2019 Continuums of Service Conference

Service learning practice has been criticized for emphasizing short-term fixes, charity, and superficial approaches to complex, deeply-rooted social challenges. It is also frequently critiqued for not sufficiently addressing issues of race and class privilege in the service relationship, and for not digging deeply into the systemic nature of power, privilege and oppression. Service learning is a required component of all undergraduate majors at California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB). Building on its commitment to social justice, CSUMB has developed an approach to service learning that makes the examination of issues of systemic privilege and oppression a central component of the curriculum. In developing their service learning courses, each academic program has found ways to integrate these social justice concerns grounded in the knowledge of their discipline. This includes: 1) developing learning outcomes related to issues of identity, power and privilege; and, 2) developing assignments and classroom pedagogical strategies that help students to engage in these difficult, value-rich dialogues. In this session, faculty from diverse disciplines (Statistics, Biology and Psychology) will demonstrate how these social justice concerns are made explicit in their service learning courses. Participants will be given the opportunity to discuss these issues from their own distinctive disciplinary perspectives.