One of the first accomplishments of the New York City Civic Engagement Program was the design and implementation of the "Theorizing Civic Engagement" seminar offered through the American Studies Department in Fall 2003. This course has been subsequently taught each spring and will reappear in the course catalogue in Spring 2007 taught by Prof. Jonathan Reider (Sociology). As part of the course syllabus, students are placed in not-for-profit or other community-advocacy internships and build upon those experiences through reading and discussion of relevant literature to create a stronger understanding of civic engagement in New York City.

The "Theorizing Civic Engagement" seminar complements existing courses that educate students in the theories of activism, the political economy of the non-profit sector, and the relationship between philanthropy and other sociopolitical aspects of contemporary American society. Additional courses through the New York City Civic Engagement Program will focus on targeted issues, such as homelessness in New York City, comparing strategies and issues of civil society and social activism in institutional, political and social settings.

All courses developed through NYCCEP include as part of the syllabus student internships and community service opportunities throughout the semester. This experience is integrated into the syllabus through projects that encourage the critical analysis of the experience and its relationship to social issues in New York City that are linked to national and international issues.

How can faculty incorporate civic engagement into syllabi?

The Program directors build on the momentum established by Prof. Kathryn Jay in developing internship components in several Barnard courses during Fall 03-Spring 04 semesters.  We will work with faculty to arrange any of the following forms of participation:

• As a course component: on-site visits and/or speakers for relevant class sessions.
• As a semester-long component: integrated into an existing course.
• As a resource for new course development integrating civic engagement into the syllabus.
• As a resource for readings and suggested assignments
• Facilitating class participation with speaker series, Causes to Careers or other campus outreach activities.
• Mentoring and helping facilitate internships integrated into capstone research experience.
• Assisting faculty with in-class experiential activities geared toward the development of specific skill sets.