ABCS 2006-2007

Fall 2006 - ABCS Courses

Undergraduate Courses

WRITING MULTICULTURALISM (FRESHMAN SEMINAR)

ANTH 009 314 - Peggy Sanday

Diversity is a fact of life, characteristic not only of the US national culture but of the global culture as well. This course introduces anthropological theories of culture and multiculturalism and the method of ethnography. Students will read and report on selected classic readings. After learning the basic concepts, students will be introduced to the concept of culture and the method of ethnography. The core of the course will revolve around "doing ethnography" through participant/observation in multicultural settings. Students can use their life experience, home communities, or Penn as their field of observation. The goal of the course is to introduce beginning students to public interest anthropology. No background in anthropology is required.

PENN AND WEST PHILADELPHIA, 1930-2005

EDUC 245 001/URBS 327 401 - John Puckett, Richard Redding

This experimental ABCS seminar gives students access to specialized resources, including the Philadelphia City Planning Commission and the University Archives and Records Center (UARC), for original research that contributes to a fuller understanding of Penn's enlightened self-interest and social responsibility in West Philadelphia. Our goals are threefold: 1) to examine Penn's expansion and involvement in West Philadelphia since World War II, the period that marks Penn's rise as a world-class research university; 2) to view the University's motives and actions in the context of West Philadelphia's history in the Cold War and Global Society eras; 3) to initiate a social survey of West Philadelphia neighborhoods that provides important new knowledge to inform decision making at Penn, whose future is contingent on the quality of life in these neighborhoods. As the seminar's main project, students will construct neighborhood profiles that track changes in racial/ethnic composition and critical quality-of-life indicators across the past six decades; and they will assess how and to what extent Penn has influenced these changes—for better, worse, or nil. Class meetings will include, among other activities, a tour of West Philadelphia neighborhoods and presentations by West Philadelphia community leaders and Philadelphia city planners.

ELEMENTARY SOCIAL STUDIES AND SCIENCE METHODS

EDUC 245 002 - Nancy Lee Bergey

Using the ABCS format, students will learn the foundations, skills and practices of elementary school social studies and science teachers in the classroom, while putting the knowledge to work in an innovative science social/studies environmental project at the Penn-Alexander school.

TUTORING IN SCHOOLS: THEORY & PRACTICE

EDUC 323 401/URBS 323 401

This course represents an opportunity for students to participate in academically based community service involving tutoring in a West Philadelphia public school. This course will serve a need for those students who are already tutoring through the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project or other campus tutoring. It will also be available to individuals who are interested in tutoring for the first time.

URBAN ENVIRONMENTS: PREVENTION OF CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING (CWIC and BFS)

ENVS 404 401/HSOC 404 401 - Rich Pepino

In ENVS 404, students learn about the epidemiology of lead poisoning, the pathways of exposure, and methods for community outreach and education. As an ABCS course, Penn students collaborate with middle school teachers in West Philadelphia to engage eighth graders in exercises that apply environmental research about lead poisoning to their homes and neighborhoods. This seminar consists of lectures, readings, student presentations, group work, discussions, research, and community service. For their community service, students develop and teach six lessons on childhood lead poisoning in eighth grade classes in West Philadelphia. They also participate in the annual Healthy Philadelphia Girl Scout Day event, for which Penn students design and facilitate lead education activities.

THE BIG PICTURE: MURAL ART IN PHILADELPHIA

FNAR 222/622 401/URBS 222 401 - Jane Golden

The history and practice of the contemporary mural movement couples step-by-step analysis of the process of designing and painting a mural. In addition, students will learn to see mural art as a tool for social change. This course combines theory with practice. Students will design and paint a large outdoor mural in West Philadelphia in collaboration with Philadelphia high school students and community groups. The instructor, Jane Golden, is the founder and Director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

URBAN UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS (BFS)

HIST 214 401/URBS 078 401/AFRC 078 401 - Ira Harkavy, Lee Benson

Inspired by Penn's founder, Ben Franklin, President Amy Gutmann has identified rising to the challenge of a diverse democracy and educating students for democratic citizenship as critical goals of her administration. Since the present undergraduate curriculum falls short in this regard, the seminar aims to synthesize numerous, unrelated, academically-based community service courses into an effectively integrated curriculum. As now envisioned, the new Penn curriculum developed by the seminar would have as a significant component, thematic, problem-solving clusters, i.e., interrelated, cross-disciplinary, complementary sets of courses designed to stimulate and empower students to produce, not simply consumer, societally-useful knowledge. By societally-useful knowledge, we mean knowledge actively used to solve universal strategic problems of democracy and society, schooling and society, health and society, poverty and society, environment and society, culture and society, etc., as those universal problems manifest themselves locally at Penn and in West Philadelphia/Philadelphia.

