Community Engagement & ExplorationPlace of Worship or Religious Organization Visit
Rationale & Learning Objectives
The intention behind this assignment is to expose students to various cultures that they may not interact with on a daily basis. Students are encouraged to get out of their comfort zones, look for events/organizations for groups they are not members of, and engage meaningfully with organizations at a local level (nationally is a secondary priority).
This assignment satisfies the follow learning objectives of the course and aligns with the Enhanced General Education criteria:
3. Connect and extend knowledge (facts, theories, etc.) from their own academic fields of study to civic engagement and their own participation in civic life, politics, and government.
4. Define personal values and beliefs by comparing their own culture to those cultures examined in the course, articulating their values and beliefs using academic terminology.
5. Weigh options/planned actions and/or formulate possible solutions to cultural conflicts in clinical settings by evaluating these options, actions, and solutions to predict their effectiveness with diverse populations.
6. Identify and describe the typical cultural and linguistic characteristics of various populations, including the student’s own.
For this engagement in the community, students are required to attend/participate in a place of worship or religious-based organization. Students should select an organization or establishment that is different from the student’s own beliefs/culture. Students are also able to show interactions with an organization that focuses on diversity, in general, within their community as long as it is different than themselves. Students should email the organizer of the event if it’s a private event for permission to attend.
At the event or during the event, the student should take a photo or screenshot of their involvement in some fashion. This involvement can also be attending a monthly meeting, providing support to the organization by volunteering, or watching planning sessions take shape.
You will need to send the following documentation in a Word document with three elements:
Identify religion/faith/denomination: student should self-identify their own religious belief AND identify the religion/faith/denomination of the event they are attending
Event verification: correspondence with leader (private event) OR confirmation email (online event) OR picture of event advertisement/flyer (in-person)
Picture at event: student’s name or image should be on screen, if it is an online event. Student should be in the picture at a physical location if it is a live event.
Example Document with Pictures: Community Event – Sample Assignment*
*ONLINE EVENTS ARE ACCEPTABLE*
Thoughts to Consider…
In order to gain the most from their experiences, students are asked to consider the following questions while attending their meeting/event:
Who is leading and who holds the power in conversations?
How do members participate?
How do interactions differ from my own organization(s)/culture(s)?
What is the goal: informational, planning, call to action, etc.?
What type of jargon is being used? How is language being used?
What made me feel comfortable and why?
What made me feel uncomfortable and why?
Where can I find online events?
Below you will find some websites that host meetings, events, and places to meet other people. There are usually categories on these websites that you can search through in order to find activities in which to engage.
Some events will be posted in the Announcements page as well.
Bulls Connect (USF-based events): https://bullsconnect.usf.edu/Links to an external site.
Eventbrite (highly recommend – many online forums/workshops): https://www.eventbrite.ca/ (Links to an external site.)
Facebook: Go to “explore” > events > find event under whatever category (ex: religion) > select online events > __(attend)__
Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/
Last Completed Projects
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