are expected to volunteer in music and drama programs in Philadelphia neighborhood public schools throughout the course experience.
NRSC 1160: ABCS OF EVERYDAY NEUROSCIENCE
Instructor: Loretta Flanagan-Cato
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-netter-center-science-and-service
This course is an opportunity for undergraduates to share their interest and enthusiasm for neuroscience with students in grades 9-12 attending urban public schools in West Philadelphia. The course will allow Penn students to develop their science communication and teaching skills. Students will prepare neuroscience demonstrations, hands-on activities, and assessment tools. In parallel, the course aims to engage local high school students, increasing their interest and knowledge in science, and ultimately promoting lifelong science literacy.
NURS 3520: CASE STUDY: A COMMUNITY-BASED APPROACH TO MITIGATING CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD INSECURITY
Instructor: Jennifer A. Pinto-Martin, Monique Dowd
The Penn Food and Wellness Collaborative (PFWC), including Penn Park Farm (PPF), was established through seed funding from the Your Big Idea Wellness competition in 2019. To date, we’ve grown nearly 2,500lbs of produce that has been distributed free of charge to food insecure students, HUP employees, and West Philadelphia residents. Using the PPF as a learning laboratory, this course will explore the link between climate change, food insecurity and physical and mental health across the lifespan. Students will engage with community partners to identify the best mechanism for meeting food insecurity and improving physical and mental health among students, faculty and staff on campus and among members of all ages in the communities surrounding Penn. In collaboration with the learning lab, instructor led seminars and discussions support the identification, development and completion of a community-based project.
NURS 3750: NUTRITION THROUGHOUT THE LIFE CYCLE
Instructor: Monique Dowd
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/penn-students-share-nutrition-and-healt...
Understanding and meeting nutritional needs from conception through adulthood will be addressed. Nutrition-related concerns at each stage of the life-cycle, including impact of lifestyle, education, economics and food behavior will be explored. As an ABCS course, students will be given the opportunity to address a real world nutrition-related issue in West Philadelphia in collaborations with Penn and/or local programs. Students will work in West Philadelphia with either senior citizens in the LIFE Program or with K-8 students for 2-4 hours/week outside of class time.
NURS 3800: NURSING IN THE COMMUNITY
Instructor: Alicia Kachmar, Steven Meanley
This course considers how nursing influences the health and healing capacities of both communities as a whole (populations) and of groups, families, and individuals living within particular communities locally and globally. It addresses the complexity of nursing practice using a public health paradigm. It requires students to draw from prior class and clinical knowledge and skills and apply this practice base to communities across care settings, ages, and cultures with different experiences of equity and access to care. It provides the tools needed to engage in collaborative community work and to give voice to the community's strengths, needs, and goals. It also moves students from an individual and family focus to a population focus for health assessment and intervention. Students consider the science, policies, and resources that support public health, and community based and community-oriented care. Clinical and simulated experiences in community settings provide sufficient opportunities for clinical reasoning, clinical care and knowledge integration in community settings. Students will have opportunities to care for patients and populations within selected communities.
PHIL 0902: HIGH SCHOOL ETHICS BOWL
Instructor: Dustin Webster
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/learning-civil-discourse-and-open-minde... , https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/pint-size-philosophers
In this course, teams of Penn undergraduates, each joined by a graduate student in philosophy, will coach teams of high school students for participation in the National High School Ethics Bowl, an annual competitive yet collaborative event in which teams analyze and discuss complex ethical dilemmas. Cases for the Ethics Bowl will will serve as a foundational starting point for the undergraduate students' investigations into ethical theory, and the study of the Ethics Bowl itself will develop the capacities to provide coaching and mentorship to the teams of high school students from West Philadelphia and across the city. Undergraduates will travel to these school as part of the course, and there will be one or two Saturday sessions. This course will introduce the ethics bowl to many new Philadelphia School District schools and students, and it will provide Penn students with the opportunity to develop their teaching and communication skills, build collaborative relationships with community schools, and solidify their knowledge of ethical theory through coaching.
PPE 4000: RESEARCH IN PPE: PROSOCIAL ECONOMIC
Instructor: Jaron Cordero
Led by fellows in the Philosophy, Politics and Economics program, this course teaches students how to conduct research in PPE with an emphasis on creating a well-formed research question, determining what kinds of data or scholarly research bears on that question, and how to carry out an interdisciplinary, research-driven project on that question. In this course, we will work together to contribute to the well-being of others. Each student will choose a subset of concepts related to prosocial economics to study, such as cooperation, trust, and reciprocity. They will have opportunities to learn practical skills, from dialogue and contemplative practices to mathematical modeling and experiment design. Students will integrate the concepts and skill development through regular community service. By the end of the semester, each student will have explored the potential to work for the benefit of others.