AFRICAN AMERICAN & LATINO ENGLISH (DIST II: HIST & TRAD)

LING 160 401/AFRC 160 401 - William Labov

An introduction to the use and structure of dialects of English used by the African American and Latino communities in the United States. This is an academically based community service course. The fieldwork component involves the study of the language and culture of everyday life and the application of this knowledge to programs for raising the reading levels of elementary school children. Students will tutor children at Drew Elementary School as part of the Urban Minorities Reading Project.

CONCEPTS IN NURSING: PROMOTING HEALTHY LIFESTYLES I

NURS 104 001 - Barbara Riegel

This introductory clinical course deals with health promotion and disease prevention with healthy and at-risk individuals in the community. Students will address the theoretical component of the course in weekly seminars. The clinical component focuses on the communication techniques and basic clinical skills and technologies used to assess health status, promote health and prevent illness. Students integrate theoretical concepts and clinical skills and apply them in a variety of community settings, focusing on health promotion and disease prevention with healthy and at-risk individuals.

ISSUES IN NUTRITION, EXERCISE, & FITNESS

NURS 376 001 - Stella Volpe

An examination of the scientific basis for the relationship between nutrition, exercise and fitness. The principles of exercise science and their interaction with nutrition are explored in depth. The physiological and biochemical effects of training are examined in relation to sports performance and prevention of the chronic diseases prevalent in developed countries. Students will evaluate a subject's health risks based on genetic and dietary factors and develop a nutrition and exercise plan addressing those riskes alterable through lifestyle changes. Students will also monitor and critique media reports of sports nutrition research.

THE POLITICS OF FOOD

PSCI 135 301/HSOC 135 401/GAFL 135 401 - Mary Summers

This seminar will explore the politics that shape food production, marketing and consumption. Community service projects will involve opportunities to research and address problems in several different arenas: campus cafeterias, the West Philadelphia schools, anti-hunger campaigns, food workers' organizing efforts, and impact of food industry advertising on diets. A focus on case studies of leaders who are making a difference in the politics of food will include several guest speakers, who work on food related health, labor, farming, technology, and globalization issues.

CITIZENSHIP AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT (BFS)

PSCI 291 301 - Henry Teune

This is an idea generating, research seminar focused on Penn as a case study examining and assessing the contributions of colleges and universities to the democratic development of their students, communities, and societies. Faculty from other departments of SAS and other Schools will participate. Three objectives will be pursued. First, discussions about citizenship and democracy will be based on readings and research on what colleges and universities as well other institutions say they intend to do or are actually doing about education for democracy. Attention will be given to the proceedings and publications of the Council of Europe and its 2005 European Year of Citizenship through Education in which Penn is involved. Second, the seminar will collect and analyze data gathered from a questionnaire that will be administered to target populations of Penn undergraduates. The data collected last year will be integrated with these new data on the democratic values, knowledge, and competencies of Penn students. Third, students will be organized into research teams and go into the near neighborhoods of Penn to assess what impact it is having on building the foundations for democratic life in those localities. The target locations will supplement those that were studied last fall. Papers and presentations will be based on the information and analyses generated in the seminar as well as the records of two previous seminars

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN DEVELOPMENTAL PSCYHOLOGY

PSYC 386 301 - Christine Massey

This class will focus on observational methods of studying children, with attention to the entire scope of the research process. Readings and class discussion will be aimed at supporting the research projects which each student will do. Working individually or in groups, students will define a research question relevant to some issue in Developmental Psychology, develop an appropriate observational measure, use the measure to observe young children in a naturalistic setting, and analyze and interpret the findings.

