In this reflection, using the work of Ellen Cushman and Paula Mathieu as a framework from which to extend, I explore how my positionality as a graduate student affected my experience wading into community-engaged literacy work. Specifically, I reflect on my time with a nonprofit organization that provides no-cost legal support and safety planning…

In this forum response essay, the author proposes that the largest challenge "and" benefit of Communication Activism Pedagogy (CAP) is bound up in a small but significant word in Frey and Palmer's (2014) definition of Communication Activism Pedagogy: "with." Working "with oppressed community members" challenges the…

Offering examples from her own experiences, the author advises community-engaged scholars (and those mentors and institutions that support them) to always question assumptions with respect to the communities in which they are engaged. She notes that as they work to unfold research programs, they should be sure to listen carefully to the…

In this interview, Paula Mathieu explores the rhetorical tactics and contemplative practices necessary to cultivate hope in a period of political tumult. Drawing on her scholarship on the "public turn" in Composition Studies, a term she gave us in her vital "Tactics of Hope: The Public Turn in English Composition," Mathieu…

Discusses the distinctions between volunteerism and service and expresses concern about the use of "service" as an umbrella for all forms of civic participation. (JOW)

To educate young people to be productive citizens and to ensure that the democratic objective of equality is realized, service learning must adopt an alternative paradigm that promotes the ideals and values of participatory democracy. Three problematic assumptions of service learning are that (1) good citizenship requires students to "give" back…

Discusses issues and trends in the university's mission of community service. Notes a 1999 leadership colloquium of college presidents which urged student participation in public and community service. Identifies new problems, including civic disengagement and the growing gap between rich and poor. Examines the service learning movement and offers…

Makes the case for the claim that internships in nonprofits often can provide many of the same transitional benefits as internships in industry plus provides practical guidance for professors who oversee internships for business and professional communication students. (SC)

In this article, the authors explore a number of questions about the type and impact of service learning activities in the preparation programs for preservice teachers. They ask "what kinds of experiences are likely to benefit preservice teachers' understanding of collaborative partnerships?" and "what might they learn from preservice teachers'…

Experiential education, and more specifically service-learning, connects students with a different kind of education. Moreover, service-learning provides the opportunity for students to listen to voices seldom heard in academia. Experiential learning and service-learning have taken on an important role in contemporary schooling and are being…

Discusses ways that experiential and service learning can contribute to a sense of community for both resident and commuter college students. Considers the theory and practice of experiential education and ways in which experiential learning can involve commuter students with other students, faculty, and the community. (DB)

A discussion of community service education examines whether or not the background or characteristics of college students working in local programs influences program progress and success. It is concluded that students rarely come from the communities they serve, and that a more important factor is the kind and scope of preparation they are given…

Offers educators and students an integrated model for participation in community service. The model focuses students on community service for an entire semester, during which they gain valuable interpersonal interaction and work experience, and wages for both personal and class time. (YKH)

Discusses a Web-based composition class that requires students to participate in and write about service learning. Suggests that service learning and distance education complement one another--the student-community interaction balances the solitude of distance learning. Stresses that service learning offers a humanizing antidote to Web-based…

Reports on Miami-Dade Community College's experience with service learning and the "America Reads" program, which have proven to be effective and important ways to help fulfill higher education's commitment to community building, scholarship, and civic responsibility. Outlines some of the keys to success in building a successful service…