Archive: Critical U
Critical U: Making a space for critical dialogue in our community
A free 12 week course beginning September 25, 2002
Sponsors:
Vancouver Eastside Educational Enrichment Society (VEEES)
Britannia Community Education Services
SFU Institute for the Humanities
Simon Fraser University Student Society (SFSS)
Vancouver Institute for Social Research and Education (VISRE)
Philosophy
Critical U is a popular education initiative, bringing together the university and the wider community. It hopes to introduce critical concepts to see how they might help us make sense of community issues. It aims to create a setting where we can learn from one another. Participation in Critical U is free and open to all members of the Commercial Drive / Eastside community.
Pedagogy and Co-operative Learning
Pedagogy refers to the different ways that learning can be facilitated. Critical U deviates from standard approaches by being participant-driven. It brings together academic concepts, everyday experience, and community issues. Critical U will combine traditional academic lectures with participant-driven discussion. Previous post-secondary education is not required.
Environment
Critical U strives to create a learning environment that is non-classist, anti-sexist, anti-racist, and gender-inclusive.
Weekly Topics
WEEK 1 (Sept. 25)
INTRODUCTION TO CRITICAL U
Critical U offers a 12-week course on Wednesday nights from 7:00-10:00pm. The course is divided into 10 workshop themes. At the first session, a facilitator will introduce a range of possible topics for discussion each week. Participants decide together which topics they would like to cover for each weekly workshop. The instructors will then do their best to include these topics in their session.
WEEK 2 (Oct. 2)
POWER/CONTROL: TOP-DOWN? BOTTOM-UP?
- history of the idea of power
- what is power? who has power in our society?
- who has power in the community-from above or from below?
WEEK 3 (Oct. 9)
CITIZENSHIP AND DEMOCRACY
- democracy and civil society
- social movements: feminism, anarchism, environmentalism, youth movement etc.
WEEK 4 (Oct. 16)
CITIZENSHIP, CIVIL LIBERTIES, AND THE LAW
- the law and our community
- issues: community policing, sex trade etc.
WEEK 5 (Oct. 23)
CAPITALISM AND THE MARKET
- what is capitalism? what is the market?
- labour history
- social class
- issues: poverty, gentrification, unemployment, technology and work etc.
WEEK 6 (Oct. 30)
GLOBALIZATION
- global institutions: World Trade Organization, World Bank, NAFTA
- how is our community impacted by globalization?
- issues: immigration, transnational corporations, etc.
WEEK 7 (Nov. 6)
CO-OPERATIVE ALTERNATIVES
- what is a co-operative?
- history of the cooperative movement
- local cooperatives
WEEK 8 (Nov. 13)
URBAN ENVIRONMENT
- what is 'environment'?
- nature and the inner-city
- global environmental issues, local strategies
- history of the Britannia Centre
WEEK 9 (Nov. 20)
LANGUAGE AND EVERYDAY LIFE
- perceiving our selves, perceiving others
- naming, labels and stereotypes
- knowledge, expertise, and power/control
- the struggle over meaning
WEEK 10 (Nov. 27)
MEDIA AND CULTURE
- who owns the media?
- our community in the mainstream media
- local alternative media and culture
- the digital divide: access and hype
WEEK 11 (Dec. 4)
EMPOWERING INDIVIDUALS IN COMMUNITIES
- what do we mean by 'community'?
- who speaks for the community?
- community building
- community governance
- introducing local organizations working on community issues: multiculturalism, poverty, employment, local governance etc.
WEEK 12 (Dec. 11)
WRAP-UP
- feedback
- potluck and party
Date and Location
The course was held at the Britannia Community Secondary School, 1661 Napier St., Room 304 from September 25, 2002 to December 11, 2002.
Instructors
Instructors were drawn from faculty and students from Simon Fraser University as well as local community educators.
