The course probes the social and cultural institutions and production of modern Latin America through the concepts of Encounter, Identity, Nation, and Welfare. Readings, lectures, discussions, and media presentations are integral components of the course. The objective of the course is to introduce students to the region, institutions, and cultural production of Latin America. Students will become familiar with the physical, political, and cultural boundaries of the region and then examine modern Latin America through the use of case studies, primary source materials, discussion, and current research.
Students engaged with the local Latino community by working with the Hispanic Apostolate and Delgado Community College (ESL Programs), Urban League College Track, Puentes New Orleans (Latino Civic Engagement Activities), and For the Children at Sophie B. Wright.
LAST 1020
Introduction to Latin American Studies II
Various
The course probes the social and cultural institutions and production of modern Latin America through the concepts of Creativity, Exchange, Land, and Peoples. Readings, lectures, discussions, and media presentations are integral components of the course. The objective of the course is to introduce students to the region, institutions, and cultural production of Latin America. Students will become familiar with the physical, political, and cultural boundaries of the region and then examine modern Latin America through the use of case studies, primary source materials, discussion, and current research.
Students engaged in ESL teaching and tutoring, literacy tutoring in local public schools, or Latino leadership and activism activities through local non-profits.
LAST 3000
Race, Gender and Sexuality in Brazilian Ethnography
Annie Gibson
This course will explore gender, race, and sexuality in Brazil through ethnography, theoretical texts, and film. This course has three primary goals: examining theories of gender, race, and sexuality (U.S., European, Latin American, etc.), exploring ethnographic representations of gender, race, and sexuality in Brazil and, lastly, exploring the outcomes associated with how these analytics are socially constructed and understood.
Students worked in small groups to research, write, and produce a radio program on a topic that has relevance both to the course and to the local community. This radio program was broadcasted on WTUL on the Community Gumbo program.
LAST 3950
Brazucas: Enthonology of Brazilian Immigrants in the United States
Annie Gibson
This course will explore the social issues that affect Brazilian immigrants in the United States. During the semester we will theorize immigration as both a social and policy issue in U.S. culture as well as analyze Brazilians’ immigration and adaptation to life in the U.S.
Students worked with LatiNOLA and other community-based organizations in development projects geared to reaching Brazilian Immigrant audiences. Examples of such work included: creating flyers and information about social and health services that is catered to Brazilian audiences, working with ESL classes that are Brazilian-based, helping local Brazilian samba schools with costume design, and conducting research for LatiNOLA on the Brazilians living in NOLA.
LAST 4951
Food, Immigration, and Culture
Sarah Fouts
Course goals for the service learning oral history project with the Southern Food and Beverage Museum are twofold. First, we will learn technologies and methodologies for keeping records of the past through oral history and ethnography. Second, we will learn skills of analysis and production of oral histories for digital formatting. Objectives to reach these goals include: learning different kinds of field methodology in collecting data on foodways; understanding and discussing the positionality of the researcher in the field; collecting data (oral history and ethnographic field notes); identifying key actors and core themes from data collected; editing and transcribing data to submit in the archives for the Latin American Library and SoFAB Library.
Partnering with the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, students will conduct oral history interviews with local chefs, cooks, food establishment owners that represent the immigrant class of the Crescent City.
LAST 4966
Social Justice, Human Rights, and Civic Engagement in the Americas
James Huck
One objective of the course is to engage the scholarly literature on the concepts of “Social Justice,” “Human Rights,” and “Civic Engagement” and to critique how scholars have related these concepts to each other in theory and in practice. Another objective is to develop constructive civic participation that transforms power structures mitigating against justice and human rights in a context characterized by counterproductive social conflict and long-standing social and cultural antagonisms. A third objective is to study and debate social justice in specific case study contexts that have particular relevance across and between the countries of the Western Hemisphere. And a fourth objective is to have students engage in community service locally in New Orleans where the ideas of social justice and fundamental human rights form the core motivation for action.
