teaching human rights through service...
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TEACHING HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGH SERVICE LEARNING *
Matthew Krain Department of Political Science
The College of Wooster Wooster, OH 44691, USA
330-263-2469 [email protected]
Anne M. Nurse Department of Sociology and Anthropology
The College of Wooster Wooster, OH 44691, USA
330-262-4288 [email protected]
* The authors wish to thank Susie Sargent, Neha Sahgal, Amanda Mizeur, Linda Morgan-Clement, Emily Todd, Leon Horton, Pamela Nurse, the Wayne-Holmes Juvenile Attention Center, John Thompson, the Wooster Volunteer Network, and the College of Wooster for their assistance in the development and implementation of this project. We would also like to thank Jeff Lantis, Kent Kille, and the editor of Human Rights Quarterly for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.
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Classes that deal with human rights issues are among the most popular in the social
science undergraduate curriculum. Students have intense interest in the courses, and
strong opinions on the subject matter. Because these opinions are often based on media
reports and stereotypes, and may be founded on the false assumption that questions about
human rights in democratic societies are moot, these courses provide a unique
opportunity for teaching students to think more broadly about human rights. In addition,
they can present the instructor with a number of pedagogical challenges.
In this article we describe an innovative service learning project designed for use
in undergraduate courses examining human rights issues. Our project was designed as
part of a semester-long seminar for first year undergraduate students on the topic of
human rights.1 The goals of the project included helping students critically evaluate the
theory and practice of human rights, highlighting the relevance of human rights concerns
to their lives and their communities, and demonstrating that students could evaluate and
affect these universal issues at the local level.
The project involved bringing our students to a juvenile prison where each was
paired with a resident who was roughly the same age as the student. This allowed our
students to interact with a group of individuals like themselves, but whose rights were
severely restricted. The partners worked on creating and decorating plaster masks of their
faces. Our hope was that while working together on the artwork, students and residents
would converse, and would come to see each other as more real, more "human," and not
all that different from one another. We chose mask making as the interactive cooperative
art project because of the powerful symbolism it suggested. We hoped students would see
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the creation of these masks from the faces of their partners as a way to “give a face to the
faceless," and to emphasize their humanity.
Initially, many of the student participants found it difficult to acknowledge
similarities between themselves and those whom society saw as criminally deviant. By its
completion, the exercise had allowed for extensive personal contact between student and
resident, humanizing the incarcerated juveniles, and providing inspiration and learning
for both groups. It also vividly illustrated the role of dehumanization in affecting human
rights of those on the fringes of society. The project forced students to reconsider
questions about rights not accorded certain individuals in our society, and did so within
the broader context of ongoing learning and discussions about human rights issues writ
large. The project also allowed our students to examine human rights issues in their local
community.2 It challenged their assumptions about the relevance of human rights
concerns to their own communities and about the importance of evaluating human rights
in democratic societies.
This article discusses the project in detail, including its planning, implementation,
and pedagogical value. It begins with an overview of human rights education, followed
by thoughts on the benefits and challenges of a service learning approach. The article
concludes with an assessment of the effectiveness of our activity.
Teaching Human Rights
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
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The full realization of human rights depends on proper education.3 The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights highlights the importance of “teaching and education to
promote respect for these rights and freedoms.”4 Human rights educators hope to develop
self-aware and knowledgeable citizens willing to acknowledge and address injustice,
even in the face of state authority. Their task is complicated by a school system whose
conventional role is to socialize students into the existing social structure.5 Moreover,
examining human rights from the perspective of only one discipline oversimplifies what
is a complex set of issues. A good human rights education demands an interdisciplinary
approach to provide information about fundamental rights, develop critical thinking skills
and a willingness to question the status quo, and challenge students to apply global
theoretical principles to local challenges.6
There are a variety of methods for teaching human rights. Many of the more
innovative ones involve the use of case analyses, interactive technology and/or
simulations7 and discussion of actual cases. The assumptions underlying these techniques
are that they will more likely pique student interest, provide them with an understanding
of complex world situations, and equip them with the skills to deal with concrete
problems. Yet often such approaches deal with cases or issues that have no immediate
relevance to the everyday lives of students.
