Fall 2020 prioritized racial justice, language access, education, isolation, and social innovation

“The pandemic has reminded us that no one is saved alone. What ties us to one another is what we commonly call solidarity. Solidarity is more than acts of generosity, important as they are; it is the call to embrace the reality that we are bound by bonds of reciprocity. On this solid foundation we can build a better, different, human future.”

— Pope Francis, from the New York Times.

A global pandemic followed by a wave social protests offered a challenge, and an opportunity, to redefine and transform how we collaborate with communities. In Fall 2020, Duke Service-Learning focused its efforts on the “Opportunity of Now” and offered programming, strategies, and initiatives in the following areas:

“The Duke University NC LiteracyCorps provides an opportunity for Duke to deepen community partnerships statewide. Last winter, we submitted our proposal with a robust program plan just as news of the pandemic emerged. Even as the pandemic persisted, our partners found new ways to meet their missions and were excited to host this year’s members.”

— Kathy Sikes, Senior Fellow for Civic Engagement at Duke Service-Learning

Fall 2020 SLCE course collaborations focused on Durham organizations that were particularly hard hit by the pandemic. With reduced capacity and an increased need for ‘people power’ to meet project goals, students partnered with communities to enact strategies that prioritized racial justice work, education, language access, elders living in isolation, and local businesses. Below are just a few examples:

Students developed evaluation designs aimed to address equity-related outcomes for Durham Public Schools (DPS)

Disparities in American public schools have come more sharply into focus under the lens of a global pandemic. 74% of DPS students are Black or Hispanic/Latinx and are more vulnerable to being underserved. Middle-class Black families are leaving DPS at the highest rate of all demographics.

Students from Understanding Impact and Improving Effectiveness: Evaluation Design and Implementation (PUBPOL 890) collaborated with Durham Public Schools Foundation (DPSF) to develop evaluation designs aimed to address essential student, community, and equity-related outcomes for Durham Public Schools.

“Our students’ semester-long work with the Durham Public Schools Foundation (DPSF) met a need that emerged as particularly salient during COVID times. DPSF has had to turn its attention to immediate and critical COVID-related community needs leading to a reduced capacity for evaluation planning and practice across foundation initiatives. Our students’ work allowed for added time, thought, and energy towards this key area. Our collective experience was hugely beneficial and it shed light on opportunities and processes that could also benefit an in-person learning community.”

- Professor Jessica Sperling, Understanding Impact and Improving Effectiveness: Evaluation Design and Implementation (PUBPOL 890)

Students centered democratic citizenship and racial justice into project-based work with local businesses

Lockdown brought uncertainty to local businesses, forcing a reassessment of business models, as well as an opportunity to innovate engagement with communities. Students from Lead the Way Durham: Civic Engagement, Social Innovation, and Community Leadership in the Bull City (PUBPOL 270S), taught by Lalita Kaligotla, divided into teams to collaborate with three different organizations in Durham to assist with their goals.

“Given the global pandemic, being a teacher or a student in a community-engaged course was challenging this semester. However, through collaborative community partnerships, engaged students, and a bit of planning, we seized the opportunity of the moment and made a concerted effort at bringing the community into the classroom (though virtual visits, guest speakers and other similar activities), and recentering democratic citizenship and racial justice into our course content and into the project-based work this semester.”

- Professor Lalita Kaligotla, Lead the Way Durham: Civic Engagement, Social Innovation, and Community Leadership in the Bull City (PUBPOL 270S)

Students in language courses collaborated with DPS and other communities to provide virtual solutions to language access during the pandemic

Language barriers slow the process of receiving critical information, which is particularly problematic during a global pandemic. Students in several SL/CE courses collaborated with community partners on solutions.

  • Students from Spanish 205: Advanced Intermediate Spanish, Spanish 306: Health, Culture, and the Latinx Community, and Spanish 308: Latinx Voices in Duke, Durham and Beyond, partnered with GANO to provide virtual spaces for language tutoring. Their work was recently featured by WRAL in this video.

“Just this week, GANO received over 150 new requests from community members to participate in tutoring sessions. This is a much higher rate of interest than in previous years which underscores the importance of this program during the pandemic.” - Joan Clifford, Director of the Community-Based Language Initiative.

  • The pandemic brought many changes to DPS classes with new demands to use technology at home. Families who speak Chinese-Mandarin, French, and Arabic face are particularly challenged when it comes to language access. Students from Chinese Translation and Interpretation (CHINESE 332D), taught by Yan Liu, French Composition and Translation (French 204), taught by Karine Provot, and Duke campus group INJAZ, advised by Riad Kanj and Maha Houssami, partnered on a solution with the DPS Multilingual Resource Center by translating weekly messages to DPS families in those language communities. Learn more here.

