Apply for the Community Research Seminar soon

Are you looking for an awesome class to take this spring? Interested in community research? Want to actually engage yourself in the Middletown community? Check out the Community Research Seminar (CRS) taught by Professor Rob Rosenthal of the Sociology Department. The CRS was the first service-learning course that Wesleyan offered, and after being offered for nearly 10 years, will be offered again this spring. service-learning courses offer students a unique opportunity to integrate their classroom learning with their community experiences. In CRS, four teams of four students will undertake a research project for a local community organization.

Past projects include examining efficacy of summer programs for the Youth and Family Services of Haddam, conducting a count of local homeless individuals and families in Middlesex County and studying the impact of an insurance assistance program on the lives of Middletown residents who lack health insurance. In addition to carrying out a substantial research project outside of the classroom, students will work inside the classroom to understand the theory involved and practice necessary for conducting community research.

CRS is a 1.5 credit course, with spaces available for juniors and seniors only. There are no prerequisites, and highly motivated students from all majors and backgrounds are encouraged to apply. The course will be a large time commitment, but Kelly Klein ’08, who took the course two years ago, says the class was well worth it because students “succeeded in doing something that was driven by an actual practical need and had a positive effect on the community.”

For interested students, there will be information meetings on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 4:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. in Woodhead Lounge. Applications are due Nov. 17 and can be downloaded from www.wesleyan.edu/slc. For questions or further information, e-mailaeldahan@wesleyan.edu or check out the SOC316 link on WesMaps.