In-depth examination of cases more proximate to the student emphasizes the
relevance of these cases to their own lives. As Pritchard8 notes, students need to examine
specific local problems in order to make international human rights standards important
to them. Service learning, a pedagogical strategy growing in popularity in recent years,
provides all of the advantages of the “at-arms-length” teaching techniques of case
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analysis, interactive technology or simulation approaches, but with the added advantage
of even greater immediacy and relevancy for students.
A Service Learning Approach
Service learning is experiential learning designed to provide a needed service to the
community while allowing students to learn and apply course concepts in the real world.9
Service learning differs from community service in that the former involves the
interdependent linkages between coursework and volunteer activity.10 Thus coursework is
informed by student action, and action is informed by, and occurs within the context of,
the academic study of relevant topics. In order for it to be a successful pedagogical tool,
the service activity must be directly linked to the course and its objectives, and must be
carefully interwoven into the learning process set out in the course.11
Service learning allows students to move beyond textbook examples and
participate in actual cases. Students taking part in service learning projects can put names
and faces to the otherwise anonymous people affected by human rights issues.
Immersing themselves in a real world environment helps them to see the complexity of
situations faced by the people with whom they interact. Acting within their own
community while learning about broader and less proximate issues helps students see the
relevance of human rights issues globally and locally, in theory and in practice. Despite
these obvious advantages, however, there have been few if any service learning exercises
designed to teach human rights at the college level.12
Benefits of a Service Learning Approach
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Educators have long recognized the benefits of service learning as pedagogical tool.
Beginning with John Dewey,13 a range of academics have pointed out that the most
effective way to teach concepts is through active learning strategies involving real-world
application.14 Areas in which service learning has been found to be particularly useful are
in enhancing conceptual and theoretical understanding,15 factual learning,16 cognitive skill
development,17 values education,18 and the tolerance and appreciation of diversity.19
Service learning helps students gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter while
developing the skills necessary to transfer that knowledge to new situations.20
Furthermore, the service learning experience helps students actively apply their
new knowledge. It helps them develop social awareness and a sense of social
responsibility,21 a sense of personal efficacy,22 citizenship skills,23 and community
engagement skills.24 Together these help students develop an enduring civic identity.25
Indeed, those who engage in service learning programs have been found to be more likely
to volunteer soon after the experience,26 as well as later in life.27
There appears to be a growing preference among college-age students for
community service over other types of civic or political activity.28 A recent survey
showed that only 26 percent of college students in their first year reported thinking that
receiving political information was important, while 74 percent reported having done
volunteer work in high school.29 Moreover, many reports have shown that students view
service learning as a positive educational experience.30 Service learning takes advantage
of this shift in student preferences for learning and for action by linking text and
classroom to service, thereby demonstrating the interdependence and mutual applicability
of scholastic and experiential learning.31
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Challenges of a Service Learning Approach
In the last twenty years a number of important criticisms of service learning have been
raised. We agree that service learning is a risky venture, but we designed our project with
these potential criticisms in mind. In this section we outline some of the major
difficulties associated with service learning and briefly note how our project attempted to
deal with them. We follow this with a detailed description of the project itself, and
conclude with advice for those interested in replicating it.
Problem 1: Service Learning Might Encourage Reliance on Anecdotal Evidence
Some have argued that service learning encourages students to rely on anecdotal evidence
and individual experiences instead of systematic analysis to understand social problems.
They maintain that students can come away from service learning with personal
experiences that make them unwilling to accept any research findings contradicting their
experiences.32. In order to insure that experiential learning complemented, rather than
replaced, systematic analysis, we made every effort to integrate the course curriculum
with the students’ community experiences. This enabled us to facilitate an instructor-
moderated experiential-intellectual dialogue in the classroom. We found that during the
discussions, students drew from course concepts and other students’ experiences, as well
as from their own personal experiences, to reach generalizations about prisoners and the
prison system. At the same time, our discussion forced them to recognize the complexity
and diversity of the real world.
