This list reflects ACE courses offered during 2008-2009 academic year.

Fall '08

Truth vs. Power: A Journey in Journalism - ENGL 272 - Doug McGill

Journalism is in turmoil today. Bold experimentation is needed to meet such dramatic new challenges to journalism as the Internet, the decline of newspapers, multilingual readerships, and global crises requiring activism more than "objectivity." The class will move between a theoretical focus -- exploring journalism's basic theories and often-contradictory methods, purposes and aims-- and a practical focus inviting students to strive towards their highest journalistic ideals. Students will be challenged to blend journalism's indispensable norms of factual accuracy, fairness and quality writing with new technologies such as blogging, podcasting, videocasting, social networking and RSS feeds.

Environmental Justice in New Orleans - ENTS 100/101 - Kim Smith

In this two part freshmen seminar, students spent the first term exploring the intersection of social justice and environmental stewardship, focusing specifically on environmental justice in the rebuilding of New Orleans. During the winter break, students spent ten days in New Orleans studying environmental justice by interviewing activists and residents. In the second part of the seminar during Winter term, students produced a documentary based on their fall seminar and trip to New Orleans.

Foundations of Modern Europe - HIST 139 - Susannah Ottaway

Students in this course had the choice to present a lesson for an elementary school classroom in the place of a traditional research paper. Students who chose the academic civic engagement option prepared lesson plans for 4^th graders in the Northfield School System on the topic of the Spanish Exploration. The lessons were designed to be interactive and collaborative with the projects that the 4^th graders had been learning previously. This took great effort on the part of the students to reconceptualize the history that they had learned in class into ideas that would be useful on the elementary level.

Methods of Political Research - POSC 230 - Greg Marfleet

This course did community based research by examining media coverage in the 2008 election. Groups of students looked at different issues taking place in the election and recorded the kind of coverage that the issue received in the media. This project gave Political Science/International Studies students a good grasp of applied research methods as well as an experiential idea of the local perspectives on national issues. Students created posters of their findings which were then displayed in a public poster presentation.

Social Welfare - SOAN 215 - Peter Brandon

This course asked students to investigate a welfare controversy and take a stand on the issue. Students used a variety of mixed methods to explore a topical issue at the local level.  An example of these projects included a needs-based study of transportation in Northfield, especially for low-income Northfielders.  Students interviewed community leaders and partners and those in need to identify action plans.  This important work by some of these students continues this Spring.

Intermediate Spanish - SPAN 204- Maria Elena Doleman and Linda Burdell

Students in this course were required to spend at least 7 service hours (1 hour per week) working in partnership with the Northfield Public Schools from Elementary to High School. In some situations college students were working with other students in the Northfield Compañeros program. In other positions, students were working in classrooms directly as ESL tutors. The Spanish courses focused on, in addition to Spanish language, issues of immigration and the Latino experience. This project turned the focus on the local experience of immigrants in Northfield.

Winter '09

Audio Workshop - CAMS 275- John Schott

This course offered students an opportunity to explore the interaction between college students and the Northfield community while also learning about the essential technical skills for audio storytelling and drama. Students worked in teams to explore issues such as student off-campus housing and student drinking by talking to students and community members. Students hope to engage individuals in dialogues on college students and town relations on their weblog and other venues in Northfield. To listen to their audio works, visit http://www.ratchetup.com/northfieldvoices/.

Hydrology - GEOL 340 - Mary Savina

The course drew considerably on student-directed investigation of critical areas of study in hydrology. Four projects were established from the students in the course regarding different areas of water issues in the Northfield area. Students worked in small groups to prepare fliers for the City of Northfield Water Division (on home geothermal systems and on abandoned wells/septic tanks); to support a town hall forum series on Agriculture and the Environment; to augment web information on ethanol production and water use; and to teach middle school youth about groundwater.

