Spirit of Change: Shifting the Paradigm from Poverty to Prosperity

In this course we will engage with community-based programs attempting to shift the paradigm from poverty to prosperity; reflect on the ways our personal sense of social justice is formed and transformed; and consider the implications of our local learning in a global context. The interactive foci of this course are contemplative practice (two days will be spent in retreat at Treleven Farm); scholarly engagement with texts (Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, Hahn’s Love in Action, Mortenson’s Three Cups of Tea plus 3 texts co-selected by each student with the instructor), and small group engagement with a non-profit agency. Students will engage with a local non-profit, as their learning lab, for 8-12 hours a week. Times may be flexibly arranged.