J500 Green Reporting, Green Building, Green Justice

[Nick Benson]

Greetings,

The J500 Green Reporting, Green Building, Green Justice class (a service learning course cross-listed with Architecture and Environmental Studies) has super-low enrollment and is in danger of being cancelled. It has been an incredible experience for grad and undergrad students. 

Can you please promote it to your students/ friends?  We need 5 more students to sign up in order to hold the class. 

I have included a description and links to some of the pieces students wrote for Metropolis and also attached last year's syllabus. 

Many thanks,

s

JOUR 500/ ARCH 600 GREEN REPORTING, GREEN BUILDING, GREEN JUSTICE SPRING 2011

There is more than a verbal tie between the words common, community, and communication. Try the experiment of communicating, with fullness and accuracy, some experience to another, especially if it be somewhat complicated, and you will find your own attitude toward your experience changing.                                                                                John Dewey

 

American philosopher John Dewey articulated three crucial factors in the learning process: (1) the nature of the learner, (2) the values and aims of the society and (3) the wider world of knowledge represented in the subject matter. This was his way of saying that all good teaching should be attuned to (1) the character of students (their interests, problems, developmental nature), (2) the highest values of the society (democratic principles of cooperation, tolerance, critical mindedness and political awareness) and (3) the reflective representation of the subject matter (knowledge across various disciplines that helps the instructor present material in a way that resonates with both students and society). This course attempts to actualize these goals of teaching and learning.

 

The service-learning course offers a new take on embedded journalism through an experiential overview of water scarcity. The class will explore, study and report on drought, greywater capture and environmental stewardship from the inside-out, garnering a unique perspective on how these challenges impact various constituents through reportage for Metropolis magazine.

Classes will meet in Lawrence and Oakland, CA for installation work with the non-profit Greywater Action. This effort will be grounded in contextual understandings of social media, advocacy journalism, water conservation and the specific challenges of low-income communities of color facing environmental injustice.

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110316/water-guns

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110323/beyond-energy

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110330/virtual-lesson

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110419/taking-action

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110426/plastic-pollution

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110503/north-richmond%E2%80%99s-diamond-in-the-rough

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110511/toxic-trends

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110517/whats-in-the-water

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110524/waterlogged-agriculture

http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20110601/a-united-front-for-healthy-waterwayscal)

--
Simran Sethi
Associate Professor, Journalism
University of Kansas
Twitter: @simransethi
Tumblr: http://simransethi.tumblr.com/