Pedagogies of Praxis: Course-Based Action Research in the Social Sciences

This book is about building public interest partnerships between institutions of higher education and local community-based organizations. It is not a how-to guide, but rather a compilation of case studies that discusses the implications, successes, and failures of such partnerships. In particular, this book documents the ways in which course-based action research (CBAR) within the social sciences functions as an effective resource for establishing and reinforcing partnerships among students, academic officers, and local communities. Students and faculty, guided through CBAR, learn how to develop advocacy strategies for marginalized communities through firsthand exposure to local-level politics and power imbalances in these communities.

Contents include:

• Course-based action research on corner stores in Chicago
  
• Participatory action research and the university classroom
  
• An exploration of an anthropological service-learning with premeds
  
• Social action in a university-community partnership
  
• Introducing urban geography and engaging community in Pilsen, Chicago
  
• Community-based learning at a community-based university
  
• Action research in a visual anthropology class
  
• Collaborative action research at interchange: A UK model
  
• The aftermath of course-based action research