Community Based Learning Courses

PY163 Developmental Psychology in the Classroom and Community (4) Fall, Spring

Studies human growth and development from prenatal stages through adolescence. Attention is given to various developmental theories, interdisciplinary research, interconnected roles of biological and environment, and practical applications. PY163 allows students to choose a particular area of interest and participate in the community some way exploring that interest. May be used to satisfy one unit of the Career Development Requirement.
Instructor: Gretchen Wehrle

PY174 Community Psychology (3) Fall (alternate years)

Prerequisite: PY001.

Studies a wide variety of forces and structures in the community which affect the positive growth, development, and functioning of its members. Being a service learning course, this class includes community work, theoretical discussion and reflection activities. May be used to satisfy one unit of Career Development Requirement
Instructor: Gretchen Wehrle

SO/PY015/115 The Inner City: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly [CDiv] (4) Fall (alternate years)

An exploration of the complex nature of San Francisco’s inner city neighborhood, the Tenderloin. Why is it that street crime exists here? Why do the poor live here? Why do so many children love living here? How is this the place of both crime and creativity? What is the history of the Tenderloin? What is its connection to such artistic luminaries as Dashiell Hammett, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Truman Capote, Alice B. Toklas, Isadora Duncan, Billie Holiday, and Miles Davis? How is the art and literary world part of this community today? What are the physical and cultural boundaries of the Tenderloin and how are they maintained? What is the relationship of the Tenderloin, and inner city tenderloins everywhere, to the rest of American society? A community-based course.
Instructor: Dr. Don Stannard-Friel

SO/PY016/116 Exploring the Inner World of the Inner City [CDiv] (4) Spring (alternate years)

What is the structure of the inner city? What is its culture? What is its economy? What legal and illegal businesses take resources in and out of San Francisco’s inner city Tenderloin district? How many children live here? How many families? How many homeless people? What ethnic groups live here? Who else lives here? What is the crime rate here? How many theaters? What kinds of theaters? How many art galleries? How many murals? What about graffiti? Who are the taggers? What do they have to say? What else is here? Students in this course will conduct qualitative and quantitative studies of patters of behavior that characterize the inner city, assessing and explaining them and explaining them and the greater community’s response to the world of the inner city. A community-based course.
Instructor: Dr. Don Stannard-Friel

SO/PY017/117 Lifestyles of the Poor and Infamous [CDiv] (4) Fall (alternate years)

What groups live in the inner city? How are their lives organized? What is the lifestyle of the Tenderloin sex worker? What is the community of drug dealers, users, and abusers? What is the criminal subculture? Is there really a code of honor among thieves? Are there gangsters here? Gangbangers? Is there a subculture of the homeless? What is it like to be a youth living here? What about homeless teenagers? How do immigrant families get by? Transgender people? The mentally ill? Old people? What other subcultures characterize the inner city? A community based course.
Instructor: Dr. Don Stannard-Friel

SO/PY018/118 The Promise of the Inner City [CDiv] (4) Spring (alternate years)
A discovery of reasons to celebrate life in the Inner City. Includes an examination of the inner city as fertile ground for personal and social development. Areas of interest include the positive impact of government services, human service organizations, the art community, and social activism on the lives of the people of the inner city. Looks at the inner city as a model and catalyst for broad-based social change. Studies methods and opportunities for inner city youth, and others, to learn skills such as democratic leadership, community organizing, and the appreciation of others – abilities and attitudes that are significant in building meaningful lives anywhere. A community based course.
Instructor: Dr. Don Stannard-Friel

SO102 Analyzing Social Settings (3) Spring

Introduces the use of qualitative methods in the study of community issues. Uses such research techniques as participant observation, the interview, and focus groups. The class, acting as a research team, willselect some aspect of a social setting to study. Past subjects have included social services in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, gay youth in San Francisco’s Castro district, the Mexican-American community in the “Little Michoacan” neighborhood of Redwood City, and pathways for youth in the City of East Palo Alto.
Instructor: Dr. Don Stannard-Friel