CULTURE, ARTS & MEDIA

URBS 336 401/SOCI 336 401 - David Grazian

The purpose of this ABCS course is to examine the development of art, culture and media in cities, with an emphasis on the role that local organizations play in neighborhood communities and art publics. Through classroom readings and discussions, students will explore a variety of sociological approaches to the analysis of urban culture, neighborhood life and public policy, and develop a set of fieldwork tools useful for the ethnographic study of local urban processes. Upon acquiring these research skills, students will conduct several hours per week of community service work in a variety of local nonprofit arts and other cultural institutions in West Philadelphia, with the two-fold purpose of benefiting the surrounding community while researching the role of the organization and its constituents in the city’s overall cultural development.

THE COMMUNITY ALGEBRA INITIATIVE

MATH 122 001 - Idris Stovall

This course allows Penn students to teach a series of hands-on activities to 9th grade students in an algebra class at Sayre High School. The semester starts with an introduction to successful approaches for teaching math in urban high schools. The rest of the semester will be devoted to a series of weekly and bi-weekly hands-on activities designed to teach fundamental aspects of algebra in real world and practical contexts. During the first class meeting of each week, the students enrolled in the course review the relevant mathematical background and techniques for a hands-on activity. During the second session of each week, Penn students will teach the hands-on activity to a small group of high school students. The Penn students will also have an opportunity to develop their own activity and to implement it with the high school students as well.

THE COMMUNITY PHYSICS INITIATIVE

PHYS 137 - Nigel Lockyer, Bill Berner

The goal is to develop a course that links practical and theoretical attributes of some fundamental physics concepts to engage students in significant research and service activities between Penn students and students at University City High School (36th and Filbert Street). Physics 137 will contribute to the enhancement of research and teaching as well as to improving the quality of life in our community. The idea is that the Penn students will learn the physics topics in greater detail in order to effectively communicate and interact with the high school students in order to deepen their understanding and ideally be resource, mentor, and ambassador to make the concepts even more relevant. Penn students will develop novel teaching techniques that emphasize demonstrations as a means of teaching tool. This class will meet twice per week (on Tuesdays and Thursdays). The meeting times for this course must reflect the time of the high school class time, which is being determined. Be on the lookout for this great course and opportunity!

Graduate Courses

PUBLIC INTEREST WORKSHOP

ANTH 516 401 - Peggy Sanday

This is an interdisciplinary workshop sponsored by Peggy Reeves Sanday (Dept of Anthropology), Michael Delli Carpini (Dean of Annenberg), and Ira Harkavy (Director, Center for Community Partnerships). Open to graduate and advanced undergraduate students, the workshop is a response to Amy Gutmann's call for interdisciplinary cooperation across the University and to the Dept. of Anthropology's commitment to developing public interest research and practice as a disciplinary theme. The workshop will be run as an open interdisciplinary forum on framing a public interest social science that ties theory and action. Students are encouraged to apply the framing model to a public interest research and action topic of their choice. Examples of public interest topics to be discussed in class and through outside speakers include how education and the media reify public interests, the conflation of race and racism in the public sphere, the role of diversity, community action and service learning in higher education, and the contradictory relationship between individual and ethnic identity.

HEALTH PROMOTION INTRODUCTION

DENT 508 (full year course) - Joan Gluch

Lectures, seminars, clinical sessions and community experiences are provided so that students gain the necessary knowledge and skill regarding the philosophy, modalities, rationale and evaluation of oral health promotion and disease prevention activities in community and public health. Course topics include personal wellness theory and practice; etiology, early detection and prevention of dental caries, periodontal diseases and oral cancer; and assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of community oral health programs.

LOCAL & GLOBAL PUBLIC & COMMUNITY HEALTH

DENT 612 (full year course)

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.

PRACTICUM IN COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION I

DENT 712 (full year course) - Joan Gluch

Experiences in selected community settings provide students with the opportunity to develop and expand their skills in community oral health promotion. Students are scheduled in a local elementary and/ middle schools and participate in the oral health education, screening and referral program under the direct supervision of faculty members. In addition, students complete activities from a selected list of programs at local community agencies and/or schools. Students attend small group seminars to discuss their experiences and theoretical underpinnings of community oral health activities.