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We also required students to keep a journal during the project. This assignment
was motivated by research showing that journal keeping, in conjunction with in-class
discussions and other means of structured reflection are integral to the pedagogical
success of service learning projects.33 Without reflection, service can lead students to see
their activity as isolated event, rather than an opportunity for systematic observation and
analysis.34 In addition to facilitating meaningful student reflection, journals function as a
written record of the project, and of student intellectual growth during the project.35
Problem 2: Service Learning Might Reinforce Negative Stereotypes
A related criticism of service learning is that in some instances, it may reinforce negative
stereotypes about oppressed groups. It is possible that students can encounter people who
do, in fact, mirror society’s image of them.36 Responding to this concern, we stressed
issues of sensitivity to diversity within our project orientation sessions. As Hondagneu-
Sotelo and Raskoff37 point out, however, this step alone does not always solve the
tendency to accept negative stereotypes. Therefore, we adopted Hondagneu-Sotelo and
Raskoff’s38 suggestions to counter these potential problems. We integrated scholarship on
race, class, and gender throughout all portions of the course, and spent significant time
during the orientation and in lessons prior to the project explicitly examining the specific
groups, institutions, and practices that the students would encounter during their service.
Problem 3: Service Learning Might Promote Voluntarism as THE Solution
Others argue that service learning promotes the idea of voluntarism as a solution to large-
scale social problems.39. For example, both Strand40 and Walker41 suggest that instead of
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addressing the root causes of social problems, service learning may encourage students
simply to work within the existing system. Therefore, during our postservice debriefing
sessions, we discussed what could be done to improve human rights issues within the
current political and social environment. We also spent significant time discussing the
changes that could not be achieved within the current system, and what would need to
change in order for such improvements to occur.
Problem 4: Service Learning Often Imposes Itself upon a Captive Target Population
A final criticism of service learning is that it can involve outsiders imposing projects on
an unwilling population.42 This was of particular concern to us when working with
residents of a correctional facility. It would have been easy for the young people to
believe that their participation in our activities was linked to their chances of parole. We
were keenly aware of this possibility and made it clear that residents were free to opt out
of the project without negative sanctions. Additionally, residents who expressed any
discomfort with the application of plaster to their face were provided with the option of
using a Styrofoam head. When we presented these options to the residents, however, all
chose to participate fully in the project. When we talked to them later, many commented
that they had few diversions in their daily lives and the mask making provided an
exciting change from the routine.
The Project
From the first day of our class, we let students know that service learning was a vital
component of their coursework. While all students were required to participate in service
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learning, they did have a number of options. We encouraged students to participate in the
mask-making project but those who were uncomfortable were given the option of
volunteering in another capacity at the prison or organizing a community book drive for
the residents.43
The mask-making project was organized in four two-hour sessions over a period
of two weeks. We believe eight hours is the minimum amount of time required, and
because masks need time to set, the project must be done over a number of days. We
acknowledge recent findings that suggest sustained service is most beneficial in terms of
pedagogical outcomes.44 At the same time, however, there is research indicating that
short-term service learning experiences provide many of the same benefits as longer term
projects.45 In the absence of resources and time, we selected the more concentrated time
period. The service learning component of the course occurred near the middle of the
semester. This enabled us to develop course themes, review relevant literature, and
analyze specific examples while still having time for a proper orientation. After the
completion of the project, students were given an opportunity to reflect upon their service
learning experience. We found that they were able to experience the passion necessary
for activism while gaining the distance and perspective necessary for systematic analysis.
We required students to keep a journal during the project to further encourage
reflection and systematic analysis. In early journal entries students were asked to reflect
upon their perceptions of the project and its goals, the nature of service, their
preconceptions about prison populations and their thoughts on human rights issues as
they relate to the incarcerated. Once the project was underway, students were asked to
discuss their experiences at the correctional facility and their interactions with the
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incarcerated youth with whom they were paired. They were also asked to begin making
more general observations about conditions in the facility and the freedoms allowed or
denied to the incarcerated. Once our structured visits concluded we asked students to
reflect upon the entire experience and to begin to draw larger generalizations, as well as
to examine how their own thinking about correctional facilities, prisoners, and human
rights were affected.
