CRP 642 The Micro-Politics of Participatory Planning Practices

This graduate seminar explores issues of "practice" (rhetoric and negotiation, interpretation and judgment, narrative and recognition) as they influence democratic deliberations involving questions of ethics and argument, participation and identity, historical trauma and working-through, and more. The approach we take can be called a "critical pragmatism." We use practitioners' oral histories to investigate the challenges of participatory planning practices.

EDUC 6810 Democracy, Science, and Education (Fall)

This course explores the actual and potential connections between democracy, science, and education through individual and collective reflection of course readings, and through the construction and interpretation of practice stories from the work of contemporary civic education practitioners. The first half of the course examines several different models and theories of democracy, including protective, developmental, pluralist elitist, participatory, republican, feminist, radical, postmodern, deliberative, and populist. Attention is focused on how the nature and practice of citizenship and politics are conceptualized under each of these models, and the implications of these conceptualizations for the civic education roles and work of teachers, scientists, adult educators, community development practitioners, and community organizers. The second half of the course involves a critical examination of the roles that scientific methods, expertise, and knowledge do or might play both in educating for and practicing democracy.

CRP 201  People, Planning and Politics in the City

This seminar examines various bases of political and professional power. What do professionals who want to serve the public need to know about power and decision-making processes in the institutional settings in which they operate? How and why can professionals make a difference when facing problems characterized by great complexity and severe inequalities among affected groups? The course addresses these and other questions.

CRP 513  Introduction to Planning Practice and History (Fall)

EDUC 6820  Community Education and Development (Fall)

This course offers an opportunity for students to engage in a critical study of the purposes and practices of professional organizers and educators in community and economic development initiatives. The course places a special focus on the civic or democratic dimensions of educational practice. Civic practice in community education and development is viewed in relation to the craft of “educational organizing” as a vehicle for social learning and collective action. Key philosophies, theories, and traditions of educational organizing are studied and analyzed in their historical, cultural, social, and political context, with an eye toward implications for contemporary practice in a broad range of settings.

EDUC 6680  Narrative Inquiry in Social Science Research (Spring)

This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of narrative inquiry in action-oriented social science research. It is specifically tailored for students who are expecting to incorporate a narrative orientation into the design of their graduate research projects. It is also designed to be useful for students who wish to incorporate narrative inquiry into practice settings as a component of action research and/or professional development initiatives, especially in relation to the task of developing critically reflective practice in education and community and economic development related fields. The course covers a range of theoretical and practical topics related to narrative inquiry, taking an approach that combines seminar and workshop formats. In addition to fostering understanding and discussion of course readings, class sessions and assignments provide students with opportunities to practice elements of narrative inquiry, and to develop draft proposals for research and/or action projects that incorporate a narrative orientation.