SOCI 2960 / URBS 3140: PARTICIPATORY CITIES (SNF Paideia Program Course)
Instructor: Marisa Denker
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/empowering-community-engagement-through...
What is a participatory city? What has that term meant in the past, what does it mean now, and what will it mean going forward? Against the backdrop of increasing inequality and inequity, and the rise in a search for solutions, what role can citizens play in co-creating more just cities and neighborhoods? How can citizens be engaged in the decision-making processes about the places where we live, work, and play? And most importantly, how can we work to make sure that all kinds of voices are meaningfully included, and that historically muted voices are elevated to help pave a better path forward? This course will connect theory with praxis as we explore together the history, challenges, methods, and approaches, and impact of bottom up and top down approaches to community participation and stakeholder involvement in cities. Multiple opportunities will be provided to be involved in community engagement work for live projects in Philadelphia.
URBS 1400: INEQUITY AND EMPOWERMENT: URBAN FINANCIAL LITERACY
Instructor: Brian Peterson
This course provides students with a rich look at the historical and contemporary factors that have shaped America's wealth gaps. By studying the economic impacts of systemic forces such as discriminatory housing, predatory lending, and unbanking, students will develop a deep financial understanding of today's urban communities. Students will also explore their own financial awareness and exposure, creating personalized financial histories and empowerment plans. By breaking the silence on topics such as credit scores, auto purchases, renting vs. owning a home, insurance, retirement plans, debt management, and investing, Urban Financial Literacy will prepare students for a financially healthy life at Penn and beyond. The course will also explore larger financial examples and case studies, including endowment funds and major foundations, the promises and perils of sports and entertainment, start-ups and the gig economy, and more. In contrasting the opportunity and excess that is possible, with the debilitating realities of intergenerational poverty in America, the idea is that students will end the course with a robust appreciation for financial literacy, a portfolio of practical strategies, and a commitment to create new possibilities for financial wellness.
URBS 2020: URBAN EDUCATION
Instructor: Michael Clapper
This seminar focuses on two main questions: 1) How have US schools and urban ones in particular continued to reproduce inequalities rather than ameliorating them? 2) In the informational age, how do the systems affecting education need to change to create more successful and equitable outcomes? The course is designed to bridge the divide between theory and practice. Each class session looks at issues of equity in relation to an area of practice (e.g. lesson design, curriculum planning, fostering positive student identities, classroom management, school funding, policy planning...), while bringing theoretical frames to bear from the fields of education, sociology, anthropology and psychology.
UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE COURSES
ANTH 5830 / EDUC 5466: ETHNOGRAPHIC FILMMAKING
Instructor: Amitanshu Das
See recent films produced through the course: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBUfm4ggrS6syYOO58cvLTu8DtTvhXg6C
This ethnographic methodology course considers filmmaking/videography as a tool in conducting ethnographic research as well as a medium for presenting academic research to scholarly and non-scholarly audiences. The course engages the methodological and theoretical implications of capturing data and crafting social scientific accounts/narratives in images and sounds. Students are required to put theory into practice by conducting ethnographic research and producing an ethnographic film as their final project. In service to that goal, students will read about ethnography (as a social scientific method and representational genre), learn and utilize ethnographic methods in fieldwork, watch non-fiction films (to be analyzed for formal properties and implicit assumptions about culture/sociality), and acquire rigorous training in the skills and craft of digital video production. This is an ABCS course, and students will produce short ethnographic films with students in Philadelphia high schools as part of a partnership project with the School District of Philadelphia. Due to the time needed for ethnographic film production, this is a year-long course, which will meet periodically in both the fall and spring semesters.
ENVS 1650: THE ROLE OF WATER IN URBAN SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCY
Instructor: Howard Neukrug
This course will provide an overview of the cross-disciplinary fields of civil engineering, environmental sciences, urban hydrology, landscape architecture, green building, public outreach and politics. Students will be expected to conduct field investigations, review scientific data and create indicator reports, working with stakeholders and presenting the results at an annual symposium. There is no metaphor like water itself to describe the cumulative effects of our practices, with every upstream action having an impact downstream. In our urban environment, too often we find degraded streams filled with trash, silt, weeds and dilapidated structures. The water may look clean, but is it? We blame others, but the condition of the creeks is directly related to how we manage our water resources and our land. In cities, these resources are often our homes, our streets and our communities. This course will define the current issues of the urban ecosystem and how we move toward managing this system in a sustainable manner. We will gain an understanding of the dynamic, reciprocal relationship between practices in an watershed and its waterfront. Topics discussed include: drinking water quality and protection, green infrastructure, urban impacts of climate change, watershed monitoring, public education, creating strategies and more.