Session #1: Orientation
At the beginning of our orientation session, we reviewed some of the theoretical issues
we had covered to that point in the semester. We discussed the various definitions of
human rights,46 the debate over universal versus culturally relative human rights,47 and
the distinctions between human and civil rights.48 We also addressed the academic and
policy debates about the legitimacy of concerns over human rights in “free” societies.
Specifically we asked whether the United States has a human rights problem with regard
to how it treats its prison population.49 Finally, we focused on the issue of juveniles
within the United States’ criminal justice system.50
Next, we provided a more practical training session for our students. We
discussed the rules of the prison, guidelines for appropriate behavior, and issues of
sensitivity and confidentiality. Because the population of the correctional center is drawn
from the surrounding community, we stressed the importance of keeping the identities (or
any identifying information) of the residents absolutely confidential. We also talked
about our own students’ fears and perceptions.
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Following this, we taught the students how to make masks. Because neither
author was familiar with the process, we invited an artist from the community to help us.
Mask making is not difficult, but it is important to do it correctly so that the plaster does
not stick to the skin and the masks set properly. The artist used one of our students as a
model and taught the class how to create a plaster mask. Our students then selected
partners and practiced on one another.
Session #2: Initial Contact and Mask Making
On the second day of the project we traveled to the juvenile detention facility. We had
informed the staff as to the number of students we were bringing so that we could pair
our students one-to-one with the residents. To set the residents at ease about the mask-
making process, our guest artist demonstrated on one of the students. In addition, our
students brought the masks they had constructed in the previous session as examples of a
finished product. We then paired students and residents and had them engage in a series
of icebreakers. After this activity our students made a mask for their partner. Mask
making was the perfect activity for our purposes because it forced the two people to have
contact with each other, but required little conversation while the mask was setting. This
meant that there was a sense of closeness but it did not force conversation. Nevertheless,
we observed that, after a brief period of somewhat tense interaction, much
communication -- verbal and nonverbal -- occurred between students and residents. After
completion, the masks were left to set at the facility.
Session #3: Mask Decoration amidst Conversations
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We returned two days later with a variety of art supplies (paints, glue, glitter, magazines,
buttons). The students went immediately and sat with their partners. Both students and
residents decorated their masks. This provided a perfect opportunity for conversation
about the masks and other topics as well. Some of the residents asked our students about
life at college, and there were discussions about life at the juvenile prison. This day was
the most important in fulfilling the purpose of our project, allowing the students and
residents to come to know each other better. To further this end, we had each partner
help the other write a card explaining the design they chose for their mask. By the end of
the session the room was noisy with laughter and conversation. We photographed the
masks to enable a public (on-line) exhibit of the artwork,51 but left the residents’ masks at
the center so they could take them with them when released.
Session #4: Initial In-Class Structured Reflection
The final part of this project was an extended discussion with our students relating their
experience to course concepts. When we met, we encouraged each of them to talk about
what they learned. We then asked students to draw some generalizations from the
experiences of the class.
Structured Reflection in the Aftermath of the Project
As previously described, our class discussions were augmented with journal-writing
activities designed to help students link their experiences to broader human rights issues.
These and other scholarly efforts to put the experience into a broader academic context
continued throughout the rest of the semester. For example, reference was made to life in
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correctional facilities in subsequent lessons on a range of issues concerning human rights
in democratic societies. In particular, we found that reflection and analysis of our service
learning experiences significantly enhanced assignments and in-class discussions about
child labor, police brutality, prison conditions, and the death penalty. Moreover,
reviewing the service learning project in light of debates on these issues helped students
to locate and evaluate their experiences within larger policy and academic contexts.