PRACTICUM IN COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION II

DENT 812 (full year course)

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.

PRIMARY CARE CONCEPTS IN URBAN HEALTH

NURS 656 (Corequisite: NURS 657) - Ann O’ Sullivan

Intended for nurses planning a career in primary health care practice, this course includes lectures, discussions and readings focused on health, social, economic and professional factors influencing health care delivery. It is a companion course to NURS 657.

Spring 2007 - ABCS Courses

Undergraduate Courses

CULTURE CLASH (FRESHMAN SEMINAR, DIST I: SOCIETY)

ANTH 115 301 - Paula Sabloff

This course is designed to introduce students to the connection between anthropology, philosophy, and personal experience. Starting from the anthropological position that many of the social problems of our time are the result of conflict between or within cultures, we will read anthropological accounts-ethnographies-of problems such as globalization, cultural survival, class and ethnic conflict. We will also read the political philosophers from Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith to Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu) quoted by the anthropologists. In this seminar, students will form their own social theory by integrating the readings with first-hand experience in the West Philadelphia community as they perform community service. In this ABCS course, they will turn their personal experience into an anthropology practicum, seeing social theory and anthropology operating "on the ground".

ANTHROPOLOGY AND POLICY: HISTORY, THEORY, AND PRACTICE

ANTH 305 401/ANTH 609 401/URBS 409 401 - Paula Sabloff

From the inception of the discipline, anthropologists have applied their ethnographic and theoretical knowledge to policy issues concerning the alleviation of practical human problems. This approach has not only benefited peoples in need but it has also enriched the discipline, providing anthropologists with the opportunity to develop new theories and methodologies from a problem-centered approach. The class will examine the connection between anthropology and policy, theory and practice (or 'praxis'), research and application. We will study these connections by reading about historical and current projects. As an ABCS course, students will also volunteer in a volunteer organization of their choice in the Philadelphia area, conduct anthropological research on the organization, and suggest ways that the anthropological approach might support the efforts of the organization.

SOUTH ASIANS IN THE UNITED STATES

ASAM 209 - Fariha Khan

This course begins with a historical survey of South Asian immigration in the U.S. It continues with a broad look at cultural, social, and political issues which confront the South Asian American community today, issues such as citizenship and transnationality, minoritization, economic opportunity, cultural and religious maintenance and adaptation, changes in family structure and gender roles, and generational shifts. It concludes with an examination of the emergence of a body of creative writings by South Asians in America as an expatriate Indian literature of exile and as American immigrant and ethnic literature.

LEARNING BIOLOGY BY TEACHING BIOLOGY (BFS)

BIOL 150 - Ingrid Waldron, Jennifer Doherty

Prerequisite: One semester of college biology or 5 on the AP exam or 6 or 7 on the IB exam. This ABCS course counts as one of the "4 additional cu" for the Biology major.

In this course, Penn students teach a series of hands-on activities to students in biology classes at West Philadelphia High School. Most weeks will have the following schedule. On Mondays, 10-12, Penn students will learn the relevant biological background and techniques for a hands-on activity (in Goddard Lab 102). On Wednesdays and/or Fridays, each Penn student will lead a small group of West high school biology students in carrying out the hands-on activity. On average, we will teach in West only once a week, but the teaching sessions are scheduled for Wednesdays and Fridays to ensure that you will be available on whichever day is needed to accommodate the high school schedule. West Philadelphia High School is located on Walnut Street between 47th and 48th Streets (enter on 48th Street). Each high school teaching timeslot includes one hour of teaching at West and 10-15 minutes for transportation between Penn and West. We will begin the semester with several classes concerning successful approaches for teaching biology in urban high schools. Then we will start our series of hands-on activities that teach the high school students fundamental aspects of genetics, evolution, anatomy, physiology and other topics in the high school biology curriculum. Requirements for Penn students include quizzes on the assigned reading, a research paper on a topic related to one of our hands-on activities, and grading two sets of the weekly quizzes for high school students and preparing brief reports concerning the strengths and weaknesses of our teaching and the high school students' learning that week.