Comparative Social Movements - POSC 358 - Devashree Gupta

Students in this political science course looked at different social movement theories, including literatures on organizational structures, recruitment, tactical choice, and message framing.  Students then applied this knowledge by working with community partners to plan and carry out an event tied to a particular issue or policy area in which they had an interest and that was related to the core work of the community partner.  Groups worked on a range of issues, including advocacy for homeless GLBT youth and green technologies and planning in Northfield.  Students were encouraged to reflect on their experiences and link their practical work back to the course readings and discussions through a series of blog posts and an end-of-term presentation.

Anthropology of Health and Illness - SOAN 262 - Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg

In this course students partnered with HealthFinders and Growing Up Healthy. Students working with Growing Up Healthy conducted library-based research to better understand specific subpopulations (such as the Somali population in Faribault) and specific issues (such as refugee mental health, or culturally specific presentation of symptoms) of relevance to GUH's goals. Those working with HealthFinders helped developed and administered surveys to English and Spanish speakers. Students also organized and led focus groups and did participant observation of waiting rooms. This project culminated in a presentation to the Board of HealthFinders.

Public Sociology - SOAN 395 - Adrienne Falcón

Students in this course conducted needs-based assessments of Northfield and the Rice Country area to identify potential projects and collaborations between Carleton and local organizations. Groups of students focused specifically on the arts, business, and housing sectors. Within these sectors, students interviewed staff members of local organizations and government offices. At the end of the term, students created reports of their sectors and presented their findings in a presentation in which community partners were invited to attend.

Spring '09

Advanced Ceramics - ARTS 330 - Kelly Connole Students in this art course created over 500 bowls for a yearly event to highlight the problems that hunger creates in society. The event was called Empty Bowls and included a fundraiser selling the handmade bowls with soup provided by the Carleton community for the Northfield Food Shelf. Students did research and publicity based on hunger in a local context in collaboration with the Northfield Community Action Center. Bowls are a fundamental skill in the field of ceramics and the bowls that students made for the event were designed as tokens to remind participants to give back.

Nonfiction Video Production - CAMS 270 - Paul Hager Students are partnering with local organizations such as Growing Up Healthy, Northfield Youth Baseball, Cannon River Sportsmens Club, and campus organizations such as the GSC, to create media in support the organization's mission. Media production can range from short, non-fiction videos to photo essays, web design and podcasts. Students are also working with organizations to help them develop a media plan.

Educational Studies Senior Seminar - EDUC 395 - John Ramsay Students in this course were tasked to design and create the “next great education non-profit.” As part of their work, they will be shadowing staff at organizations such as Three Rivers Community Action Center, ABC, and Admission Possible to better understand how an education non-profit works. Students will also be developing policy and grant proposals for an education non-profit.  

Geology of Soils - GEOL 258 - Mary Savina Students produced a formal report about the properties of the topsoil in the expansion area for the Carleton garden and evaluated whether "black dirt" removed from the new dorm excavation will be valuable (or not) to add to the topsoil.  The final projects for the class will focus on several soils-related questions in the Arboretum.  Example:  Based on soil characteristics, should Alumni Field be restored to prairie, savannah or forest?  

Health Psychology - PSYC 260 - Ken Abrams Students in small groups are critically examining the effects of local public (e.g., town) or private (e.g., hospital) policies on health outcomes. More specifically, students are working with local policy makers to investigate an issue, propose policy changes supported by theory and research, present formal proposals to the policy makers, and solicit and respond to community feedback. Additionally, groups will present their findings to the class and community representatives at a poster session at the end of the term. Examples of current projects include the development of a heroin use prevention program at Northfield High School, a comprehensive worksite wellness program at Northfield Hospital, and a more accessible and better marketed farmers' market in Northfield.

Language and Deception - PSYC 375 - Mija Van Der Wege In this course, students participate in the development of a local episode of Mental Engineering, a television program based in the Twin Cities that brings together academics and commentators to analyze advertisements. This year, the Carleton students will work in three groups to prepare for and perform a mock episode of Mental Engineering, to be hosted by the host of Mental Engineering, John Forde. Two of the performances will be done at the Northfield high school for social psychology classes and the third will be in the library Athenaeum for public attendance. The project enables students to apply insights that they have developed from course material to an analysis of advertisements.