FAA391 Spring 2009
FAA 391: Action Research Seminar:
Community Engagement in East St. Louis
Instructor: Abby Harmon
Office: 325 Noble Hall
Phone: 265-6341
Email: abbilyn@gmail.com
Meets: Tuesdays & Thursday 12-1:15PM, 322 Noble Hall
Plus trips to East St. Louis as needed
Credit hours: 3
This course is designed to offer undergraduate students the opportunity to develop research skills and an appreciation for applied research directed toward everyday needs in distressed urban communities. The class has a unique structure that combines the benefits of lecture/discussion with applied research projects that have tangible benefits for the community. Projects in the Fall 2008 semester will focus on developing an understanding of how social conditions affect, and, in turn, are affected by physical conditions of an area. Students will conduct physical and social analysis in pre-existing sites and neighborhoods in Champaign-Urbana using observation and interview methods to collect data. Students will also use these methods in a developing site in East St. Louis—The Eagle’s Nest—to collect site- and neighborhood-specific data. Students will use this data to formulate physical and social recommendations for The Eagle’s Nest and the surrounding neighborhood. Upon completion of the course, students will have an understanding of action research principles, data collection and analysis methods, and key arguments on structural racism, homelessness, and community development.
Fall 2009 Syllabus
Resource Guide
Readings:
Week 1 (1/20-1/22)
Week 2 (1/27-1/29)
Week 3 (2/3-2/5)
Week 4 (2/10-2/12)
Week 5 (2/17-2/19)
Week 7 (3/3-3/5)
Week 8 (3/10-3/12)
Week 9 (3/17-3/19)
See the video we made for the Orange Thumb Grant
Last updated on 4/22/2009