THE ART OF ARGUMENT AND PERSUASION

CLST 135 - Weber

This course prepares students to serve as paid CWiC speaking advisors who assist Penn students with classroom presentations. The course does so by exploring what makes speaking persuasive and how oratory functions and putting that exploration into practice. 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 and group presentations, students analyze and critique a variety of examples of oral communication, including those of their peers.

POVERTY, RACISM, AND CRIME IN WEST PHILADELPHIA AND WHAT SHOULD PENN DO DEMOCRATICALLY TO OVERCOME THEM?

CPLN 506 401/URBS 403 401 - Anthony Tomazinis, Ira Harkavy, Richard Gelles, Henry Teune, Van McMurtry, and Lee Benson

This seminar will have a unique structure and significant resources to study a real and vibrant community. West Philadelphia from the Schuylkill River to 63rd Street, to Hook Road in Eastwick to City Line in Overbrook, an area of about 30 square miles, more than 210,000 residents, and more than 55,000 jobs. This research seminar will be inter-disciplinary with more than a dozen Departments and Programs participating, providing more than twenty-five (25) senior faculty members. The seminars will be a mix of actual field research work undertaken by the participating students under the guidance of experienced faculty members and theoretical discussions in the classroom with teams of faculty members.

BIOENGINEERING IN THE WORLD

EAS 280 401/BE 2801 401 - Dawn Elliott

Open to all majors at Penn, this course explores the wide-range of bioengineering applications 'in the world' and then takes these concepts 'into the world' by teaching them to a small group of students at University City High School. Students will learn fundamental concepts behind bioengineering applications such as Gene Therapy, Stem Cells, Neuroengineering, Tissue Engineering, Biomechanics, Imaging, and Medical Devices. They will also develop effective methods for teaching technical concepts. At the high school, the Penn students will perform hands-on activities with the high school students, discuss ethical questions related to each topic, and explore career options.

DESIGN, VISUALIZATION, AND CONSTRUCTION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

EAS 282 001/ BE 280 001 - Norman Badler

This course will examine the various multimedia tools and technologies that are used in the design, construction and planning professions when designing community development projects. Over the course of the semester, students will use the 3D modeling and animation application SketchUp to generate a community development project of their own design. This project will serve as a platform for students to examine how development projects move from concept to reality through the involvement of four significant parties: the developer, the design professionals, the community and the construction manager. In addition to multimedia tools and technologies, students will examine the socioeconomic forces that influence site selection and project function, the architects’ and engineers’ design processes from concept sketches to detailed plans and building sections, the impact a project can have on its community and the environment, and finally the construction bid process and the construction manager’s handling of the project once awarded the job.

URBAN EDUCATION

EDUC 202 401/URBS 202 401 - Cheryl Jones Walker

Through an examination of national and state policy formulation regarding public education, and an examination of issues, concepts and characteristics of urban public school systems, this course is intended to help address the question of whether urban public schools as presently constituted and conducted can bring about an equitable society.

TUTORING URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

EDUC 326 401/URBS 326 401 - John Fantuzzo

The course provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to participate in academically based community service learning (ABCS course). Student will be studying early childhood development and learning while providing direct, one-to-one tutoring services to young students in Philadelphia public elementary schools. Students will be required to spend a minimum of two hours each week tutoring a student in a Philadelphia public elementary school for at least 10 weeks in the semesters. The course will cover foundational dimensions of the cognitive and social development of preschool and elementary school students from a multicultural perspective. The course will place a special emphasis on the multiple contexts that influence children’s development and learning and how aspects of classroom environment (i.e., curriculum and classroom management strategies) can impact children’s achievement. Also, student will consider a range of larger issues impacting urban education embedded in American society. The course structure has three major components: (1) lecture related directly to readings on early childhood development and key observation and listening skills necessary for effective tutoring, (2) weekly contact with a preschool or elementary school student as a volunteer tutor and active consideration of how to enhance the student learning, and (3) discussion and reflection of personal and societal issues related to being a volunteer tutor in a large urban public school. This course also meets core requirements for students interested in Urban Education Minor.

