Many academic departments are making efforts to increase faculty and student community engagement as part of a movement to revitalize the civic function of higher education. A case study of the development of a public sociology program provides examples of steps that can be taken to involve educators and students in communities in multifaceted…

This article discusses the creation of space and time for feminist approaches in higher education in the context of shifting community and employment relations and the restructuring of higher education space-time. It draws on the reflections of three feminist academics concerning aspects of their work biographies in two very different higher…

With contributions from leading experts across disciplinary fields, this book explores best practices from the field's most notable researchers, as well as important historically based and politically focused challenges to a field whose impact has reached an important crossroads. The comprehensive and powerfully critical analysis considers the…

Describes a college course which uses field studies to examine communities and small urban places. The course is designed for undergraduate students with little or no field experience and is offered as an intensive two-week session between semesters. (RM)

The handbook is a text and organizational framework for developing and teaching a graduate level course on state geography. This paper describes how the handbook can be used in a geography course for teacher education. (Author/RM)

Guided design involves an instructor in developing a problem that students are expected to solve and then leading them, step by step, through the problem to its solution. This teaching method was used to help students explore how individuals, small groups, and then larger numbers of people in larger areas interact to form the Muncie (Indiana)…

This publication for educators offers in-depth articles on anthropological research, teaching activities, reviews of new resources, and summer fieldwork opportunities. The document aims to disseminate recent research in anthropology; to help those teaching anthropology utilize new materials, approaches, and community resources, as well as…

This article outlines a conceptual framework for a high school or college level unit on local history and demonstrates use of the framework through a case study of Whitehall, Georgia. Information is presented on planning the unit, selecting a community, teaching methods, collecting data, and identifying likely sources of information on community…

To teach community health assessment to nursing students, videotaped segments of real community situations were incorporated in an interactive simulation program that leads students through the processes of data collection and evaluation. (SK)

The role of Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina, described as the nation's largest and perhaps most prestigious research facility, is discussed. Activities in economic, scientific, sociological, and intellectual research are reviewed, along with the scholarly ambiance of the area and the impact of the new National Humanities Center to…

Reviews a community training program for undergraduate students at a small liberal arts college in Alton, Illinois. The program involves students in a community work placement, a community studies course, and work study experience in a small industrial town near the college. (Author/DB)

Uses a class exercise that tests the folk wisdom concerning small-town friendliness. Students are assigned to express random friendliness to strangers so they can determine whether friendlier responses are elicited in small towns or large cities. (KO)

Describes a Community Analysis course that gives students an opportunity to apply urban theory through direct community engagement. Notes course objectives and organization (as a condensed special topic to allow travel, or within the regular semester). Identifies benefits/risks of community experiential learning for instructors and students.…

Describes a set of community-problem assignments for upper-level undergraduate public policy courses which require students to connect public policy analysis and scholarly research to a specific policy problem in a community. Analyzes student evaluations of the assignments and suggests modifications to fit different curriculum needs. (Author/DB)

The communities that individuals have created are endlessly diverse. They have followed ancient patterns and have experimented boldly with innovative ideas. This publication and the exhibition it complements present only a few of the many ways that individuals have found to live together. It is divided according to the specific forces behind the…