Civic Responsibility and

Urban Renewal

Sociology 491
Humanities 304 Option
Spring 2010

Mr. Keith R. Martel

x.5007
krmartel@geneva.edu
Student Center- Top Level

Course Description:

The health of the urban environment is affected (for good and ill) by many factors. The city
of Pittsburgh has been lauded nationally as an urban environment recovering (and many
would say flourishing) after a period of devastation due to the collapse of the steel industry.
Civic Responsibility and Urban Renewal will set forth a sociological investigation into: the life of
the city, means of renewal, theological reflection on city life, and ultimately will challenge
students to develop their own conception of civic responsibility in light of their faith
commitment. Students will be required to begin a framework of God's plan for the city.
Additionally, the curriculum will push students to wrestle with the difficult questions
concerning renewal and the city including suburbanization vs. urbanization, gentrification vs.
renewal, and the role of ownership.

This course will be anchored in the Jubilee Conference which seeks to embody the notion
that all things belong to God and through Christ all things hold together. Students will be
required to attend several class sessions before and after the conference, a pre-conference
lab investigating organizations working for renewal in the city of Pittsburgh, the Jubilee
conference, and follow up sessions.
Course Outcomes:

A student successfully completing this course will:

1. be able to articulate a Christian perspective on urban renewal.
2. be introduced to the complexities of race and class and the city.
3. investigate and evaluate innovative non-profit organizations working for
renewal in the city of Pittsburgh.
4. identify issues of the current and historical institutional injustices affecting
Pittsburgh.
5. compare and contrast the visions for renewal held by both faith-based and
non-faith based organizations.
6. culminate the learning of the course into a project which investigates renewal
in their own community.

Conference:
A primary focus of the course is the opportunity to attend the Jubilee conference and
interact with speakers in a small group setting. Students will be required to attend all of the
sessions. Some particular breakout sessions will be required.

Students will have the opportunity to meet and discuss issues of citizenship and the city in a
small group setting with:

• Leroy Barber: President of Mission Year

• Jim Belcher: Author of Deep Church and founder of the Restoring Community
Conference: Integrating Social Interaction, Sacred Space and Beauty in the 21st
Century
• Mae Elise Cannon: Author of Social Justice Handbook
• David Greusel: Principal architect with Populous, lead designer of PNC Park and
Minute Maid Park. David also is a regular contributor to Comment Magazine.
• John Perkins: Author, Civil Rights Activist, and founder of Mendenhall Ministries
• Gideon Strauss: President of The Center for Public Justice and has formerly served
as a translator for the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (under
Archbishop Desmond Tutu).
• Steven Bouma-Prediger: Author of Beyond Homelessness: Christian Faith in an Age of
Displacement and Environmental Studies faculty at Hope College.
(Note: Some speakers are still pending)

Pre-Conference Lab:
The day before the conference the class will have the opportunity to examine and engage
with the work of several non-profits in the city of Pittsburgh. These non-profits will include
The Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), The
Pittsburgh Project, The Manchester Guild, Pittsburgh Promise, and FreeRide Bicycle
Cooperative.
Required Readings:

Assorted Authors. The Jubilee Reader: Selections from the Voices of the 2010 Jubilee Conference.

Mae Elise Cannon (with John Perkins). Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World.
Downer's Grove, IL: IVP/Bridgeleader Books, 2009.

Steven Garber: The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief And Behavior. Downer's Grove,
IL: IVP Books, 2007.

John Perkins. With Justice for All: A Strategy for Community Development 3rd edition. Ventura,
CA: Regal Books, 2007.

Class Policies:

Attendance –
This class is an intensive experience with the majority of the class seat hours taking place
during the Jubilee conference, pre-conference lab experiences, and critical pre- and post-
conference meetings. Taking this into consideration, participation in each component of the
course is essential. A student will not be able to pass the course without full participation in
the pre-conference lab or conference. Further, students cannot miss other class meetings
except for significant extenuating circumstances. Students will participate in a minimum of
45 seat hours.
Bodily presence is only an aspect of attendance. The expectation is that students enrolled
will actively attend to the content of the course through discussion, interaction with speakers
and lab hosts, and a willingness to pursue class peers in inquiry.

Academic Honesty – Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is defined
as presenting as one’s own work the ideas, representations, or words of another; presenting
one’s own work without proper acknowledgement of sources; stealing and using the ideas or
writings of another without citation. Cheating includes copying assignments from another
student or giving your work to another student to copy. The value of honest independent
work to a student’s education and personal growth and to the integrity of this academic
community cannot be over-stressed.

Student Assistance – Students who desire some form of accommodation for a diagnosed
learning disability or physical problem must inform their instructor at the beginning of each
term (within two weeks) as to the nature of the disability and the type of accommodation
requested. If the disability is diagnosed during the term, students should inform their
instructor immediately of the problems and the accommodations needed. The type of
accommodation provided will depend on the needs of the student, the circumstances of the
student’s classes, and resources of the college. Because of limited resources, final
determination of whether an accommodation can be provided will be at the discretion of the
College.
Lab Fee-
A lab fee of (TBA: under $300) will be charged. Lab fee includes the cost of conference,
preconference, several meals, travel, and lodging.

Grading:
Reading Journals
Students will be required to keep a journal on each text assigned. Reflection on each chapter
should include main points, critical consideration, and particular questions for the author.

Innovation Project
Students in small groups are to synthesize the learning of the semester into a revitalization
plan focusing on an aspect of the city of Beaver Falls informed by their Pittsburgh lab
experience. This plan must include a current issue/problem within the city, research
evidencing this as a problem (interviews, newspaper articles, etc.), and a proposed plan to
help begin the alleviation of the problem.

Final Paper:
Students will be required to write a paper no shorter than eight pages offering:
• a brief theological perspective of the city
• an analysis regarding the civic duty of a Christian toward their social environment
• the relationship of love, care, and responsibility as connected to life in an urban
setting
• a perspective on the complexities of urban renewal vs. gentrification vs.
commodification of the city
The paper should utilize and reference the required texts, sites of renewal visited during the
pre-conference lab, and conversations with Jubilee speakers. Papers must follow standard
formatting.

Attendance/Involvement 100
Reading Journals/Speaker Engagement 100
Innovation Group Project 100
Final Paper 100

Class Schedule:

Date Topic
TBA (January) The Jubilee Vision
TBA (February) Urban ReNEWal
2.18 9am-10 pm Pre-conference Labs
2.19 Pre-conference Engagements
2.19-2.21 Jubilee Conference PLUS
TBA (March) Stories of Renewal in Beaver County (with panel discussion)
4.1 Innovation Group Project Due
4.30 Final Paper