This two-day, in-person institute at the University of East Anglia will introduce faculty and staff to an experiential learning approach for incorporating social action campaigns into either a semester-long course or co-curricular workshop series. In this transformative experiential learning model, students develop and launch a social action campaign of their choosing during the semester the course is taught. The student campaigns seek to change a rule, regulation, norm, or practice of an institution, whether on campus or in the community.
Our long-term goal is to mainstream this model for teaching active democracy. The world needs more citizens who have developed their knowledge and skills in bringing about positive change through real world experience. While not all of the student campaigns are successful, many have been and those that haven’t succeeded have still taught valuable lessons to those who led them and those who were engaged in one form or another.
Note: we ask that attendees fully participate in our community of practice by making the following commitments.
Host
Dr. Benjamin Little
Associate Professor in Media & Cultural Politics, School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies
University of East Anglia
CLICK HERE to submit your application (Application Due Monday, April 14)
Institute Participants (Accepted To Date)
Andreas Richter
German Institute for Community Organizing (DICO)
Catholic University of Applied Sciences Berlin (KHSB)
Ashley Beckett
Sanctuary in Politics Course
City of Sanctuary
Pablo Dalby
Library and Learning Enhancement (LLE)
University of East Anglia
Rubi Mahmood
Institute of Education
University of Derby
Sarah Rafferty
Student Education & Experience
University of York
Suzanne Hermiston
Centre for Open Learning
University of Edinburgh
Tom Snape
University of Birmingham, Aston University, Birmingham Newman University, Birmingham City University
Zografia Bika
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
University of East Anglia
Linda Enow
Education, Childhood and Professional Studies
Birmingham Newman University
Rebecca Westrup
School of Education & Lifelong Learning
University of East Anglia
Abigail Martinez Renteria
Social Sciences
University of East Anglia
Hannah Hoechner
School of Global Development
University of East Anglia
Helen Pallett
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
Iokiñe Rodríguez
School of Global Development
University of East Anglia
Johanna Forster
School of Global Development
University of East Anglia
Phedeas Stephanides
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
Amy Grant
History Department
University of East Anglia
Andrea Lyons-Lewis
Criminology & Criminal Justice
Nottingham Trent Univesity
Benjamin Jones
History
University of East Anglia
Juvaria Jafri
Politics and IR
University of East Anglia
Malcolm McLaughlin
Area Studies/Politics & IR
University of East Anglia
Marianna Karakoulaki
Sociology
Anglia Ruskin University
Matthew Aldrich
University of East Anglia
Economics
Milton Wendland
Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies
University of South Florida (Tampa, Florida, USA)
Sophie North
University of Sanctuary / FMH
University of East Anglia
Institute Preparation
During the two-day institute, participants will draft a syllabus and develop a teaching and a plan for supporting student campaigns which are launched mid-semester. The institute sessions will be led by Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton, Professor of Sociology at San Jose State University. We will use a flipped classroom model, where participants will be asked to prepare for sessions by reading textbooks CHANGE! A Student Guide to Social Action and CHANGE! A Guide to Teaching Social Action and watching a series of short video presentations on the following topics:
- An Overview of Teaching Social Action
- Organizing Your Class
- Issue Development & Choosing Campaigns
- Change Theory & Building Power
- Research & Group Dynamics
- Strategy & Tactics
- Campaign Kick-Off
- Campaign Plan & Evaluation
Participants will work with a syllabus template which includes guiding questions. We will discuss the pros and cons of revising a course to incorporate social action campaigns or develop a new course that complements an existing course, concentration, minor, major, or certificate program. We will also share the process and lessons learned from prior student campaigns. We welcome participants who want to explore developing a co-curricular social action workshop series embedded into a fellowship or co-curricular or integrated program.
Over the two-days participants will meet each day for discussions about your goals, course models, teaching approach, and sharing examples and exercises that will help you plan your social action course or workshop series.
At the conclusion of the institute, we will invite participants to join a year-long support and networking community of fellow practitioners who are teaching or learning how to teach social action using this experiential, real-world model. The Teaching Social Action Group is hosted by the Bonner Foundation on the Bonner Learning Community Platform to give faculty, staff, and students a forum for asking questions, discussing active student campaigns, sharing successes and challenges, and announcing future opportunities for training, education, and reflection.
Application
There is no registration fee for the Spring ‘25 European Institute on Teaching Social Action. However, we want to restrict participation in the institute to those faculty, staff or students who are committed to implementing this experiential social action course model. Please note that preparing and supporting students to launch their social action campaigns generally takes at least half of the course content and assignments. Some courses are directly on social action and change, while others address a societal issue (e.g., climate change, housing, poverty, etc.) around which students develop their campaigns. From experience, the s
ocial action campaign dimension of these courses takes up roughly half of the course work (readings, assignments, and in-class teaching and group work).
Application Deadline: April 10, 2025