A sampling of CEL courses at Bates:
Biology 126. Science Communication.
The ability to effectively communicate science-related topics to nonexperts is essential for a successful career in science, and also critical for fostering public support of taxpayer-funded science research programs. Using recent examples from the biological sciences, students explore various ways and means to communicate science to public audiences through creative project-based learning exercises, including written science journalism articles, public speaking to local community groups, and multimedia video productions. Students examine how narratives and storytelling can be more effective for public engagement and comprehension of science than the information deficit model, and inevitably learn a fair amount of biology along the way.
History s28. Wabanaki History in Maine.
The peoples of Maine known as the Wabanakis, including the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, Micmac, and Maliseet nations, are pivotal players in Maine’s history. Their early relations with Europeans shaped the colonization of the region and their more recent legal efforts to regain land and build casinos have affected everyone in the state. This course looks at the long history of Maine’s Wabanakis, examining the ways that they have adapted to, fought with, and lived alongside European invaders and their descendants. Students examine some of the ways that European Americans’ racism has erased Wabanakis’ presence in the state and its history, the meanings of sovereignty in a state that still retains a great deal of influence over native peoples, and the role of environmental change in shaping Wabanakis’ changing cultural practices. Students are strongly encouraged to link their final research project to contemporary Wabanaki efforts to recover their past. There is an extra fee for this course for travel to visit with Wabanaki community scholars and leaders.
Environmental Studies 308. Urban and Regional Food Systems.
Food systems include the cyclical production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste/recovery process associated with societies’ food supply. Urban and regional food systems have been reimagined and proposed as a holistic response to global food system vulnerabilities, urban de-industrialization, and rising food insecurity. But what does a robust and inclusive urban and regional food system actually entail? And how can proponents meaningfully facilitate a transition to such a food system so that the resulting social, economic, and ecological benefits are equitably shared? This course explores these questions and introduces frameworks for addressing them in the Lewiston-Auburn community, southern Maine, and beyond. Through the completion of an applied, community-engaged project, students get hands-on experience with broadly applicable approaches and skills for transforming food systems in and beyond Maine.
American Studies/Religion 272. Islam in America.
Islam, with its mosaic of different beliefs and practices, has been part of America’s social and religious fabric for centuries. This course traces a history of Islam in America from West African slaves, to voluntary immigration, to experiences of Muslims in the post-September 11 era. Students explore the historical and contemporary realities of Muslims living in America, including the role of religious authority, racial identity, and activism of American Muslim women. **These explorations take students into the Lewiston-Auburn community to discover its religious diversity and hear how local residents speak about and practice their Islamic faith. **
Digital and Computing Studies s12. Community-Engaged Computing.
A first course in design thinking and programming in the context of community engagement. Students—with no prior experience assumed—engage collaboratively in the iterative design and development of software applications that benefit the community in a multitude of ways.In addition to significant engagement with community partners in this development process, students communicate through multiple modes and media (writing, audio, video) about their work and their reflections on themselves and the community in which they are taking part.
French s38. Learning with Orphans of the Genocide in Rwanda.
From a perspective of civic engagement, students undertake an oral history project to understand the lives of orphans of the genocide of the Tutsis more than twenty years after the catastrophic event. By evaluating the life stories, needs, challenges, sufferings, and hopes of these vulnerable survivors, students learn from them as they identify forms of social resilience and long-term negotiation of trauma. They consider the history of Rwanda, the origin of the genocide of 1994, and its aftermath. In Rwanda, they meet several important social actors and government officials involved in the process of memorialization, mourning, national reconciliation, and testimony.
(Sue 22 adding-Lewiston, Maine is home to a large population of Rwandan refugees)
Sociology 104. Contemporary Social Problems: Sociological Perspectives.
An introduction to sociology through the study of contemporary social problems. Topics include inequalities of income, wealth, housing, education, and health as well as related social problems such as racism, substance abuse, crime, poverty, homelessness, and climate change. With a particular focus on how sociologists study the process through which social conditions become defined as problems, the way various stakeholders frame those problems, and their potential solutions, students explore sociology in general and the social construction of social problems in particular. This exploration includes readings, class discussions, and community-engaged learning with local organizations addressing social problems.
Dance s29. Tour, Teach, Perform.
This course uses the diverse collective skills of the students in the class as base material for the creation of a theater/dance piece that tours to elementary schools. The first two weeks are spent working intensively with a guest artist to create the performance piece. The remaining weeks are spent touring that piece, along with age-appropriate movement workshops, to elementary schools throughout the region. This course open to performers and would-be performers of all kinds.
