The GEOG 1992 (Human Geography) course has received support from the Service Learning Program to integrate volunteer assignments through its service learning program (http://www.colorado.edu/servicelearning/). We will use this course to expose you to a diverse network of community organizations that do service and outreach for international development, homeless shelters, food aid organizations, and immigrant communities. There will be two assignments designed to locate your service learning experience within a broader context of political, economic, social and environmental change.

In order to complete the assignments, you will work in ten person teams and identify an organization to work with this semester. The community groups are organized into three broad categories based upon their overall mission: “environmental sustainability,” “micro-finance and international networking,” and “human rights” (GEOG 1992 Service Learning Organizations). Previous students have received credit for volunteering and future employment opportunities through these types of connections so feel free to choose an organization that particularly interests you.

Assignment #1 (3-5 page research paper):
Provide a history of your community organization while situating it within a larger network doing similar work. What are the primary goals of your organization? What is it trying to accomplish? Look at the appropriate bibliography for your organization and make links to other groups working on similar projects:
(Bibliography for environmental sustainability)
(Bibliography for micro-finance and international networking)
(Bibliography for human rights)
How does your group fit within its category of “environmental sustainability,” “micro-finance and international networking,” or “human rights”? What are similarities between your organization and others working within the same broad category? Are there differences?

Assignment #2 (3-5 page research paper):
Choose a current campaign that your organization is working on and describe what is trying to accomplish. What are the primary strategies your group employs to meet its goals? In your opinion, are there ways these could be improved? What are the main constraints to the successful completion of its goals?