Taught By:
Austin Harrison
Assistant Professor of Urban Studies
Rhodes College
Read profile here.
Course Description:
URBN 323: Collective Urban Policy Change is a course that explores power and democracy in the context of urban policy. More specifically, this course examines the topics of issue development, change theory, building power, group dynamics, strategy and tactics, and campaign planning and implementation as they relate to changing specific policies in Memphis. Learn what “doing something” about systemic urban issues looks like and contribute to positive change in Memphis along the way.
What is unique about URBN 323 is that students do urban policy change rather than just learn about it. In a traditional course, students read about theories of urban policy, analyze social problems, read about campaigns, develop an abstract understand of concepts, all with the professor being the “sage on the stage”. In the experiential learning model, students read about theories of social change and apply it to real world campaigns in Memphis, as well as define a social problem and develop concrete, quantifiable solutions (i.e., demands). In this experiential collective action model, students choose and lead campaigns and are transformed through a direct experience of democracy, all with the professor being a “guide on the side” where they are de-centered and co-creators of knowledge.
Student Campaigns:
A key part of the collective action model is that students have the opportunity to enact a policy (i.e., a rule, regulation, norm, or practice of an institution) in the community, with the students choosing and developing the campaigns on their own rather than assigned by the instructor. Another exciting part of this course is that you will hear directly from and work alongside urban policy actors in Memphis.
Another key feature of the collective action model is the topic and flow of the course. The motto of this model is “On Your Mark, Go!, Get Set.” In order to launch the campaigns by mid-semester, students go through the issue development process (identifying demands and targets) in the opening days of the class. By choosing the campaigns by the 4th or 5th class, students have enough time to learn about all of the necessary aspects of social change, and then to launch a campaign by the ninth week, and still have almost half a semester to do several actions.