Public Services Fellows platform course
LAST 4966
Service, Citizenship & Education in the Americas
James Huck
One objective of the course is to engage the scholarly literature on the concepts of “Service,” “Citizenship,” and “Educational Pedagogy” and to critique how scholars have related these concepts to each other in theory and in practice. Another objective is to develop constructive civic participation that views education as a vehicle for community service. A third objective is to study and debate the concepts of service, citizenship, and education in specific case study contexts that have particular relevance across and between the countries of the Western Hemisphere. A fourth objective is to have students engage in community service locally in New Orleans.
Public Services Fellows platform course
Linguistics
LING 3000
Language Revitalization: The Case of Tunica, Louisiana’s Sleeping Language
Judith Maxwell
Through this course, students will (a) arrive at a definition of language endangerment and language death; (b) determine symptoms, both cultural and in terms of language structures, that are indicative of language shift and/or death; (c) determine which measures influence language sustainability and revitalization (e) become familiar with the laws, national and international, that govern language rights; (f) learn about and be able to implement effective methods of second language teaching; (g) gain FSI level two competence in spoken Tunica; (h) assist the Tunica nation in their revitalization efforts through serving as teachers aids for the Tunica Language Summer Camp.
Students will assist a Tunica elder or educator from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the Tunica Language Summer Camp in Marksville (one week), teaching the language and engaging in cultural activities with Tunica children
LING 3700
Second Language Acquisition
Amy George-Hirons
This course is intended to familiarize students with the field of Second Language Acquisition, including a history of the field’s origins, discussion of recent theories of second language acquisition and an overview of approaches to research methodology in this field.
Students will work closely with an English as a Second Language class and reflect critically on the language acquisition process of the ESL students with whom they will be working. The Service Learning experience will allow Tulane students to see the theories that they study in class in action and will turn theory in to practice.
LING 4110
Brain and Language
Harry Howard
The goal of this course is to learn how the brain is organized to produce and comprehend language and to understand linguistic disorders attendant on brain damage. There is an optional service learning component in which students can work with a speech therapist at a local health-care provider.
Students observed classes/students in order to develop learning aids.
The overall goal of this course is to educate students in the process of socially responsible philanthropy through a social justice lens. Being a socially responsible philanthropist requires the ability to think strategically in a way that incorporates a thorough understanding of community needs and cultural contexts, as well as working as part of a team to understand (1) how to identify and research grantee agencies, (2) how to balance agency needs with foundation and donor interests, (3) how to encourage and develop relationships with agency representatives and community partners, and (4) how to develop a socially effective philanthropic strategy for investing the foundation’s money.
Students will “become” (for a semester) members of the board of directors of a fictional foundation that has the opportunity to analyze community issues related to children and families, to evaluate nonprofit agencies that have strategies for addressing these issues, and to devise investment strategies to most effectively distribute foundation dollars.
Music
APMS 2170/2180
Marching Band
Barry Spanier
This course offers students the opportunity to rehearse and perform music and marching in a collegiate marching band. Objectives are to combine high-level musical and visual performance to create interesting and entertaining presentations suitable for parades, concerts and other venues. Spring semester focuses on Mardi Gras parade performances, technique improvement, and special events for the University and community.
Students worked with local school and community band organizations through tutoring.
APMS 2180
Orchestra
Maxim Samarov
This course aims to improve and develop large ensemble playing skills and general musicianship skills.
Students coached community string players either individually or in sectionals settings.
APMS 2210/2213
Voice
Amy Pfrimmer
One 50-minute private lesson per week (2 credits). Students assigned to guitar, piano or voice class meet for two 50-minute classes each week (2 credits); all beginners must start with a class.
Students with musical aptitude worked one-on-one with community partner participants on musical proficiency. Other students assisted in other areas, such as academic tutoring.
MUSC 1900
New Orleans Music
Matt Sakakeeny
This course is intended as an introductory survey of New Orleans music, including jazz, brass band, Mardi Gras Indian, rhythm and blues, funk, and hip-hop, through an intensive exposure to existing research, field trips, and occasional visits from local researchers and musicians. Musical socialization – the role of young people in extending the city’s musical traditions – will be a running theme throughout the course and will connect the course materials to the optional service learning project.