ENVS 1665: AIR POLLUTION: SOURCES & EFFECTS IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS
Instructor: Maria Andrews
This is an ABCS course designed to provide the student with an understanding of air pollution at the local, regional and global levels. The nature, composition, and properties of air pollutants in the atmosphere will also be studied. The course will focus on Philadelphia's air quality and how air pollutants have an adverse effect on the health of the residents. The recent designation by IARC of Air Pollution as a known carcinogen will be explored. How the community is exposed to air pollutants with consideration of vulnerable populations will be considered. Through a partnership with Philadelphia Air Management Service (AMS) agency the science of air monitoring and trends over time will be explored. Philadelphia's current non-attainment status for PM2.5. and ozone will be studied. Philadelphia's current initiatives to improve the air quality of the city will be discussed. Students will learn to measure PM2.5 in outdoor and indoor settings and develop community-based outreach tools to effectively inform the community of Philadelphia regarding air pollution. The outreach tools developed by students may be presentations, written materials, apps, websites or other strategies for enhancing environmental health literacy of the community. A project based approach will be used to include student monitoring of area schools, school bus routes, and the community at large. The data collected will be presented to students in the partner elementary school in West Philadelphia . Upon completion of this course, students should expect to have attained a broad understanding of and familiarity with the sources, fate, and the environmental impacts and health effects of air pollutants.
NURS 3130/5130: OBESITY AND SOCIETY
Instructor: Colleen Tewksbury
This course will examine obesity from scientific, cultural, psychological, and economic perspectives. The complex matrix of factors that contribute to obesity and established treatment options will be explored.
NURS 3570/5730: INNOVATION IN HEALTH: FOUNDATIONS OF DESIGN THINKING
Instructor: Marion Leary
Innovation, defined as a hypothesis-driven, testable, and disciplined strategy, is important to improve health & healthcare. Employing new ways of thinking, such as with design thinking, will help open up possibilities of ways to improve health & the process of healthcare. Incorporating current & emerging social & digital technologies such as mobile apps, wearables, remote sensing, and 3D printing, affords new opportunities for innovation. This course provides foundational content & a disciplined approach to innovation as it applies to health & healthcare. A flipped classroom approach has the in-class component focusing on group learning through design thinking activities. The course is open to undergraduate nursing students as a case study & upper-level undergraduates and graduate students from across the Penn campus. The course provides a theoretical foundation in design thinking & may provide an overview of innovation technology & digital strategies as well as social & process change strategies. To enhance the didactic component, students will actively participate in a design case study. Students will be matched by interest and skill level with teams & will work with community-based organizations, healthcare providers and/or innovation partners. Student teams will meet their partners to identify & refine a health or healthcare problem to tackle. Students will work throughout the semester to create an innovative solution that will be pitched to their community-based organization, healthcare provider, and/or innovation partner at the end of the semester.
GRADUATE COURSES
ARCH 7280 / IPD 5280: DESIGN OF CONTEMPORARY PRODUCTS: DESIGN FOR EQUITY, INCLUSION AND ACCESSIBILITY
Instructor: Sarah Rottenberg
Enrollment limited to students in the Weitzman School Professional division.
The power of design to shape the world we live in is increasingly obvious, as is the responsibility of designers to challenge our assumptions about who designs, who is included or marginalized by our designs, and how we can make sure that all design is inclusive design. This course will address issues around designing for equity, inclusion and accessibility and co-design. We will ask, What is inclusive design? Who does it serve? What should it look like? To answer these questions, we will engage with the current discourse around designing for equity, inclusion and accessibility, with a particular focus on accessibility. We will engage with disability justice frameworks and critical disability studies to challenge our assumptions about disability and engagement. And we will connect with members of the disability community and co-design along with them. This course is intended for anyone who considers themselves a designer: of physical or digital products, places, or services who wants to prioritize inclusion in their practice.
