HAITI SERVICE LEARNING (GROUP) PROJECT (20 points)
* DUE: Friday, April 27th, Midnight
* You will have FOUR discussion group sessions devoted to working on this project and we don’t expect you to have extensive meetings outside of class.
Sociology only proves its value when it can be used to address real social problems. And because every year 1,500 students learn about the sociology of U.S.race relations and global inequality in this class, we think it’s time for SOC 119 students to apply the power of their many minds and their sociological imaginations to a “real world” problem, for the moment, this “problem” is the socioeconomic development of Haiti.
With this in mind, the SOC 119 Service Learning Project challenges you and your group to do something for Haiti by way of partnering with Haitians who are pursuing socioeconomic development by way of entrepreneurial activity.
To help you understand the assignment, here is some relevant information:
BACKGROUND
Already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti suffered a tragic blow to it’s growth, health, and sovereignty on January 12, 2010 as a result of a devastating earthquake. The disaster killed over a quarter of a million people and left 1.5 million homeless — approximately one fifth of the country’s populace. The problems facing the Haitian people are vast. And yet, as with all things involving the life force, Haitians continue to move forward, and tens of thousands of them have plans to improve their lives by way of entrepreneurial ventures. There are thousands of brilliant ideas floating around Haiti just waiting for the spark that will bring them to life. That “spark” might be access to a single resource, assistance with a marketing strategy, a doorway to a market to sell their goods outside of Haiti, technical assistance of one sort or another, or perhaps a small loan.
* MEET SOME OF THE THE ENTREPRENEURS AND COMMUNITY PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY BEEN INVOLVED WITH
This semester you will learn about international racism and socioeconomic development—and how the two are uncomfortably linked. We will focus on Haiti as a case study for this purpose. And you will probably feel both pulled to act and cautioned not to act in response to the material. But this is real life—your life and the lives of the people in Haiti with whom you are already interconnected, even if you don’t realize it. And in real life there are no easy answers! So this will be a project that will deepen your understanding of the very real issues we will be discussing and that you will be facing.
WHAT IS THE PROJECT?
In past semester, discussion groups lobbied for some concrete project that would allow them to work on something as a team. This project was the idea of past students (thousands of them) and what they wanted “for you” was to have you DO SOMETHING positive in the world. And after the earthquake in Haiti, we came up with this idea: Via video footage and text on the World in Conversation web site, you will be introduced to a group of entrepreneurs and people on the ground in Haiti who are making a difference. You will see who they are and what they are doing and come to understand some of their stated needs. Haiti is in bad shape economically, but there is a spirit throughout the island – and people who are yearning to make a difference in not only their own lives, but also the lives of others in their communities. These are people who are self-motivated and not looking for a handout. We partner with a micro-financing team called “Poverty Resolutions” and raise money for people who only need seed funding to jump-start some very cool development initiatives.
WHAT ARE THE GOALS?
MAIN GOAL: To fundraise for an entrepreneur or project in Haiti that supports and extends their socioeconomic development work.
* We’re not going to tell you how much because the amount is totally irrelevant.
* We’d prefer that you focus on a particular project that you find on the World in Conversation Project web site.
SECONDARY GOAL: Build group bonds.
HOW WILL YOU BE EVALUATED?
As a group you will determine the number of points you should receive for your project during the final group meeting. Fifteen of the twenty points (15/20) for this assignment will be your collective group grade. Five of your twenty points (5/20) will be distributed by your other group members and will be reflective of how much they think you as an individual have participated in the overall project. (Each group member will give you a grade from 0-5 and we’ll divide the total by the number of people in your group.)
DO NOT WORRY ABOUT YOUR GRADE!!!! THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT AND WE WANT TO YOU GO INTO IT WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE…AND KEEP A POSITIVE ATTITUDE THROUGHOUT THE SEMESTER. CONCERN ABOUT GRADES AND EVALUATION IS A SURE WAY TO KILL THE FUN.
Here is the grading rubric that you should use for the fifteen points.