Students gained firsthand knowledge of musical socialization - the role of young people in extending the city’s musical traditions - by interacting with students and instructors at the Roots of Music afterschool music program for middle-school children.
Philosophy
PHIL 1010
Introduction to Philosophy
Shawn Loht
The service-learning option for the course will place students into public service that benefits the New Orleans community. Both of our partners are non-profit organizations which rely heavily on volunteer help and grassroots marketing. Their missions include promoting the health and wellness of the community, particularly demographic sectors of the New Orleans community that are lacking in needed infrastructure. Completion of the twenty (20) service hours in conjunction with the required coursework will help students reflect on real-world application of issues in social and political philosophy such as justice and the human good. A portion of students’ course grade will be assessed on their ability to synthesize their service experience into the topics of our course, via reflective essays/journals and an informal class talk.
Hollygrove Market: Holly Grove is equally a store, an urban farm, and a marketplace for local and regional farmers to sell their product. Holly Grove is a leader in New Orleans for the local foods movement. Service work for Holly Grove may consist of packing merchandise in the store, prep work and clean-up at opening or closing, or assistance at community education programs.
NOLA Trash Mob: modelled in the style of a “flash mob”, NOLA Trash Mob is a collective of volunteers who converge once a week to do garbage pickup at neglected sites in New Orleans. The service work students complete for this organization will consist of garbage collection and neighborhood cleanup. The course objectives will be reinforced by the service work with these partners by virtue of having students reflect on the various social goods the organizations foster. Insofar as the course focuses significantly on the philosophy of social and communal human life, students will be directed to use their service work as a way to reflect on political and social structures all citizens need and use.
PHIL 1030
Ethics
Shawn Loht
Read, interpret, and critique seminal texts in Western philosophy, with particular emphasis on the concepts of virtue, duty, individual vs. public goods, human nature and the good life.
The service component of the course will provide a foil for considering the philosophical concepts studied in the course and their significance for contemporary life. Through their service work, students will assist a social organization whose mission promotes quality of life for the populace of New Orleans.
PHIL 1210
Elementary Symbolic Logic
Nancy Lawrence
This class introduces one to formal techniques for evaluating arguments. These are the principles that underlie all sound reasoning.
Students train middle school debate teams, and act as judges for a city-wide middle school debate program that is run by Tulane students. The students’ ability to learn and judge formal debates will be particularly useful in helping them learn translation from English to formulas, which, in turn, will help them to become skilled at using formal systems and proof techniques. Additionally, judging the debate format will help students to master the skill of identifying both valid and invalid arguments, which is one of the core concepts of the course.
PHIL 2930
Gender and Philosophy
Nancy Lawrence
Students will gain a much deeper, first-person understanding of the ways in which gender oppression manifests itself, and the ways in which gender oppression can be intertwined with, and even inadvertently promoted by, other types of oppression, i.e., racial oppression, heterosexism, etc.
Students will be required to apply and to reflect upon some of the theories of oppression we are studying via their participation in a local organization’s efforts to address the topics covered in the course. Organizations vary each semester.
PHIL 3500
Buddhism
Hans Gruenig
This course examines the metaphysical, epistemological, religious, and psychological dimensions of Buddhism, while also tracing its development from India into Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and the West.
Students worked to improve the lives of members of a suffering and/or underserved population.
PHIL 393x
Environmental Ethics
Keith Silvermann
The course will engage students toward a general understanding of ethics and of the means and goals of its exercise relative to issues of the environment. It will, moreover, involve students in environmental field activities wherein they actively exercise these understandings. Students will work to grow in the necessary knowledge and skill sets to responsibly and effectively participate in the care and shepherding of the environment and its various members, animate and inanimate alike.
Students researched and compiled a database of commercially viable species in the Gulf of Mexico and each of the five Gulf states, as well as information on all species of ecological importance to them.
PHIL 393x/6930
Moral Psychology
Alison Denham
A better understanding of the causal genesis of our moral determinations is intrinsically valuable. However, moral psychology also has practical significance, for that understanding can enable us to make better choices in social policy (e.g., in education, social services and criminal law) and to better adjudicate the ethical conflicts that mark our relations with other communities and cultures as well as conflicts between different factions within our own community.
