Engaged Department

“Writing is a form of action. Through writing people respond to problems and can create change in the world.”
- SLCC English threshold concept

The SLCC English Department is a college-recognized Engaged Department, which means that a significant number of our faculty practice collaborative, community-centered approaches to teaching and learning. These include engaged pedagogies like service-learning, a civic orientation across the curriculum, and a department-wide focus on writing as a form of action and an agent of social change.

Working with community partner organizations, local organizers, activists and public servants, the engaged faculty of the English Department invite students to see and experience how reading and writing intertwine with community issues, local conditions, and civic action, and how writing outside the boundaries of the college classroom can have a profound effect on learning and growth.

Student Resources Those interested in the hands-on, experiential focus of civic engagement can choose to take many of their English classes with this approach. English majors who are interested in civic engagement have the opportunity to graduate with honors as part of the Civically Engaged Scholars Program.

Faculty Resources Resources that are available to faculty who are interested in using collaborative, community-centered approaches to teaching and learning.

Community Partners Engaged English faculty believe in cultivating strong reciprocal relationships with local community partner organizations, inviting them into our classrooms and course design processes just as they invite faculty and students into their community spaces. Meaningful civic engagement balances the needs of students, faculty and community partners, responding to the needs of both groups.

Reflections:
The SWRC Journal of Civic Engagement A newsletter for and about civic engagement in the English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies department. It is published twice a year and welcomes submissions on student experiences, faculty perspectives, pedagogical insights, community partner engagement, civic involvement, staff profiles and upcoming events.