SCIENCE IN ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS

EDUC 421/ENVS 421 - Nancy Lee Bergey

In this ABCS course, undergraduate students work in a West Philadelphia public school classroom as the students in that classroom learn science and social studies skills, and apply them to environmental content. In a program called, “Learn Locally, Share Globally” the public school students will be learning about their local environment, and sharing what they have learned, electronically, with students who live in a different part of the world. An active blackboard forum allows all members of the Penn class to follow what is occurring in the classroom throughout the week. The content of our readings, discussions, and activities in class prepare students to teach science or social studies in elementary and middle schools, but are also closely tied to our work in the school. The course provides a good background for Penn students who expect teach as a part of their work, especially in a science-related field (environmental studies, medicine, landscape architecture, etc.) It also satisfies the requirement for a science and social studies “methods” class in the elementary strand of the Urban Education Minor.

TRADING FOURS: THE LITERATURES OF JAZZ

ENG 080 401 - Herman Beavers, William Lowe

Jazz is most often understood as a musical genre, but this team-taught course will commence from the assumption that jazz is, first and foremost, a conversation. The substance of that conversation can vary of course, ranging across history, politics, romance, and what it means to be (and seek to remain) human. Students will become involved in this conversation, first by learning that jazz originates out of local circumstance, which means that we will pay close attention to Philadelphia as an important chapter in the jazz story. From there, we will proceed by utilizing readings from numerous forms of cultural mediation—fiction, poetry, autobiography, album liner notes, reviews, film, and oral narrative—as a prelude to making our own contributions to the jazz conversation. To that end, students will undertake to write reviews, make their own films or photographs, participate in live jam sessions, create and perform poems, all of which will occur as they interact with Philadelphia high school and middle school students and members of the jazz communities of Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. Writers and musicians in the course will include Ishmael Reed, Louis Armstrong, Toni Morrison, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, August Wilson, John Coltrane, and Wynton Marsalis.

PREVENTION OF TOBACCO SMOKING (CWIC and BFS, Local middle school visits required)

ENVS 407 401/HSOC 407 401 - Richard Pepino

Cigarette smoking is a major public health problem. The Centers for Disease Controls reports that more than 80% of current adult tobacco users started smoking before age 18. The National Youth Tobacco Survey indicated that 12.8% of middle school students and 34.8% of high school students in their study used some form of tobacco products. In ENVS 407, Penn undergraduates learn about the short and long term physiological consequences of smoking, social influences and peer norms regarding tobacco use, the effectiveness of cessation programs, tobacco advocacy and the impact of the tobacco settlement. Penn students will collaborate with teachers in West Philadelphia to prepare and deliver lesson plans to 4th through 6th graders. The undergraduates will survey and evaluate middle school and Penn student body smoking usage. One of the goals of this course is to raise awareness of the middle school children to prevent addiction to tobacco smoke during adolescence. The collaboration with the middle schools gives the Penn students the opportunity to apply their study of the prevention of tobacco smoking to real world situations. Course requirements include regular attendance at all lectures, a thorough comprehension of the course readings, participation in class discussion, application of the readings and lectures to a problem-oriented research project. Each student will be required to identify a problem associated with tobacco addiction, marketing, legislation or health risks, and to conduct research on that issue, for a final paper and a formal presentation.

THE BIG PICTURE: MURAL ART IN PHILADELPHIA

FNAR 222/622 401/URBS 222 401 - Jane Golden, Don Gensler

EXPLORING LOCAL MEMORY AND TRADITION

FOLK 321 401/URBS 327 401 - Mary Hufford

In this ethnography-based service learning course we explore the integral role of traditional verbal and material arts in the lives of elderly men and women in Philadelphia communities and neighborhoods. We begin with theories of culture, community, and identity found in the literature of folklore, anthropology, and gerontology, and move from there into historic and ethnographic overviews of relevance to the community we will be working with. We then explore approaches to fieldwork and ethnography, with special attention to techniques of participant observation, interviewing, interpretation, and the ethical dimensions of fieldwork. Applying these methods, students develop a research and writing project that serves the needs of a collaborating Philadelphia community. Students gain critical thinking skills from the readings, discussion, and weekly writing assignments, while learning the complexities of communicating across cultural difference.