Students mentor in various one-to-one mentoring programs for at-risk youth as a way to explore the issues discussed in class.
PHIL 6933
Topics in Aesthetics
Alison Denham
This course addresses traditional debates in the philosophy of art concerning meaning and value, but locates these in the challenging context of contemporary art forms that have come to prominence in the past 100 years, including but not restricted to installation and performance art, conceptual art, and poly-tonal and atonal music.
Students offered support services to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Contemporary Arts Center. Students helped with the planning, organizing, and publicizing revolving exhibitions and assisted with the planning and implementation of arts education programs.
Political Economy
PECN 6030
Legal Ethics
Alison Denham
The course addresses the ethical standing of the legal advocate's practices within the adversary system, in both civil and criminal contexts. The focal question will be: “When, if ever, and how, if at all, does the system of adversarial advocacy legitimate the transgression of legitimate moral requirements?”(Put differently: Do lawyers possess a special license to lie and cheat in the fulfillment of their professional duties? If so, what is the proper scope of this license?)
Students partnered with a local organization, Court Watch NOLA, where they were given a case proceeding to watch in court on an assigned day. At the conclusion of the proceeding, students completed a data sheet recording what happened and their general impressions about the proceedings.
Political Science
POLA 3010
Big Easy Politics
Michael Sherman
The objective of this course is for students to examine the level of government with the greatest impact on the daily lives of Americans – local government. Specifically, we will focus on the politics, functions, and governmental structure of the City of New Orleans.
Working through the City agency charged with fighting blight, the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, students aid the City in eliminating blighted lots. Students will be given a portfolio of vacant lots, and working with a City employee, determine which strategy is most appropriate to get each lot back into commerce.
POLA 3220
American Presidency
Thomas Langston
The objective of this class is to introduce students to the systematic study of presidential power and responsibilities. We will examine how the institution of the presidency came to be the office that it is, and how it fits into the broader system of American and world politics.
Students worked with the New Orleans Health Department to promote a temporary, president-funded, post-Katrina health insurance program (GNOCHC) that supports uninsured people who are not eligible for Medicaid. Students learned in a highly practical way about the “street-level” consequences of presidential politics and policy making.
POLA 4010
Policy Research Shop
Brian Brox
Students will create a policy brief .
Students will be matched with an office in City Hall wherein they will continue to conduct projects identified by the agency or office. In addition, they will work specifically on obtaining information necessary for their policy brief.
POLA 4010
Politics of Environmental Justice
Melissa Harris-Perry
This course will explore the intersection of social justice and environmental stewardship, with particular attention to issues of environmental justice. Students will learn the history of environmental justice and its relationship to the larger environmental movement. Students will also explore the political and ethical issues underpinning environmental justice work and develop the ability to reason about issues of environmental justice.
Students will undertake an expansive needs study of food availability in New Orleans. The students will act as the primary researchers for this project, conducting research and completing a needs assessment report with policy recommendations. The raw data and final report produced by the students will be shared with our community partner to be used in crafting further recommendations to city and state officials.
POLA 4011
Interest Groups
Christina Kiel
This course examines how organized interests form and are maintained, and the multiple functions of organized interests throughout the U.S. political system.
Students will act as consultants to a small, membership-based, advocacy-oriented organization (e.g. Puentes New Orleans), developing a membership development plan and fundraising strategies.
POLA 4011
Politics of Education Policy
Jennifer Lay
This course examines: the relationship of the federal, state and local governments in the creation and implementation of policy in local schools; the roles of agencies and organizations which have historically influenced educational policy; the current education policy controversies; the values and ideologies that permeate discussion of education and school reform.
Students will work in groups to conduct research and write briefs for the Cowen Institute for Public Education Initiatives.