“I think this could be a really innovative model where we can grow the talents of students in the field of language access, and we can help inform our families in Durham Public Schools of what is going on. Hopefully we can plant a seed where others can see what we’re doing and support this vision at a deeper level.” - Pablo Friedmann, Director of the Multilingual Resource Center, Durham Public Schools (DPS)

  • Students from Latinx Voices in Duke, Durham, and Beyond (SPANISH 308S), taught by Rebecca Ewing, researched historical Latinx social movements and collaborated with Curamericas to provide COVID-19 resources to the Latinx community, phone banked with Mijente to register Latinx voters in North Carolina, and supported ISLA with virtual classrooms for ESL learners.

  • Students from Modern Chinese Media (Chinese 331), taught by Tianshu He, engaged with guest speakers from the NIH to discuss the coronavirus pandemic in China, China’s artificial intelligence boom, gender equality, and education.

  • Students from Arabic 305 and 407, taught by Maha Houssami, used the Yalla Natakallam online platform to converse with native speakers and carry out Skype conversations with Syrian and Palestinian refugees currently residing in Turkey, Germany, Argentina and Lebanon.

  • Students from Hindi 101 and Hindi 203, taught by Kusum Knapczyk, learned how to write social justice poems from guest speaker Jai Prakash, aka Dr. Sagar, notorious Bollywood lyrist. Sagar conducted workshops in Hindi and educated students about India’s cultural and societal layers such as the caste system and poverty. They also learned some new dance moves from Rohini Ji, a local dancer and choreographer.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges to our students. One of them was isolation. Our partnership with the DPS Multilingual Resource Center provided my students with a great opportunity to get connected with their classmates and the local community through working together on translating weekly school messages for the local Chinese community. Students reflected that this partnership helped them to feel more connected to Durham, improve their real-life translation skills, and learn more about Durham’s public school system.”

- Professor Yan Liu, Chinese Translation and Interpretation (CHINESE 332D)

Students addressed social isolation and created “Communities of Care” in Durham

Elders in Durham and Duke undergraduates have both had great changes in their social lives due to COVID-19, leading to increased loneliness and isolation. Students in several SL/CE courses collaborated with community partners to form connections in caring communities while learning course objectives.

  • Students from Artists in Healthcare: Collaborations and Complexities (DANCE 371), taught by Sarah Wilbur, collaborated on a citywide initiative with Dementia Inclusive Durham to create Communities of Care while learning about the historical context, economic conditions, and wide range of approaches to project design that underlie the growing subfield of arts in health. Learn more here.

  • Students from Death & Dying (SOCIOL 264), taught by Debby Gold, partnered with elders at Durham’s Hillcrest Convalescent Center, to form relationships, share stories, and show care and support via zoom and window visits, leading to a better understanding of the sociocultural experience, ethical considerations, and the economic and emotional costs of the end-of-life process.

  • Students from Enterprising Leadership (PUBPOL 265), taught by Tony Brown, explored the many facets of leadership and leadership development by collaborating with members of Croasdaile Village to develop strategies and tool kits to mitigate loneliness and increase community engagement for both groups.

“A tiny pocket of people in Durham who were relative strangers were actively seizing the same research problem: how to combat the widespread social isolation under COVID-19 distancing regulations through creative gathering and exchange. Several student teams continued with weekly calls and partnerships beyond the bounded space of the course. The opportunity to continue to learn from the deep wisdom of persons living with Dementia was compelling and mutually felt."

—  Professor Sarah Wilbur, Artists in Healthcare: Collaborations & Complexities (DANCE 371)

Students used documentary photography to explore essential workers, anti-racism work, and the economy

In Fall 2020, students documented the pressing issues of this moment in our collective history. 

  • Students from Digital Documentary Photography: Education, Childhood, and Growth (DOCST 209S / FS), taught by Susie Post-Rust, created two portfolio sites, Colored by COVID and College with COVID, to showcase how they used documentary photography to explore topics such as essential workers, anti-racism work, the economy, and more. The portfolio sites were featured in Duke Today.

  • Students from Documenting the Middle East: Community and Oral History (AMES 204FS), taught by Nancy Kalow, used community-based documentary production to collaborate virtually with Palestinian community partners from the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, and the Diaspora. Hear their stories here.

"At the Center for Documentary Studies  we have been committed to making art that reflects this unusual time in our collective history. This semester was not the norm, and these students rose to the challenge! They turned their cameras to the issues of this moment, ranging from responses to coronavirus to Black Lives Matter and even the effort to find identity or normalcy in this moment.  Our class was held remotely, and students attended from as far away as southern California or Maine and from as close as campus. Throughout the semester, each student documented their project in an effort to be AWAKE to this moment in history.”     

— Professor Susie Post-Rust, Digital Documentary Photography: Education, Childhood, and Growth (DOCST 209S / FS)

A big thank you to Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and the support of our students, faculty, and community partners, for making these collaborations possible!