Through Emmanuel’s service-learning program, you’ll enrich your academic experiences by applying concepts you learn in the classroom to meaningful, interactive and hands-on projects off-campus.

As you support and empower people and communities in Boston and around the world, you’ll see firsthand how the knowledge gained in the classroom, can create and enact positive change.

Mission and Ministry also offers the opportunity to connect with outside partners in our community to assist with meeting service-learning requirements for the classroom. If you are interested in learning more about community partners for service learning, please contact missionandministry [at] emmanuel.edu (missionandministry[at]emmanuel[dot]edu) or come by EAB 153.  

Service-learning at a glance

Service-learning at a glance

Education  

The Great American Experiment
This course is a comprehensive overview of the historical, philosophical and societal foundations of American education. Issues of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and learning differences are highlighted within the context of the positive and negative impact the schools have on society.  

Explorations in Science and Engineering: Grades 1-6
The course develops the knowledge, skills and dispositions to introduce the practices and habits of mind characteristic of sci­entific inquiry and the engineering design process into the elementary classroom. The course meets standards for teacher prepa­ration articulated by the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks and the National Science Education Standards. Topics include children's ideas in science, the nature of children's science learning and the implica­tions for teaching.  

 

Political Science  

Public Policy, the Law and Psychology
Public policy and the law affect, and are affected by, many disciplines, with psychol­ogy playing an increasingly prominent role in the legal system. One cannot truly under­stand psychology, the law, or public policy in the United States without understanding the interrelationships of these three realms of knowledge and practice. This course will explore the evolving interactions at the theoretical and practical level among psychology, law and public policy. This is a service-learning course, which requires two to three hours per week devoted to working at an appropriate site.  

Food Policy and Social Justice 
This course will explore food policy as an issue of social justice. Politics involves conflict over scarce resources. How these resources are allocated and to what programs reveal the values of those making the decisions. Food policy and social justice will be explored through the political, economic, and social concerns of food production and consumption in the United States, and its extension throughout the globe. Students will assess policy issues such as immigration, trade, the agro-industrial complex, labor, poverty, public health, and government initiatives to promote healthier and more nutritious diets. In addition to a comprehensive research paper, this course will include an experiential education component that will take students out of the classroom and into the community to explore how all aspects of food policy affects people's everyday lives.

Psychology

Seminar: Psychology of Women
The experiences of women, both as a group and as unique individuals, are an important focus of research by psychologists today. In this service-learning course, students will examine critical issues in the field (e.g., gender roles, body image, violence against women), integrate research with applied resources and service in the Boston area, and develop educational programs on these issues for adolescent girls. Classic and contemporary research will guide dialogues about specific issues women and girls face as a group. Examining Boston's resources (e.g., shelters) will allow students to study how theoretical and empirical research is applied to real-world situations and affects real indi­viduals. Finally, students will work with small groups of adolescent girls to develop resources and programs that will ultimately benefit them and their peers. The work accomplished in this service-learning seminar will reflect the core mission of social awareness and social justice.  

 

Sociology

Catholic Social Teaching
This course will provide an introduction to over 100 years of Catholic social teach­ing, using papal encyclicals, and pastoral letters from the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops primarily. Analysis of the doc­uments and critiques of the teachings will also be used. Each of the documents will be grounded in its sociological, political, economic and religious context. A ser­vice-learning component will be included in the course introducing students to service to people in poverty in the Boston area. The mission of national and international Catholic social justice organizations will also be highlighted.  

Community Action Research Seminar
The course will move students from the world of academic research to the world of applied research by utilizing the skills students have learned in “Methods of Social Research” and either “Quantitative Research” or “Qualitative Research” and applying them to a real-world problem. Students will work in groups and be paired with a local community organization to help the organization identify a problem or question of interest. Students will then determine the best methodology to tackle the question, collect and analyze data, and present the findings in both a formal oral presentation to the organization’s staff, as well as produce a substantial research report. Particular attention will be paid to discussing how the findings respond to the initial question and how they can be applied to improving some aspect of the organization or program implemented by the organization.

Theology & Religious Studies

Love and Justice
This course explores how Christians' faith shapes their understandings of what to do and how to be. Attention is paid to the sources and methods in Christian ethics, focusing on the Biblical ideas of justice and love as key themes. A variety of ethical issues such as economic justice, marriage and sexuality, the environment, and topics in health care are examined, drawing on a range of historical and contemporary approaches to these ques­tions. This course includes a required service learning component.  

Southern Africa: Ethics, Religion and Global Health
This travel course and service learning course will examine the connections between religion, culture, and health care in South Africa and Swaziland as a case study in the ethics of global health. How have religious communities have been both an obstacle and a resource in the struggle for racial justice and health justice, particularly during and after apartheid, the AIDS epidemic, and current migration challenges. During the two-week travel portion in May, students will have the opportunity to visit faith communities, health care organizations, and important historical sites. They will also carry out service with a Hospice at Home program for AIDS patients in Swaziland.