This course examines the intersection of public policy and invention. In particular, we will explore public policy responses in the United States to new technologies and new scientific truth claims. Public Service Activity: Students will help meet general volunteer needs of Hope Lodge (guest assistance/relations, planning guest activities for the Hope Lodge, front desk assistance), but the main project will be for students to create an informational booklet that contains various online resources (especially financial aid). The booklet will be created through students’ own research, but also through opinions from the guests’ and families’ feedback on the most helpful resources. The booklet will also contain a write up on how current public policy and technology affects what cancer treatment is available or approved by FDA or not.
POLC 4310
Mexican Politics & Government
Mary Love
Students will gain a deeper understanding of Mexican government and political processes. They will better understand the nature of U.S.-Mexican relations, and the main issues in the bilateral relationship. Students will research a topic that is relevant to both Mexican politics and the local New Orleans community.
Students worked with the Stone Center Latin American Radio Initiative to produce radio programs on a topic that had relevance both to Mexican politics and to the local community.
POLC 4520
Comparative State Building
Martin Mendoza
This course will explore the nature of state authority and the processes by which different types of states emerged at different moments in world history and in different regions of the world, as well as how the nature of states has evolved over time.
Students assist the Loyola Law Clinic's efforts to educate undocumented illegal immigrants detained in Louisiana through the Know Your Rights campaign.
POLI 2500
Intro to International Relations
Martin Mendoza
This course offers an introductory analysis of basic factors influencing international politics, organization and law.
Students support the core activity of Puentes New Orleans, a local community development organization focused on the Latino population. Students’ work ranged from office work helping coordinate community meetings and training sessions to a more hands-on participation in these meetings and activities.
POLI 4030
Comparative Foreign Policy
Alla Rosca
The primary purpose of this course is to engage students in a lively debate about comparative foreign policy. Why do states act different during historical periods of time? Does the foreign policy decision-making process depend on internal factors, on the political system and on the form of government, on political leaders and interest groups? Students will seek to answer these questions through an interdisciplinary approach towards formation and change in foreign policy through the lens of comparative foreign policy analysis.
Students actively participated in planning and organizing activities with The New Orleans Citizen Diplomacy Council and World Affairs Council of New Orleans. Students arranged a variety of meetings for the delegations from abroad, planned and organized round table discussions, and provided tours of New Orleans.
POLI 4600
Latin American International Relations
Casey Mary Love
This course deals with relations among Latin American nations as well as those with the United States, Europe, Japan, and multinational institutions. This class will cover international issues such as trade, security, human rights, immigration, and environmental politics as they relate to Latin America.
Students produced radio programs on contemporary issues in U.S.-Latin American relations in conjunction with the Stone Center Latin American Radio Initiative.
POLI 6530
Human Rights at Home
Geoffrey Dancy
This class will serve both as a comprehensive introduction to the history and theory of international human rights, and as an in-depth examination of how human rights law and social movement activism is incorporated into local practice in and around the New Orleans area.
By analyzing human rights theory through service learning, students will gain a practical understanding of the benefits and challenges of appealing to universal human rights norms in the conduct of political campaigns for change.
POLS 1010
Introduction to Politics
Various
This course serves as an introduction to the principles and practice of political life in a variety of domestic and international contexts.
Students assisted the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) in finding outlets for data dispersal regarding coastal restoration issues. Students focused on different geographic areas of the country and learned how these areas rely on the Gulf Coast region.
POLS 3010
Politics of Immigration
Mary Love
In this course, students will utilize a variety of learning methods to explore why immigration is such a controversial issue, the major push and pull factors contributing to immigration into the United States, and the outcomes of various policy responses. This course will focus primarily on immigration from Latin America to the United States.
Students tutored ESL to mostly Mexican and Central American immigrants through the Delgado Community College program.
POLS 6950
Law & Politics of Domestic Violence
Sally Kenney
This course allows students to explore current thinking about domestic violence and its impact on adult participants, children, and families. Emphasis is placed on understanding theories about what causes domestic violence and effective intervention strategies for assessing and eliminating violence in families. Topics include sociocultural, intrapersonal, and interpersonal explanations for domestic violence; the co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse; and strategies for effective intervention with batterers, victims, and children.
