Sociology in Action: The Experiential Pedagogy of Project Community

ABSTRACT

Established by student activists in the 1960s, Project Community in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan (U-M), Ann Arbor, is one of the longest-running community-engaged learning programs in the country. Community-engaged learning courses like Project Community have been identified by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) as a high-impact educational practice because they allow for simultaneous learning in the classroom and community (AAC&U 2022). This paper explores how Project Community utilizes various pedagogical approaches grounded in liberatory and social justice education to provide U-M students with the opportunity to learn how to engage in mutually beneficial, respectful, and ethical relationships with community members. The structure of this two-course sequence is described and examples of experiential activities are provided so that instructors can gain insights into how students can apply their sociological lens to real world experiences. Data from teaching evaluations and post-course surveys from Fall 2019–2022 are included to explore how Project Community has increased students’ awareness of their positionality in society, deepened their understanding of social inequalities, and strengthened their commitment to social responsibility.

KEYWORDS:

• Active learning
• community-engaged teaching
• community engagement
• experiential pedagogy
• social action

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rebecca D. Christensen

Rebecca D. Christensen, PhD, is the director of Project Community and a lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her areas of expertise are community-engaged learning and teaching, social justice education, experiential pedagogy, and intergroup relations. She teaches the two-course sequence for Project Community and has collaborated with over 20 community partners in Southeast Michigan.