Next fall semester (2022) the Sustainability Studies program once again offers a unique transformational service learning course, SUST 350 Service and Sustainability, at the Chicago Campus as well as online. Taught by SUST professor Mike Bryson, the course theme this fall is Urban Sustainability, Community Resilience, & Social Justice.
Title/number: SUST 350 Service and Sustainability (sections 01 Chicago and 98 online)- Semester offered: Fall 2022
- Campus: Chicago Campus / Eden Place Nature Center & Farm (sec. 01) or online (sec. 98)
- Day/time: T/Th 12:30-1:45pm (sec. 01)
- Location: Chicago (sec. 01) and online (sec. 98)
- Pre-req: UWR (ENG 102)
SUST majors and minors may take this class to fulfill an upper-level SUST 3xx requirement, but 350 also is open to students at large seeking am experiential learning (EXL) course, needing a general education course, or desiring elective credit.
Experiential Learning Options: Off-Campus and Online
Students interested in a sustainability-focused service learning experience can choose either of two options. These two sections of SUST 350 are cross-listed, so they share a common Blackboard (Bb) site; thus, students in both sections interact with and learn from each other online.
- On-campus section (01) — Students in this section will meet weekly on T and Th from 12:30-1:45pm in Chicago. The service project focus in this section will be on helping RU update its Strategic Sustainability Plan of 2015-20 by performing research and engaging the RU community in a variety of ways. Our class will collaborate in this process with the university-wide Environmental Sustainability Committee, the RU Green student organization, SUST student associates, and faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.
- Online section (98) — Students do the majority of coursework online in Bb and are required to complete a community-based service project of their own choosing, with guidance from and approval by the instructor. The project may be online or in-person; the latter option could be based in the student’s home community. Online students are also eligible to join the on-campus students on any on-campus events and activities throughout the semester.
- Both sections will interact with each other each week in Bb to discuss readings, review assignments, post journal reflections, and share experiences as a way to create a dynamic SUST 350 community.
Course Theme: Urban Sustainability, Community Resilience, & Social Justice
SUST 350 focuses on one of sustainability’s “Three Es” — social Equity — within the broad context of Environmental stewardship and Economic development. Students will learn about several interrelated components of sustainability — urban space reclamation, food production, water conservation, ecological restoration, environmental education, and more — in the context of urban neighborhoods and ecosystems. Students also will have the opportunity to contribute to the process of updating and revising RU’s Strategic Sustainability Plan of 2015-20 by performing research on campus sustainability activities, running workshops and other events, and actively engaging the campus community in this process. A special focus will be on using the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals as a means of framing this work:
For more information on this unique service learning / EXL course, please contact Prof. Mike Bryson (mbryson@roosevelt.edu or 312-281-3148)