Assessment
Very few studies effectively assess the impact of service learning on student learning and
other outcomes.52 There are a number of reasons for this lack of research. First, it is
difficult to isolate the effects of service learning from those resulting from the classroom
component of a course. Second, it is difficult to develop measures that are
comprehensive enough to capture diverse outcomes resulting from a service learning
experience. Finally, while some researchers have assessed student progress at the
conclusion of the term in which the service learning occurred, few have overcome the
logistical problems associated with tracking long-term learning gains.
With these challenges in mind, we used several tools to help us assess the effects
of the mask-making project. At the conclusion of our course, we asked all students to fill
out a special evaluation of the service learning experience. This evaluation was adapted
from a survey instrument developed by researchers from the Graduate School of
Education at the University of California, Berkeley, and it covered a range of possible
outcomes.53 In addition, we asked the students for permission to use their journals as part
of our evaluation. To assess long-term effects of the project, we administered a follow-up
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survey a year later. This survey asked about the students’ retention of course concepts,
their participation in volunteer work, and any attitudinal changes that they believed
resulted from service learning.
Researchers have found that a number of benefits may be associated with service
learning. Here we focus on the effects of our project on four key outcomes: student
learning, student service, classroom dynamics and student engagement.
Effects on Student Learning
In the survey we conducted immediately following the project, we directly asked students
whether they thought that the service learning component of the class enhanced their
understanding of the course material, including the rights of prisoners. Of the 27
responses, 26 (96 percent) agreed that it did.
One year later, we asked students the same question, this time asking them to use
a scale from zero (not effective) to five (highly effective). The average rating was 4.4,
with half of the students rating service learning’s effectiveness in teaching course
concepts as a 5. In the free-response section of the follow-up survey, students
commented that service learning "helped me associate what I learned with a visual
image," and "made the course much more relevant to me." One student noted that:
Just being there and seeing the psychological effects of a
prison really drove home all of the concepts we learned
about. One can read a study about prisons all they want to,
but until you see the effects firsthand you really have no
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idea how much freedom and control is lost. It was very
educational.
Others commented that the experience helped them understand that not all learning
occurs in the traditional classroom, and that learning "on their own time" could be
beneficial.
The direct contact and interaction facilitated by the mask-making project served
to humanize the prison population, allowing the students to see inmates as individuals
deserving of basic human rights. In a journal entry, one student commented
I never would have thought that these kids would have as
much potential as I saw in that room. I realize that some of
them are just tough and immature kids, but some are the
products of a society that they did not choose. They were
born into harsh lives, and they were doing what they could
to get by. I went in expecting a bunch of punks and I came
out with a new respect for what they have had to deal with
all their lives.
Another student commented
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It wasn’t until the second day that I noticed the
individuality that each one of the residents carried. They
were all different, and not just typical criminals.
Finally, a student wrote that he was nervous before going to the Center, but quickly
discovered that
My “art partner” is actually not that different than me in
that we both shared the love of sports… He painted his
[mask] like a hockey mask, which was the sport that he
participated in before he was sentenced. I painted mine in
honor of the sports that I now play. This struck me
[because] he was just like me except he had made a bad
decision in his life.
Survey responses a year after the project suggest that students retained this lesson beyond
the duration of the project and the class. Students reiterated their newfound realization
that the residents of the juvenile detention center were "just like normal kids you could
find anywhere." Others generalized beyond children to prisoners of any age: "[the
experience] showed me that a prisoner is just as human as any of us... everyone makes
mistakes." Another recalled: "I learned that although people make bad choices... they are
not necessarily bad people." Students noted that the experience helped to humanize the
incarcerated by "putting a face to the issues," and enabled students to rethink their
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positions on human rights issues by allowing them "an insider's perspective." Many
students wrote that the experience increased their ability to sympathize more generally
with others in less fortunate circumstances: "It opened my eyes to different people and
situations. I've become more open and less judgmental."
Perhaps because of their newfound ability to see prisoners as individuals not all
that different from themselves, our students’ journals suggested that they came to see the
denial of basic levels of education as the central human rights issue in the juvenile justice
system. Many students wrote in their journals about the lack of rehabilitation programs
available to residents. At least half of the students commented on the substandard quality
of the education that was being offered to the residents. One wrote
I feel that the education offered to the residents there is not
adequate. I understand that sometimes it is not possible to
teach these kids what they would learn in a public school,
but the style of education used there is not an effective one.