SO103 Streetwise Sociology [CDiv] (3) Fall

Streetwise Sociology is designed to familiarize the student with the inner city culture by becoming a part of it. We do this by participating in project that benefit the community and, in so doing, learn from individuals who live and work there. The goal is to use sociological theory and practice to understand and contribute to the resolution of urban social problems. Instruction involves on-campus classes and workshops and off-campus community activities. Current projects include Halloween in the Tenderloin, College Night in the Tenderloin, and Miracle on 6th Street (a Christmas event for residents in a hotel for the formerly homeless). May be repeated for credit.
Instructor: Dr. Don Stannard-Friel

SO178 Halloween in the Tenderloin (1) Fall

Halloween in the Tenderloin is a service-learning course designed to involve the student in the lives of the inner city children and community activists and to learn from that service about the community and the people who work and reside there. This course is developed in collaboration with students in SO103 Streetwise Sociology and members of the Tenderloin community to organize and implement the annual Halloween Festival and Safe Trick or Treat event.
Instructor: Dr. Don Stannard-Friel

SO/PY190A Social Change Through Social Service (3) Fall

Provides students with the knowledge, skills, and encouragement to assist communities in need while learning from their service experiences. Students learn about the histories and functions of various human service agencies in San Mateo/San Francisco Counties as well as the characteristics and needs of the clients they serve. Students are required to volunteer, on their own time, with a nonprofit organization of their choice for the duration of the semester. May be used to satisfy one unit of Career Development Requirement.*
Instructor: Cheryl Joseph

SO/PY190B Social Change Through Social Service (3) Spring

Students can either continue the volunteer service they began in SO/PY190AB or start service anew. Supervised community service will provide valuable insights into social need response as well as career opportunities in the social services. Working with professionals, students will put theories and skills into practice. One hour of class time per week will focus on specific situation that students encounter in their field work. Communication skills, assertiveness, conflict resolution, and coping techniques are typical topics explored in this class. May be used to satisfy two units of Career Development Requirement.*
Instructor: Cheryl Joseph

TA/MG/SL080/180 Introduction to Arts Management (3) Fall

Introduces the administrative functions related to selection, planning, financing, promotion, and staffing of performing arts events. Study will include theory and practice of arts administration ranging from professional to amateur organizations; practical experience in the management functions of theatre arts productions. Fulfills the Core Curriculum Arts requirement.
Instructor: Michael Elkins

MG/MK/CD186 Service Learning Internship (3) Fall, Spring

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

Students apply business learning in the community through internships.
Instructor: Lawrence Sam

CM160 Communication Internship (6) Fall, Spring

The Communication Internship course is designed to prepare students for jobs in the workforce. This on-the-job practicum provides student with the opportunity to receive specialized training in the career field of their choice. Students put theories and skills to work on selected projects agreed upon by the student and her/his supervisor. Communication students will complete two three-unit internships of 150 hours each: one in a “for-profit” concern and one in a “nonprofit” concern.

LA198 Service Learning: Spanish Community Service Project [CDiv] [CL] (1-3) Fall, Spring
Prerequisites: SP001 and SP002 or equivalent.
Provides students the opportunity to receive credit for participation in the annual Guadalajara Community Service Project if they complete required readings and activities during the Spring semester prior to departure, keep specified records of their experiences during their stay in Guadalajara, and write a detailed report upon return to campus in Belmont. Cross-listed with CL198 and SP198.

Instructors: Ruth Victorino Zuca and Bobby Vaughn

ID001A The Human Experience (6) Fall
Takes an interdisciplinary, multicultural approach to personal, community, and global issues using the theme of social justice. Team-taught and writing-intensive, with a strong co-curricular and community based learning element, the course includes a minimum of 8000 written words and four full-length texts. Also, it emphasizes critical thinking, research skills, and oral communication skills while lying a foundation for the student’s university portfolio.