Summer 2020 Course Spotlight: Engaged Citizenship
In the Engaged Citizenship course taught by Jonathan Becker, Erin Cannan and Brian Mateo, students from all over the world explored issues related to political participation, civil society, and social justice on both a local scale and a global scale. Through dialogue, reflections, and guest speakers; they heard from people from around the world about what it means to be a good citizen, what responsibility we have to our community, and how students can get involved and lead community organizing. Each student selected an area of focus and developed a "Civic Issue Research Paper" that framed a key policy or civic issue that impacts their local community. Topics included desegregating the NYC Public School System, addressing sexual violence in the school curriculum of Bangladesh and sustainable transportation in Maryland.
The 17 students in this course were from across the globe. This course included students from Ashesi University in Ghana; BRAC University in Bangladesh; Smolny College in St. Petersburg; American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan; the Bard early colleges at Simon’s Rock, New Orleans, and New York City; and Bard Annandale. The diversity of views and experiences that the online platform allowed them to have fostered rich dialogue and reflection.
A student commented, “the online connection that was made from students across the globe taught me more about the activities around the world more than any class would. I cannot encourage students to engage in these classes enough, as they are so helpful in understanding the topics through multiple lenses.”
Post Date: 07-30-2020