It basically tells the kids to sit there and be quiet and do
busy-work [sic].
In survey responses a year later, at least five of the nineteen respondents noted that the
experience also alerted them to issues that they would otherwise not have considered,
including rights differentials between children and adults, and between the incarcerated
and the rest of society.
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Effects on Student Service
Researchers have found that one of the positive outcomes of service learning is that
students who might not otherwise have done volunteer work continue to do so after their
experience. In our initial class survey, conducted at the end of the term, 25 out of 27
students (93 percent) agreed that the service learning project “increased or strengthened
your desire to serve others in need,” and the same 25 out of 27 said that they planned to
continue volunteering. The students’ experience at the juvenile prison was compelling
enough that 15 out of 27 (55 percent) indicated that they planned to do their volunteer
work at the prison. One said:
I plan to volunteer hours on Sunday at this center. I feel an
obligation to go back. I think everyone should go back
with me and help instead of going to church.
This notion of service as a citizen’s obligation was echoed in student responses to our
survey as well. 22 out of 27 (82 percent) students said that service learning, “increased or
strengthened your belief that helping those in need is one’s social responsibility.”
Moreover, students appeared to see their current and future service as having an impact.
To see whether the students’ intentions to participate in volunteer work actually
translated into action, we included questions on our one-year follow-up survey about
participation in any type of volunteer work. Of the 19 students who responded to the
survey, 6 (32 percent) said they had done volunteer work in the six months following the
project and 7 (37 percent) said they were currently involved in some type of volunteer
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work. Of these students, 4 had made a weekly commitment to continue working with the
residents at the detention center. While it is clear that many of our students did not follow
through on their intentions to continue volunteer work (at least in the year following the
project), the fact that 37 percent were engaged in such work is impressive given estimates
suggesting that among all students at the College, only 15 percent are participating in
volunteer work during any given semester.54
In free response answers, students who continued their service activities explained
how our service learning project affected their decision to participate. One student
remarked that the experience helped make clear "who I want to become." Two others
took away from the experience an increased desire to "change the system." Four students
noted that they felt a sense of increased efficacy. One wrote that the project "finally made
me realize the effect I can have in the lives of people." Another explained that "it just
gives me a good feeling and makes me feel like I made a small difference in someone
else's life." While the program may not have had lasting effects on all students, it had a
dramatic positive impact upon those that it did affect. Even students who had service
experience before the project benefited. One student wrote:
Personally, I've known about the importance of
volunteerism for a while now. However, I think that service
learning goes a long way to expose others who [sic] may
not have experienced volunteer work to the realm of
volunteerism. The work we did certainly exposed me to a
part of the world that I had never really thought of before.
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Effects on Classroom Dynamics and Student Engagement
Although difficult to measure, both authors noted that the service done by students had an
impact on classroom dynamics. While providing students with an enjoyable and
entertaining experience was not our primary goal, we found that the enthusiasm
generated by the art project spilled over in very positive ways into our classroom
discussions and activities. Students felt bonded to each other as a result of their shared
experience, and became comfortable sharing their thoughts in class. Moreover, their real-
life encounter with a human rights issue made them far more engaged with learning and
applying course concepts.
Conclusions
Our experience suggests that service learning can be a valuable tool in the
teaching of human rights. Our students were better able to link broad theoretical concepts
to real-world human rights issues. In particular, humanizing prison inmates was an
important outcome of this service learning project because it also gave students the tools
to view marginalized groups as human and deserving of basic rights. The experience also
vividly illustrated to our students the relevance of human rights concerns to their own
lives and communities. It also demonstrated to them their potential efficacy in
confronting and evaluating these issues, and inspired many to attempt to do so soon after
the experience was over. While our service learning project did not have lasting effects
on all of our students, we can conclude that it did have a dramatic positive impact on
those it did affect.
