COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: EMPOWERING PEOPLE, EFFECTING CHANGE Fall, 2008 Chris Hunter JRC 203 Carnegie 114 T Th 8:00-9:50 ext. 3135 Goals of the Course: This tutorial has three major goals. Our first goal is to investigate community organizing – efforts by people working together to improve their neighborhoods, their communities, and their workplaces. "Organizing," writes activist Si Kahn, "is people working together to get things done." We will focus our attention particularly on the organizer and on the organizing effort itself, asking such questions as: Why do people become community organizers, union organizers, or social activists? How does their activism affect them? What are the skills and roles of a good organizer? Since people have a lot of other things to do in their lives, how do effective organizers and leaders build organizations by getting people to participate actively? Should people "do" organizing? Whom should they organize? We will try to answer such questions by analyzing a range of material on organizing, including biographical writings, case studies of organizing attempts, documentary films, and manuals for activists, I have selected written works which provide a sense of the experiences these people have undergone and which employ different ways of discussing such experiences: one of the books is journalistic, another one is autobiographical, one is a manual for organizers, some of the articles are sociological. In addition, we will view number of documentary films (for instance, on Boston’s Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative) to obtain other perspectives on organizing; and you will be able to select from among other kinds of material, such as biographies, novels, and organizational web sites, for the final project of the tutorial. We will be interested in each work's form, as well as its content; in the difficulties of composition which it illuminates; and in its emotional and intellectual impact upon us. The second goal of the tutorial is to improve your ability to write clearly, concisely, and correctly. In and out of class, we will discuss questions of writing, especially your own writing. In some cases, I will meet individually with you to discuss your own papers; in other cases, we will meet in small groups or as one group to discuss papers and paper-writing. You will be able to read some of each others’ work and to rewrite your papers after hearing how others react to your prose. In the process, we will focus on such issues as how your view of your audience influences how you write. Because communication is often oral, rather than written, our third goal is to improve your ability to speak cogently and to participate effectively in class discussions. All of us need to become more comfortable and effective speaking in groups, so we will devote time in class and in small groups to working on our skill in discussion and presentation. Each of you will have the opportunity to make oral presentations in class, to act as the discussant of someone else's presentation, and to act as discussion leader. Actually, we have a fourth goal as well: to facilitate your successful adjustment to college and to Grinnell College in particular. Requirements of the Course: You will write a number of graded papers during the course, at least two of which everyone will rewrite. Rewriting is a necessary element of good writing, but rewriting is a learned skill, so I may ask you to rewrite more than two of your papers. Most of these papers will be quite short (two to three pages) and will be based on the material we will discuss in class. One paper will be somewhat longer, from five to six pages, and will require additional reading. I will ask you to reflect on your writing periodically during the semester, both in general appraisals at the beginning and end of the semester and in reflections about specific papers. You will also write one short reaction paper, the “reading memo” I describe in the end of the syllabus. This memo will help you prepare for class discussion. I will read them and may comment on them but I won't grade them with a letter grade. We will share the readingCommunity Organizing: Empowering People, Effecting Change 2 memos so you can see better how to write a useful memo. In addition to these written assignments, you will have a number of oral and aural assignments. In some cases, you may act as a discussion leader or discussant, or participate in a debate or panel discussion in class. At the end of the course, you and two other members of the class will jointly prepare a presentation on one case which you have chosen and which no one else in the class has studied. In fact, the final sessions of the course will focus on cases which members of the class will choose, with class discussion based on your papers and presentations. I strongly recommend that everyone go to the Writing Lab early on in the semester to obtain more feedback on your writing. I may ask that some of you sign up for credit, as well. Required Texts: Stout, Linda. 1996. Bridging the Class Divide and Other Lessons for Grassroots Organizing. Rogers, Mary Beth. 1990. Cold Anger: A Story of Faith and Power Politics. Senu, Rinku. 2003. Stir It Up: Lessons in Community Organizing and Advocacy. Recommended: Fulwiler, et al. 1996. The College Writer’s Reference. Fisher, Robert (ed). 1994. Let The People Decide: Neighborhood Organizing in America. Medoff, Peter & Holly Sklar. 1994. Streets of Hope: The Fall and Rise of an Urban Neighborhood. Warren, Mark. 2001. Dry Bones Rattling: Community Building to Revitalize American Democracy. Approximate Course Grade Calculation short papers (3) x3 longer paper x3 oral presentations x1 class participation x3 TOTAL x10 Where appropriate, I will not stick strictly to this formula when I calculate course grades. WEEK READING ASSIGNMENTS & CLASS AGENDA ASSIGNMENTS DUE 8/28 Thursday Initial organizational meeting