Students monitored domestic violence cases for the Tulane University Law School Clinic on Violence Against Women, in cooperation with the emerging non-profit organization CourtWatch, a partner of the Louisiana Chapter of the National Organization for Women. Students contributed their observations to the larger movement to monitor judges and courts in domestic violence cases, made recommendations, and developed policy based on what they observed.
POLT 2700
Political Thought in the West
Gary Remer
The objective this course is to bridge the gap between theory and practice by focusing on issues of social justice in the Bible vis-à-vis secular, mainstream political theory. To bridge the gap between theory and practice, students will consider why the goal of social justice is important in both the Bible and secular political theory, whether the activities intended to promote social justice differ in each, and if and/or how the theory and practice of social justice vary between the Hebrew Bible and New Testament.
Students will participate in ameliorating poverty in the Greater New Orleans area by working together with organizations whose work for justice is rooted in and nourished by the prophetic values of the Hebrew Bible and the vision of social ethics delineated in the New Testament. These organizations tentatively include, but are not limited to, Avodah: The Jewish Service Corps, Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, and the New Orleans Mission
POLT 3780
Introduction to Feminist Theory: Perspectives and Controversies
Menaka Philips
The core objectives of this course are to: (1) familiarize students with key theories and debates within feminist scholarship; (2) apply the theoretical knowledge attained to enhance service in the community; (3) synthesize theoretical and practical knowledge to think critically about the diversity of experiences surrounding gender identity, and about ways of improving/enhancing individual’s lives through service in the community.
Students partner with Eden House to apply the theoretical perspectives discussed in class to real-world experiences. Students will gain awareness not only of organizational approaches to issues of gender politics, but will themselves contribute to addressing those issues through their work in the organization.
Social Innovation/Social Entrepreneurship
SISE 2010
Introduction to Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship
Various
The class introduces students to the concepts, strategies, and approaches to social change, and addresses necessary skills required of social entrepreneurs and others working to make change in communities around the world. Further, we look at cases of social entrepreneurs, innovators, and visionaries who are coming up with novel methods to address a variety of social issues utilizing different organizational forms, operating in different national and local contexts.
Each student will work with a pre-selected community partner for a minimum of twenty (20) hours. The four 2010 sections sections work with three different partners: GrowDat (two sections), As and Aces (one section), and Playworks (one section). Each of these organizations provides students with real world examples of social entrepreneurs and provides direct experience.
Sociology
SOCI 1050
Introduction to Education and Society
Stephanie Arnett
This course is an introduction to sociological research, concepts, and theories about education. In the course, the purpose and function of education for the individual and society are critically considered, and a substantial amount of time is spent discussing the links between education and inequality. Students will gain an appreciation of the role of schools as powerful determinants of the opportunities that individuals experience in modern societies.
Students were matched with students and/or teachers at the Sojourner Truth Academy. Students established one-on-one mentoring relationships with students, worked in coordination with teachers in classrooms, and/or developed specialized after-school programs.
SOCI 1300
Criminology
Stephen Ostertag
This course emphasizes the public’s perception of the crime problem and various sociological measures of amounts and trends of criminal behavior in society and causal and non-causal theories of criminality. The sociological implications of various selected offenses will also be explored.
Students worked along-side the New Orleans Public Defender and observed the differences in resources afforded indigent defendants and others. Students recorded what they witnessed and learned from the Public Defender. This information was recorded in journals and used in a larger paper project on inequality and the criminal justice system.
SOCI 2100
Introduction to Education and Society
Stephanie Arnett
This course is designed to provide an introduction to sociological research, concepts, and theories about education. In the course, students will critically consider the functions of education for the individual and society and will spend a considerable amount of time discussing the links between education and inequality.
Students worked at Sojourner Truth Academy.
SOCI 6010
Race, Crime, and Control
Stephen Ostertag
Course time will be spent learning about the social construction of race, the creation of urban racial ghettos, and the role of law enforcement and law making in the control of people of color.
Students will work along side members of the Justice and Accountability Center of Louisiana on former prisoner reentry, recidivism and record expungement. Students will work on a number of projects, including social media outreach, research for advocating for removal of reentry barriers that will be used in Baton Rouge to argue for changes in policies, and the coordination of local organizations to work together toward smoother reentry processes.