The fieldwork component for the Spring of 2006 focuses on the verbal arts and storytelling traditions of a community of Liberian elders who meet at a senior center in West Philadelphia. Working with elderly Liberian refugees to create a collection of their traditional tales and life histories, students will learn to apply ethnographic and oral historical skills and perspectives. Students will work with the elders to prepare for an evening of traditional storytelling on campus at the Kelly Writer’s House in early April. During the month of March, students will visit the Agape Senior Center one morning per week (Mondays or Wednesdays), in addition to meeting on Friday afternoons. This one and a half credit ABCS course, which fulfills the general distribution requirement in Society, is a great opportunity to become involved with a West Philadelphia community while helping to ameliorate the crisis of displacement that is particularly acute for elderly refugees.

URBAN UNIVERSITY-COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS (BFS)

HIST 214 401/URBS 078 401/AFRC 078 401 - Ira Harkavy, Lee Benson

AMERICAN NATIONAL CHARACTER

HIST 443 - Michael Zuckerman

Who ARE the Americans, anyway? And are they still what they once were? The course will consider some classic and modern theories of American identity. It will address some allegedly quintessential expressions of this elusive, perhaps essential idea, in Puritanism, Jefferson, Franklin, and Whitman. And it will examine contemporary West Philadelphia to see if the old characterizations still apply in a new day (or ever did apply outside small-town American among affluent white males). Work in, and observation of, a local school will be an integral part of the course.

THE SOCIOLINGUISTICS OF READING (DIST I: SOCIETY, Prerequisite: LING/AFRC 160 or permission of instructor)

LING 161 401/ AFRC 161 401 - William Labov

This course will be concerned with the application of current knowledge of dialect differences to reduce the minority differential in reading achievement. Members will conduct projects and design computer programs to reduce cultural distance between teachers and students in local schools and to develop knowledge of word and sound structure.

THE COMMUNITY MATH TEACHING PROGRAM

MATH 123 001 - Idris Stovall

This course allows Penn students to teach a series of hands-on activities to students in math classes at University City High School and Sayre High School. The semester starts with an introduction to successful approaches for teaching math in urban high schools. The rest of the semester will be devoted to a series of weekly hands-on activities designed to teach fundamental aspects of geometry. During the first class meeting of each week, the students enrolled in the course review the relevant mathematical background and techniques for a hands-on activity. During the second session of each week, Penn students will teach the hands-on activity to a small group of high school students. The Penn students will also have an opportunity to develop their own activity and to implement it with the high school students as well.

CONCEPTS IN NURSING: PROMOTING HEALTHY LIFESTYLES II

NURS 106 001 - Eileen Sullivan-Marx

This course focuses on health promotion and disease prevention across the health-illness continuum for healthy and at risk individuals in the community. Students build on their previously mastered communication techniques and clinical skills to develop comprehensive assessment skills and to define needs among specific at risk groups in a family and community context.

In weekly seminars, students integrate theories of behavior and health, epidemiologic principles, clinical decision making, and critical thinking skills. Theories are applied utilizing case studies and data sources to develop health promotion and disease prevention strategies. A key component of the course is the development of communication and physical assessment skills and specified clinical techniques. The influence of gender, life span, culture, race, and ethnicity on health promotion and disease prevention is specifically addressed throughout the course.

INTERNATIONAL NUTRITION: POLITICAL ECONOMY OF WORLD HUNGER

NURS 316/NURS 516 - Janet Chrzan

A detailed consideration of the nature, consequences, and causes of hunger and undernutrition internationally. Approaches are explored to bringing about change, and to formulating and implementing policies and programs at international, national, and local levels, designed to alleviate hunger and undernutrition.

CRIME/SCIENCE/INSTRUCTION: CSI AND SCIENCE IN HIGH SCHOOL

NURS 5XX - Kathleen Brown

This course is designed to introduce the forensic science aspect of selected crimes investigations to High School students. High School students will be introduced to the science of DNA and the science of forensic toxicology via an established chemistry class. H.S. students will also be introduced to how a crime scene is investigated. Students in the course will develop and deliver appropriate teaching plans to high school students. Students in the class will work in two groups within the course to develop science based teaching plans. Under the guidance of faculty in the course, students will design and implement a teaching plan related to the science of DNA or the science of forensic toxicology.

THE POLITICS OF POVERTY AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE U.S.

