This content was published: June 26, 2014. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Writing 122 Class Provides Insight into Creating Social Change
Posted by Joshua Liebschutz
Writing 122 Class Provides Insight into Creating Social Change
Writing 122 is the culminating composition course at PCC, one that typically focuses on persuasion and argument. This focus led me to thinking about the ways in which persuasive writing can be used to effect real social change. I decided to center the class around the guiding question: “What brings about social change?” The class read essays by a number of activists, including Thoreau, Martin Luther King, and Maya Angelou, to better understand how lasting social change can be accomplished. We had some powerful discussions in class, but at the end of the day, I recognized that discussion needs to be applied in order to have the greatest impact.
How can students change society through writing?
Participating in the Community-Based Learning Cohort this year inspired me to bridge the distance between the classroom walls and the real world. The assignment I created for the students was to pick a social problem that they had personally been affected by, and then to find a way to meaningfully participate with an organization or individual who has been working on that social issue. They could volunteer, interview, or attend a lecture to fulfill the assignment.
The students who were most successful with the assignment chose a topic early in the term and had time to select a meaningful experience. One student, writing about the need to incorporate more physical activity into our lifestyles, participated in a “pedal-powered pub crawl” and interviewed the creators of BrewCycle Portland. Another student, focusing on ADHD in children, attended a support group meeting of parents whose children are affected by ADHD to hear from their perspectives. Yet another student, interested in exploring the topic of homelessness and how it impacts single mothers particularly, volunteered at Union Gospel Mission’s shelter for women in Beaverton. Each student used their project in their final essay, drawing upon their real-world experience as evidence for their proposed solution. This gave them an opportunity to reflect upon their community involvement and gain much more than simply acquiring an academic knowledge of their topic.
Marianne Monson is a Writing and Composition Instructor at Portland Community College
Overall, I consider this assignment to be a great success. It is essential that students be able to recognize how the knowledge they gain in the classroom can be applied in the real-world. Through personal participation, their investment in these topics became significantly enhanced. For a few of the students, the experience helped them to find a new focus for future career goals. The only adjustment I plan to make to the assignment in the future is to help all students identify their topics and projects earlier in the term so that they have more time to find the most meaningful projects.
by Marianne Monson, PCC CBL Cohort Member 2013-2014