SOCI 6330
Sociology of Education
Carl Bankston
In this course, students will examine the social functions of educational institutions, the role of education in the American social and economic structure, and major controversies and debates concerning educational policy as social policy.
Students served as reading buddies in the reading room at Lafayette Academy.
Spanish and Portuguese
PORT 3280
Advanced Portuguese Through Brazilian Cinema
Annie Gibson
The objectives of this course are: -To increase students’ historical and cultural knowledge of Brazil and the Portuguese-speaking world. -To further develop student's proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Portuguese through the use of film and the creation of podcasts. -To give students the opportunity to interact directly with Brazilians outside of the classroom. -To educate the public on topics related to Brazil and the Brazilian community in New Orleans.
Students interviewed Brazilian community members and created podcasts for radio broadcast through the Enlaces program.
SPAN 1010
Elements of Spanish I
Various
The overall goal of this course is for students to develop proficiency in the four language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) essential to communicative language learning. The course uses a task-based approach which provides the learner with opportunities to use the language interactively.
Students served as tutors for the Hispanic Apostolate’s English as a Second Language program.
SPAN 1020
Elements of Spanish II
Various
The overall goal of this course is developing proficiency in the four language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) essential to communicative language learning. The course uses a task-based approach which provides the learner with opportunities to use the language interactively.
Students worked with Benjamin Franklin Elementary schools Spanish classes and ESL program.
SPAN 1120
Intensive Introduction to Spanish
Various
The overall goal of this course is for students to develop proficiency in the four language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) essential to communicative language learning. The course uses a task-based approach which provides the learner with opportunities to use the language interactively.
Students served as tutors for the Hispanic Apostolate’s English as a Second Language program.
SPAN 2030
Intermediate Spanish
Various
The overall goal of this course is for students to develop proficiency in the four language skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) essential to communicative language learning. The course uses a task-based approach which provides the learner with opportunities to use the language interactively.
Students served as tutors for the Hispanic Apostolate’s English as a Second Language program.
SPAN 2040
Spanish Conversation and Composition
Linnette Reed
This course is designed to help students develop oral proficiency in Spanish through the study and analysis of recorded, visual, and written texts, as well as a variety of pair and group activities. Special emphasis is placed on pronunciation, vocabulary acquisition, and a review of Spanish grammar and syntax.
Students served as tutors for the Hispanic Apostolate’s English as a Second Language program.
In this course, students will complete analysis and practice in the written language. This course fulfills the college intensive-writing requirement for Spanish major speakers.
Students worked as teacher's aids in either an ESL course or elementary Spanish courses at Benjamin Franklin Elementary school.
SPAN 3040
Grammar and Writing in Spanish
Carolina Caballero
This section of 3040 is specifically designed for heritage speakers of Spanish. Students will develop both enhanced writing and speaking skills in Spanish over the course of the semester as they work through the finer points of Spanish grammar and learn to communicate at an Intermediate-High or Advanced-Low level according to the ACTFL scale.
Students will be working with the local organization Puentes in the Escalera program sponsored by National Council de la Raza to promotes economic mobility for Latino youth by increasing educational attainment, career planning, and access to information about advanced careers.
SPAN 3150
Introduction to Latino Studies
Isabel Caballero
This course serves as an introduction to the cultures of Latino and Hispanic communities in the United States and the Caribbean from the early 20th century to the present, with special emphasis on the contemporary period. A critical analysis of written texts, visual arts, and cinema will guide the students in the investigation of past and current polemics of Latino history, social movements, and cultural heterogeneity.
Students were partnered with a Latino non-profit community agency working directly with the Latino/Hispanic population and helping to meet community needs.
SPAN 3300
Spanish for the Health Sciences
Various
This course introduces students to Spanish for the health sciences. Spanish majors and minors interested in the health professions are encouraged to enroll, along with pre-medical and public health majors and minors.