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We believe that this project could be modified in many ways and still provide
beneficial results. While the project was designed to be implemented over four class
sessions (for a total of eight class hours), it could easily be expanded to be an ongoing
semester-long project. Indeed, much of the literature on service learning suggests that the
benefits of repeated interaction and extended project duration are significant. The project
was initially developed to be used in a class on human rights, but has also been applied
with equal success in a class on criminal deviance.55 It could also be appropriated or
adapted for any class that deals with issues of human rights on the local or global levels,
the public policy or sociology of detention and criminal deviance, or even classes that
touch on the role of dehumanization in large scale communal conflict. A similar service
learning project could also aid and engage a different marginalized group, depending
upon the focus of the class or the educational goals of the instructor. Finally, it would be
possible to use an art project other than mask making, or to engage in another type of
interactive and cooperative activity altogether. Nevertheless, we found that the
symbolism of the masks as “giving a face to the faceless” did not seem to be lost on
either students or residents.
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Endnotes
1 The course syllabus can be found at: http://www.wooster.edu/polisci/mkrain/fys.html.
2 This project can also be used to teach students about the social construction of deviance.
See Anne Nurse & Matthew Krain, Mask-making: A Service Learning Approach to
Teaching the Social Construction of Deviance (2002) (unpublished manuscript, on file
with authors).
3 Alicia Ely-Yamin, Empowering Visions: Toward a Dialectical Pedagogy of Human
Rights, 15 Human Rights Quarterly 640 640-685 (1993).
4 Charles P. Henry Educating for Human Rights, 13 Human Rights Quarterly 420 421
(1991). (notes that other cornerstones of the global human rights regime, such as the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, also emphasize the importance of human rights
education).
5 Id. at 420.
6 Paul J. Martin, Human Rights—Education for What? 9 Human Rights Quarterly 414
414-420 (1987). See also Kathleen Pritchard, Political Science and the Teaching of
Human Rights, 11 Human Rights Quarterly 459 459-475 (1989). See also Nancy
Flowers et al., The Human Rights Education Handbook: Effective Practices for
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Learning, Action and Change, (2000), at
http://www.hrusa.org/hrmaterials/hreduseries/hrhandboojk1/toc.html.
7 See e.g., Howard Tolley, Jr. Project THRO: Teaching Human Rights On-Line, 20
Human Rights Quarterly 945 945-961 (1998).
8 Kathleen Pritchard, Political Science and the Teaching of Human Rights, 11 Human
Rights Quarterly 945 945-961 (1998).
9 Janet S. Eyler and D.E. Giles, Jr., Where’s the Learning in Service-Learning? Jossey-
Bass 3-5 (1999).
10 Benjamin Barber, Afterword, in Experiencing Citizenship: Concepts and Models for
Service-Learning in Political Science 228 (Richard M. Battistoni & William E. Hudson
eds., 1997). See also Glenn Beamer, Service Learning: What’s a Political Scientist
Doing in Yonkers? 31:3 PS: Political Science and Politics 557 557-561 (1998). See also
Judy Primavera, The Unintended Consequences of Volunteerism: Positive Outcomes for
Those Who Serve in Educating Students to Make-a-Difference: Community-Based
Service Learning 125-140 (Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999).
11 Kathleen Maas Weigert, Academic Service Learning: Its Meaning and Relevance in
Academic Service Learning: A Pedagogy of Action and Reflection 5-7 (Jeffrey Howard &
Robert Rhoads eds., 1998). See also Jefffrey P.F. Howard, Academic Service Learning: A
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
24
Counternormative Pedagogy in Academic Service Learning: A Pedagogy of Action and
Reflection 21 (Jeffrey Howard & Robert Rhoads eds., 1998). See also Mary A. Hepburn
et al., Service Learning in College Political Science: Queries and Commentary, 33:3 PS:
Political Science and Politics 617 618 (2000).