PSCI 139 401/ HSOC 139 401 - Mary Summers

This academically based community service seminar will ask students to think broadly about the problems associated with urban poverty and inequality in the United States at the turn of the twenty-first century and the possibilities for addressing these problems in a significant fashion. We will look at how theories of poverty have shaped policy debates with a special focus on the issues of education, low wage work, health, nutrition, and social safety net programs. Students will evaluate these theories and policies in the light of selected readings and their own experience working with community groups, institutions, and federal programs in Philadelphia. A focus on the role of leadership in politics will include guest speakers.

Graduate Courses

HEALTH PROMOTION INTRODUCTION

DENT 508 (full year course) - Joan Gluch

LOCAL & GLOBAL PUBLIC & COMMUNITY HEALTH

DENT 612 (full year course)

PRACTICUM IN COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION I

DENT 712 (full year course) - Joan Gluch

PRACTICUM IN COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION II

DENT 812 (full year course)

ACCESS AND CHOICE IN HIGHER EDUCATION

EDUC 541 - Laura Perna

This course will explore critical issues pertaining to who goes to college and who goes to what type of college. The course will begin with an examination of the theoretical perspectives that are used to understand college enrollment and choice processes. Then, the implications of various policies and practices for college access and choice will be explored, with particular attention to the effects of these policies for underrepresented groups. The following are among the topics that will be discussed:

* The demographic characteristics of college enrollments;

* Economic and sociological approaches to college enrollment behavior;

* The role of social and cultural capital in the college enrollment process;

* The effects on college enrollment of public policies related to open admissions, affirmative action, student financial aid, higher education finance, pre-college outreach programs, and K-16; and

* The changing nature of college admissions.

PRIMARY CARE OF THE MIDDLE AGED AND OLDER ADULT

NURS 647 (Prerequisite: NURS 657. Corequisite: NURS 646)

Management and evaluation of primary care problems of middle-aged and older adults in a variety of ambulatory and occupational settings. Opportunity to implement the role of the nurse practitioner with middle-aged and older adults and their families in the community. Interdisciplinary experiences will be pursued & collaborative practice emphasized. Students are expected to assess and begin to manage common chronic health problems in consultation with the appropriate provider of care. The initiation of health promotion & health maintenance activities with individuals and groups is stressed. Includes 16 hours a week of clinical experiences with a preceptor.

CLINICAL MANAGEMENT OF PRIMARY CARE WITH YOUNG FAMILIES

NURS 659 101 - Victoria Weill, Marianne Buzby

Assessment and treatment of the young child in ambulatory care settings is the focus of this developmentally organized course. This course provides the nurse practitioner student with the necessary knowledge and experience to assist individuals with the most common health problems, including acute episodic illness as well as stable chronic disease. The concepts of health promotion andhealth maintenance are integrated throughout the curriculum. Using a developmental framework, the maturational tasks and problems of children and their families in relation to illness and health are explored.

CLINICAL PRACTICUM IN NURSING OF CHILDREN II

NURS 723 - Terri Lipman, Janet Deatric

This clinical course focuses on the implementation of the roles of the advanced practice nurse in tertiary care pediatrics. Applications of nursing, biological and behavioral science are emphasized in the clinical assessment and management of acutely ill children and their families. The student gains the necessary clinical management skills to provide specialized care to acutely ill children and to assist their adaptation and the adaptation of their families. The adapted ABCS version of this course restructures an existing clinical course for Pediatric Nursing of Children nurse practitioner students to increase the community experience. This will be accomplished by the NP students participating in the Sayre High School Medical Intake Class and assuming leadership in the area of growth assessment. The NP students will educate Sayre students about growth as an indicator of health, normal and abnormal patterns of growth, the importance of accurate growth assessment, accurate linear and weight assessment, documentation and how to begin clinical decision making skills related to growth disorders. Sayre students will then acquire growth assessment as an important medical intake skill to utilize in the after school program and in employment in health care settings in the future. Children participating in the after school program will have the benefit of accurate growth assessment and documentation. Within the context of this proposal, high school students will also be exposed to advanced practice nursing as a career.

Provost’s Advisory Committee on Community Engaged Scholarship

PENN STUDENTS: click here to browse opportunities to engage with the West Philadelphia community!

ABCS 2006-2007