All Drexel instructors whose teaching practice and courses engage meaningfully in local contexts and issues are invited to apply. Up to five awards will be made for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Courses should deepen collaboration with local partners, emphasize a multiplicity of perspectives, challenge traditional classroom structures and cultural conventions, and involve democratic knowledge production. Priority will be given to proposals for new courses that bring together university and community members to co-create meaning about pressing issues in our communities.

Each faculty member will be awarded up to $2,000 for course enhancement. Funding might support texts and materials, transportation, or hospitality. Additional funding may be requested to support community co-instructors and guest speakers.

Led by Carrie Hutnick (Director, Community-Engaged Learning and Scholarship, Lindy Center for Civic Engagement), faculty will gather as a cohort to share ideas and challenges, build a community of engaged scholars, and situate their course as a pilot in the creation of Community Systems and Practice, a highly interdisciplinary undergraduate major incorporating the application of literary and humanities studies to pressing social issues.

Applicants are asked to provide the following project information:

Where You Are:

• Summary detailing work you’ve done with the course so far (200 words)

• Bio (150 words)

• Course proposal or syllabus

Applicants are also asked to respond to these questions:

Where You Want to Go:

• Where do you see potential for the course to meet the UnMapping Project’s goals of celebrating and advancing the role of literature and story in truth-telling and social change?

• How does this course fit into your vision of community engaged learning in your discipline?

• What challenges have you faced or anticipated in offering the course as community-engaged, community-informed, and community co-led?

Responses can be submitted as text (600 words)

Who You Want to Go With: This can be a letter or audio/video recording of support from your community partner or co-instructor.

Course proposals will be reviewed by a university-community committee of students/alumni, faculty/staff, and community partners. Review criteria includes:

• Alignment with the UnMapping Project’s goals of celebrating and advancing the role of literature and story in truth-telling and social change

• Vision for community-engaged learning

• Evidence of partnership building and co-creation

• Potential to contribute to a broader course of engaged study

Application Deadline
May 31, 2024 at 11:59PM (ET)

Award Notification
August 1, 2024