Service Learning as Justice Advocacy: Can Political Scientists Do Politics?

The writer discusses adding service learning to political science curricula. He explains that a key aim of service learning is to lower the isolation of scholars from their surrounding communities while also addressing the pedagogical needs of students to act on their knowledge, to test ideas against reality, and to study politics with a purpose. He outlines the roots of recent service learning developments and considers the use of participatory action research to familiarize students with the tools of civic engagement. He distinguishes between service learning as direct charity and the kind that engages students in political organizing and social advocacy. Furthermore, he discusses the work of a service learning program at the University of Colorado, Denver, namely, the Westside Outreach Center and its associated Urban Citizen course; he identifies the benefits of service learning; and he refutes the critique that it breaches the norms of academic neutrality.