ARCH 7550: ENVIRONMENTAL INNOVATION AND PROTOTYPING
The MSD-EBD students will develop research papers related to the work done in ARCH 7080 Bioclimatic Studio and ARCH 7540. The students will learn how to plan and conduct experiments and will develop the tools to write research papers based on these experiments. During the semester, exemplar case-studies of novel work in architectural technology will be presented to the students by the instructor and guest lecturers. The prototype developed during the course may be a digital prototype such as a simulation tool, or a physical prototype which will be tested using sensing techniques.
CLST 3307 / ANTH 3307 / NELC 3950 / CLST 5620 / ANTH 5220: INTRO TO DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Instructor: Jason Herrmann
News article: https://www.mainlinemedianews.com/2021/09/30/students-from-penn-digital-...
Read more: https://jasonherrmann.wordpress.com/research/community-oriented-digital-...
Students in this course will be exposed to the broad spectrum of digital approaches in archaeology with an emphasis on fieldwork, through a survey of current literature and applied learning opportunities that focus on African American mortuary landscapes of greater Philadelphia. As an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course, we will work with stakeholders from cemetery companies, historic preservation advocacy groups, and members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church to collect data from three field sites. We will then use these data to reconstruct the original plans, untangle site taphonomy, and assess our results for each site. Our results will be examined within the broader constellation of threatened and lost African American burial grounds and our interpretations will be shared with community stakeholders using digital storytelling techniques. This course can count toward the minor in Digital Humanities, minor in Archaeological Science and the Graduate Certificate in Archaeological Science.
CPLN 7030: HEALING BY DESIGN: TRAUMA-RESPONSIVE PLANNING WITH YOUTH | STUDIO+
Instructor: Amanda Peña
DENT 6101: LOCAL, PUBLIC HLTH, ETHIC
Instructor: Joan Gluch, Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia
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.
DENT 7101: HEALTH PROMOTION
Instructor: Joan Gluch
DENT 8121: COMMUNITY ORAL HEALTH
Penn Today article: https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/dental-schools-joan-gluch-promotes-acad...
Community Oral Health 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.
EDUC 5281: LANGUAGE TEACHING & LITERACY DEVELOPMENT IN MULTILINGUAL COMMUNITY CONTEXT
Instructor: Anne Pomerantz
Immigrant youth often face the dual challenge of learning a new language and learning academic content in that language simultaneously. Many educators, however, struggle to identify and implement instructional practices that acknowledge learners' strengths, while also attending to their communicative, academic, and social needs. This course brings insights and findings from sociolinguistics to bear on research on language and literacy teaching to develop a situated, interactionally mindful approach for supporting emergent bi/multilinguals. An intensive service-learning project offers course participants the opportunity to "learn by doing" by working closely with children and adolescents in one multilingual, community-based after-school setting. Although the course takes the case of English learners attending U.S. elementary and secondary schools as its starting point, discussion of the implications and applications to other national/ educational contexts is encouraged. The goal of this course is to prepare participants to provide language and literacy instruction in contextually sensitive, theoretically informed, and interactionally attuned ways.
EDUC 5300: LITERACY IN ACTION (READING/WRITING/LITERACY)
Instructor: Alesha Gayle
Join the class 'Literacy in Action: Literacy Internship Experience' for the opportunity to examine literacies in situated contexts through hands-on action. An internship experience with local partners forms the cornerstone of the class, allowing students to pursue interests in preK-8 classroom and out-of-school practice, curriculum development and professional learning, or policy and research. Students will consider their own interests and positionalities, emic and etic perspectives, and the particularities of Discourse(s) within their field sites. Together, they’ll unpack literacies to partner meaningfully both inside and outside of educational spaces– that is, entering communities respectfully, assessing organizations’ needs, aligning with stakeholders’ missions and visions, and creating programming that adds to the overall success of their field site. This class provides all students with an interest in literacy with a supportive space to study and explore contemporary issues in literacy policy, research, and practice that are crucial in creating more just, equitable spaces for learning in Philadelphia and globally. No prior experience necessary.
EDUC 7323 / AFRC 7230: MULTICULTURAL ISSUES IN EDUCATION
Instructor: Vivian Gadsden
This course examines critical issues, problems, and perspectives in multicultural education. Intended to focus on access to literacy and educational opportunity, the course will engage class members in discussions around a variety of topics in educational practice, research, and policy. Specifically, the course will (1) review theoretical frameworks in multicultural education, (2) analyze the issues of race, racism, and culture in historical and contemporary perspective, and (3) identify obstacles to participation in the educational process by diverse cultural and ethnic groups. Students will be required to complete field experiences and classroom activities that enable them to reflect on their own belief systems, practices, and educational experiences.
