Community Engaged Learning (CEL)
Community Engaged Learning (CEL) at Western partners with local and international organizations to mobilize knowledge and exchange resources in order to address critical societal issues. By engaging students, staff, and faculty in meaningful experiential learning opportunities, CEL helps meet community defined needs while promoting students’ sense of civic engagement and social responsibility. These partnerships help extend Western’s reach beyond campus and foster excellence and innovation in teaching and learning.CEL offers a number of valuable benefits to students, including:
- Meaningful connections to local and international communities
- Context to apply academic learning outside the classroom
- Hands-on experience to aid in building a resume
- Development of critical thinking skills
- Enhanced understanding of diverse cultures and communities
- Opportunities to learn/practice transferable skills including communication, teambuilding, and problem-solving
- Increased sense of civic engagement and social responsibility
For more information, visit the Careers & Experience website.
Community Engaged Learning Opportunities for Arts & Humanities Students:
Languages and Cultures:
SPANISH 2200- Intermediate Spanish and SPANISH 3300 –Advanced Spanish Language
Faculty Member: Ana Garcia-Allen (Course Coordinator)
Team Offered: Fall and Winter Terms (1.0 credit)
Course Description: Spanish 2200: Combining grammar and communication this course prepares students to discuss, read and write about a variety of topics and to explore ideas about Hispanic culture in relation to their own. Includes a Community Service Learning option. Spanish 3300: Further development of oral and written skills with systematic acquisition of vocabulary and selective grammar review. Based on a multimedia and communicative approach, this course aims to develop fluency. Discussions, readings, and writing will focus on the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. Includes an optional Community Service Learning component.
French Studies
Rwanda: Culture, Society and Reconstruction
Henri Boyi
Immerse yourself in an experiential learning opportunity of a lifetime in Rwanda. This course is based in the Department of French Studies in Rwanda and offers our students the opportunity to serve in an international social and cultural setting. Course work will prepare students to deal with issues related to the history and culture of Rwanda, and will offer an in-depth look at a number of contemporary social issues. Guest lecturers will be invited to speak to the class. A stay in Rwanda of four to six weeks will be required for the completion of the course. Students will also work with agencies that offer community services in London in order to gain local experiential and service learning before going to Rwanda.
For more info visit the French Studies website
Philosophy:
PHILOSOPHY: Philosophy of Food
Benjamin Hill
The course aims to present certain philosophical reflections on food and give the students a better understanding of the food system as well as its vast implications for us individually and the world at large. Issues dealt with in the course for example include human rights violations, treatment of animals, moral and political dimensions of genetically modified food, hunger and obligation to the poor, the role of food in gender, personal and national identity, and what role does food play in the good life.
Previous Projects Include: Helping to facilitate workshops for families in our community on how to cook healthy and nutritious meals with limited financial resources; Doing research on the use of food stamps in our community to determine whether this is an effective solution to food security; Developing tools for a county food hub that will outline the benefits of purchasing local foods and supporting local food products.
