Brandeis CEL Courses
AMST 102a Women, the Environment, and Social Justice
AMST 191b Greening the Ivory Tower
ANTH 1a Comparative Study of Human Society
ANTH 109a Children, Parenting, and Education in Cross-Cultural Perspective
ANTH 159a Museums and Public Memory
ANTH 182b Engaged Anthropology
BISC 7a Biology and Culture of Deafness
COSI 2a Introduction to Computers
ENVS 89a Environmental Internship
HISP 105a Spanish Conversation and Grammar
HIST 171b Latino/a History
LGLS 89a Law and Society Internship and Seminar
LGLS 132b Environmental Law and Policy
LING 197a Language Acquisition and Development
SJSP 89a Social Justice-Social Policy Internship
SOC 89a Internships for Community Action and Social Change
SOC 191a Health, Community, and Society
SOC 92a Sociology Internship
RUS 98a Experiential Learning Opportunity
WMGS 5a Women and Gender in Culture and Society
WMGS 89a Internship in Women's and Gender Studies: Prevention of Violence Against Women and Children
Building Academic-Community Partnerships
Community-Engaged Learning Courses
CEL classes and projects are based on partnerships with members of Brandeis and wider communities. In many cases, CEL initiatives will include a direct commitment to social service; in other cases, there is value in simply getting to know one another in a respectful and mutually supportive fashion. Often, the process of building meaningful and sustainable partnerships is in itself a significant educational undertaking, helping all of us reflect on the dynamics of power, equality and democratic decision-making. Similar to reading, students are not graded on the activity they do, but for demonstrating what they have learned from the experience.
CEL Partnerships
Successful partnerships are usually founded on careful and frank assessment of the goals and interests of each partner. What are the specific educational goals of a given academic course? What skills and experiences do students hope to acquire, either in the context of academic classes or volunteer efforts? What are the most important needs and aspirations of a given social service or civic agency and of the persons the agency is dedicated to serving? What immediate and long-term outcomes does each partner hope to realize through collaboration? What are the costs and benefits of the project to participating organizations, especially those that have serious staffing and financial limitations?
Strong partnerships are aided by periodic moments of honest reflection and critical self-examination: What discernible impact is the project having on students and community members? How might processes of communication, collaboration and decision-making be enhanced? Should the planned project be significantly revised or reconceived? What lessons have been learned that might be applied to future ventures and partnerships?
Community Service Opportunities
The Department of Community Service is dedicated to providing students, faculty and staff with relevant volunteer experiences. The department seeks to establish sustainable and reciprocal partnerships with local social service, governmental, educational and cultural agencies as we advise and support community service initiatives. Our endeavors include fostering a community member who is civically engaged as an advocate, volunteer and educated citizen. We strive to embody the pillars of the university and core values of the Division of Student Affairs through experiential service opportunities, collaboration with the academy and intentional reflection. Student service outreach is done primarily through the Waltham Group, a student-led community service organization.