EDUC 8215: TESOL PRACTICE TEACHING
Instructor: Teaching team
Fieldwork course for TESOL students. This course focuses on reflective teaching practice, providing a space for students to combine theory and practice as they apply the theoretical constructs of TESOL coursework to their own language teaching. Students will become accurate and systematic observers of and thinkers about their own teaching methodology, in order to continue to develop into increasingly effective language teachers. The theme of a student-centered language classroom will be explored through scholarly literature, pedagogical techniques, and students' own classroom teaching. To participate in this course, a student must be teaching a language class for the majority of the semester. Prerequisite: Permission needed from the department.
IDT 2530: FOUNDATIONS OF CULINARY MEDICINE
Instructor: Horace Delisser
Foundations of Culinary Medicine is a one-year elective course for first year medical students at the Perelman School of Medicine. Taught by a team of culinary experts, physicians, and registered dietitians, Foundationsintegrates advanced nutrition science and the culinary arts into a hands-on, interdisciplinary experience. Each session will run during a Module 2 organ system and disease block in order to integrate nutrition education with the basic science and clinical medicine concepts of a particular organ system. This training will provide students with the knowledge to understand the impact of healthy eating on normal human physiology and disease. Through evidence-based research, case-based discussions and in-the-kitchen, hands-on training, students will learn about the role of nutrition in integrated biological systems, with a focus on dietary recommendations for real-life patient care. Students will also learn by teaching, partnering with Philadelphia schools and families to facilitate food educational programs and community dinners. It is anticipated that this course will provide a foundation for students to both understand and communicate the impact of good nutrition on their own health, as well as the health of their future patients.
LARP 7010: STUDIO V
These advanced elective studios provide opportunities for focused exploration of particular themes in contemporary landscape architecture. Important emerging and accomplished designers, often from divergent points-of-view, interests and backgrounds, are invited to run these studios. Collaborative options (between Landscape and the Departments of Architecture or City Planning) are sometimes offered across the School.
NURS 7210: ADVANCED PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT AND CLINICAL DECISION MAKING: NURSING OF CHILDREN
Instructor: Sura Lee
This clinical course is designed to help prospective advanced practice nurses develop advanced skills in physical and developmental assessment both across the lifespan and with a specific focus on children in a variety of settings. Data collection, data interpretation, and hypothesis formulations are emphasized for the purpose of clinical decision making. The role of the advanced practice nurse in assessment of child health care issues and health promotion is incorporated throughout the course. Community collaboration and evaluation of social determinants of health, as integral aspects of assessment, will be an ongoing focus.
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SUMMER 2023 ABCS COURSES
EDUC 5841: ACCESS AND CHOICE IN AMERICAN EDUCATION
Instructor: Marcus Wright
College enrollment is a complex process that is shaped by the economic, social and policy context, higher education institutions, K-12 schools, families, and students. The course will examine the theoretical perspectives that are used to understand college access and choice processes. The implications of various policies and practices for college access and choice will also be explored, with particular attention to the effects of these policies for underrepresented groups. As an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course, this course is also designed to generate tangible recommendations that program administrators and institutional leaders may be used to improve college access and choice.
EDUC 5580: DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES & APPLICATIONS WITH CHILDREN
Instructor: Laronnda Thompson
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an opportunity to consider the educational policies & practices shaping the learning and development of preschool through early elementary school children. This course emphasizes the application of development psychology and multicultural perspective to the design of effective classroom-based strategies. This course is uniquely designed for those with tangential to no classroom or young child experience, as well as those planning to go into or seeking to improve their teaching. Taking “whole child” stances, students will gain real world experience volunteering in K-4 spaces. Assignments will include the development of an educator journal. (Path@Penn description is slightly outdated)
URBS 2080: PENN - WEST PHILADELPHIA SUMMER INTERNSHIP
Instructor: Ira Harkavy
Summer enrollment is limited to students interning with the Penn Program for Public Service Summer Internship. This course is also available for students every fall and spring semester under AFRC 1780/HIST 0811/URBS 1780. This seminar helps students develop their capacity to solve strategic, real-world problems by working collaboratively in the classroom, on campus, and in the West Philadelphia community. Students develop proposals that demonstrate how a Penn undergraduate education might better empower students to produce, not simply "consume," societally-useful knowledge, as well as to function as caring, contributing citizens of a democratic society. Their proposals help contribute to the improvement of education on campus and in the community, as well as to the improvement of university-community relations.