Students worked as volunteers in local medical facilities such as Covenant House adult and pediatric clinics, Pillsbury Clinic, TU Clinic at Cohen H.S., Ochsner and Children’s Hospitals.
SPAN 4120
Social Problems in Latin American Literature
Maureen Shea
In this course, students will discuss the chief problems of Latin American society as reflected in poetry, short fiction, essay, and theatre. Discussions will include works concerning the Mexican revolution; the social status of women, Indians, and blacks; the life of urban and rural working classes; tyranny and political repression.
Students worked with the Hispanic Apostolate, where they interviewed current staff members about the history of the organization and Latino community in New Orleans and compiled a written history of the agency for PR and fund-raising purposes.
SPAN 4170
Contemporary Spanish Cinema
Tatjana Pavlovic
This class examines the construction and deconstruction of political, economic and social myths in Spain through works of most important contemporary Spanish film directors.
Students will create sophisticated educational resources for Spanish cinema courses and a Spanish Film Club geared primarily towards elementary school students (first and second grade).
SPAN 4520
Fortunata y Jacinta: Social Class and Culture in 19th Century Spain
Kathleen Davis
Spanish cultural studies apply interdisciplinary approaches to the study of popular and mass cultural forms. This course allows students to explore the role of culture in nation formation, the organization of leisure time through the culture industry, culture as a site of power, concepts of high and low culture, and how various cultural systems cut across boundaries of class, race, religion, and gender.
Students volunteered at local women's shelters such as Crescent House and Metropolitan Center for Women and Children. Students created activities for clients, worked with case workers, and tutored children.
SPAN 6010
Methods of Teaching Spanish & Portuguese
Amy George-Hirons
This course is a general survey of applied linguistics, teaching and testing methodology, and language laboratory use.
Students created Spanish lesson plans and taught medical Spanish to students at the New Orleans Job Corps.
SPAN 6060
Hispanic Bilingualism
Harry Howard
This course aims to teach students about the sociology of language from specific cases of language content and bilingualism in the Spanish-speaking world. Student will learn about Spanish in many varied social settings, as well as about first and second language acquisition; language maintenance, shift, and death; code switching; speech production and processing; and bilingual education and language policy.
Students served as tutors for the English as a Second Language program, specializing in conversation.
Theater and Dance
DANC 3330
Pedagogy
Alice Pascal Escher
Course objectives are: to know and understand the National Dance Standards (NDS); to incorporate NDS vocabulary and principals in teaching; to observe and analyze dance teaching as a means to synthesize information for modeling; to demonstrate the ability to structure a dance class and create lesson plans for different populations and settings; to analyze and self-reflect as a means to improve teaching and learning; to demonstrate the communications skills necessary to be an effective teacher.
Students will have the opportunity to assist Dana Brewer, dance teacher at Lusher Charter School, in working with classes K-5 or the after school dance troupe depending on the students' schedules.
DANC 4900
Building Community through the Arts
Barbara Hayley
This course will be taught in coordination with courses offered at Xavier University and Dillard Universities. The course examines the theory and practice of community-based arts, civic engagement in higher education, and the relationship between art and community development.
Students worked in teams with students from Xavier University, with local artists on Home, New Orleans: a multi-disciplinary, art and community development project grounded in the 7th Ward, Central City, and Lakeview.
THEA 3701
Shakespeare on the Road
Chaney Tullos
Students in this course will create, rehearse, and perform a piece of theatre that demonstrates Shakespeare’s style and modern-day relevance. This piece will tour to middle and high schools in the New Orleans area.
Students engaged the community by setting up, performing, and discussing the work with the audiences.
Urban Studies
URST 2010
The City I
Carol Reese
The course studies the historic development of municipal services in early twentieth-century cities, particularly in U.S. cities in the period that some historians have termed the City Scientific. The impact of Jim Crow laws and de facto segregation on U.S. cities is a prominent topic.
Students worked with the NOLA Department of Sanitation to observe and participate in the operations of a key municipal department. Students worked with Longue Vue House and Garden’s outreach activities in the Pontchartrain Park and Gentilly Woods neighborhoods (Pontilly) of New Orleans.
