Civil Rights Movement: History and Consequences
Summer Program

Now With Internship Component!

The southern United States is a region rich in history and culture as well as a flash point of racial dynamics in the U.S. It is also the home of the largest nonviolent social change campaign in U.S. history. Throughout the experience of this course, students study competing ideas and definitions of justice and freedom in relationship to political struggle. The Civil Rights Movement: History and Consequences examines a variety of critical perspectives, including the practice and philosophy of nonviolence, legal, human rights, and public work frameworks for social change. The heart of the program is designed to develop connections between history and current political struggles around poverty, education, race and class, building on theory and critical thinking to create a historical context for current issues of civil rights. This program is a raw, emotional experience through the lenses of a vivid history that demonstrates that the past is inextricably linked to our current world. Visits to various cities, museums and historical sites as well as interviews with leaders of the movement frame the experience.

HECUA is excited to announce that we’re adding an INTERNSHIP COMPONENT to the The Civil Rights Movement: History and Consequences course. For an additional $400 this new component is equivalent to two additional semester hours making this summer program worth a total of six semester hours (equivalent to 1.5 course credits or 9 quarter credits). This program addition allows students to be eligible for federal financial aid which can be applied to this off-campus study program option. Students will be required to work a total of 96 hours (12 eight hour days or 24 four hour days) here in the Twin Cities after their time traveling through the South. There are additional assignments associated with the internship component including a learning agreement, weekly reflections, and a final internship evaluation. This is an optional addition to the already established course and students need only inform us of their decision to add the internship component on their application.

Follow along with the summer 2009 group--students are currently traveling and recording their impressions and experiences--visit the program blog at:
http://hecuacivilrights09.blogspot.com/

Central Questions

• What are the lessons of the civil rights movement and how are these applicable today?
• What were the pivotal events in the civil rights movement?
• What were the underlying philosophies and key strategies for social change?

General Schedule

After several days in the Twin Cities, students embark on a two-week traveling field study tour through the South. Past stops have included Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. A final week of integration seminars in the Twin Cities conclude the program.

Faculty

Colleen Bell (Email) Professor of Conflict Studies & Women’s Studies at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, is teaching HECUA's Civil Rights Movement: History and Consequences program this summer '09. Colleen has served as an adviser to the Civil Rights program since its development in 2003, providing consultation on curriculum development and community and faculty resources. She also serves on HECUA’s Board of Directors, Scholarship Review Committee, and is a member of the Academic Programs Committee, a board committee that provides oversight and assessment for all HECUA programs. Colleen earned her Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Illinois and her M.S. in Child & Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Colleen has taught college students since 1986 at the University of Illinois, the University of Tulsa (OK), the College of St. Scholastica (MN), and the University of Minnesota, in addition to Hamline. Current research interests include social justice curricula and pedagogy, social conflict, and youth activism.

Extras

This program is worth 1 course credit (4 semester hours or 6 quarter credits). For students opting for the internship, know that this program component would add .5 course credits which is equivalent to 6 semester hours or 9 quarter credits. Please contact the HECUA Office for more information (651-646-8832), or include a well-marked section on the application.

Accommodations in the Twin Cities are the responsibility of individual students. HECUA staff will assist in locating housing.

If you would like to know more about the program fee, dates or other specific application information please visit the General Program Information page.

(A recent syllabus for the program.)
 

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