12 Some, such as the refugee resettlement project of Amy S. Patterson, It’s a Small
World: Incorporating Service Learning into International Relations Courses, 33:4 PS:
Political Science and Politics 817 817-822 (2000), have other primary goals, and thus
only peripherally address human rights issues. Others are designed for younger students,
and as such may be difficult to incorporate into a college curriculum. See, e.g. Lynn
Davies, Citizenship Education and Human Rights Education: An International Overview,
The British Council at
http://www.britishcouncil.org/governance/3_International_overview.pdf. See also Nancy
Flowers et al., The Human Rights Education Handbook: Effective Practices for
Learning, Action and Change, University of Minnesota Human Rights Resource Center,
at http://www.hrusa.org/hrmaterials/hreduseries/hrhandboojk1/toc.html (2000). See also
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, The ABC of Human Rights
Education, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, at
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/abc.htm (2000). Rare exceptions include Bill
Talbott, Philosophy of Human Rights: Service Learning Profile, Syllabus for Philosophy
338: Philosophy of Human Rights, at
http://faculty.washington.edu/wtalbott/phil338/338syl.htm.
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
25
13 John Dewey, Experience and Education, Collier Books 1938.
14 Space constraints preclude a lengthy discussion of service learning and other active
learning strategies. See Allen J. Wutzdorff and Dwight E. Giles, Jr., Service Learning in
Higher Education in Service Learning: Ninety-Sixth Yearbook of the National Society for
the Study of Education 106-109 (Joan Schine ed., 1997). See also Tony Robinson,
Service Learning as Justice Advocacy: Can Political Scientists Do Politics? 33:3 PS:
Political Science and Politics 605 605-606 (2000) (excellent discussion of the intellectual
roots of service learning). See also Garry Hesser, Faculty Assessment of Student
Learning: Outcomes Attributed to service-Learning and Evidence of Changes in Faculty
Attitudes About Experimental Education, 2 Michigan Journal of Community Service-
Learning 33 33-42 (1995). See also Sam Marullo, Sociology’s Essential Role: Promoting
Imagination: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Sociology 11-25 (James
Ostrow et al. eds., 1996). See also Janet S. Eyler & D.E. Giles, Jr., The Learning in
Service-Learning (1999). See also Janet S. Eyler, What Do We Most Need to Know about
the Impact of Service-Learning on Student Learning? Special Issue: Service Learning
Research The Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning (2000). (extensive
reviews of the relevant findings in the literature). See also Jeffrey Lantis et al., The New
International Studies Classroom: Active Teaching, Active Learning Lynne Reinner
(1999) (for discussion of a wide variety of active learning strategies for teaching other
international relations issues).
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
26
15 See John Dewey, Experience and Education Collier Books (1938). See also Thomas
H. Batchelder & Susan Root, Effects of an Undergraduate Program to Integrate
Academic Learning and Service: Cognitive, Prosocial Cognitive and Identity Outcomes,
17:4 Journal of Adolescence, 341 341-356 (1994). See also Janet S. Eyler & D.E. Giles,
Jr., Where’s the Learning in Service-Learning? Jossey-Bass (1999).
16 U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Focus on
Civics National Assessment of Educational Progress 1998 Report Card for the Nation
U.S. Department of Education (1999) at
http://www.nces.edu.gov/nationsreportcard/civics/civics.asp.
17 Thomas H. Batchelder & Susan Root, Effects of an Undergraduate Program to
Integrate Academic Learning and Service: Cognitive, Prosocial Cognitive and Identity
Outcomes, 17:4 341 341-356 (1994). See also Janet S. Eyler & D.E. Giles, Jr., Where’s
the Learning in Service Learning? Jossey-Bass (1999).
18 Gregory B. Marcus et al., Integrating Community Service and Classroom Instruction
Enhances Learning: Results from an Experiment, 15:4 Educational Evaluation and
Policy Analysis 410 410-419 (1993). See also Judith A. Boss, The Effect of Community
Service Work on the Moral Development of College Ethics Students, 23:2 Journal of
Moral Education 183 183-198 (1994). See also Craig Rimmerman, The New Citizenship:
Unconventional Politics, Activism, and Service Westview Press (1997).
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
27
19 Richard A. Brody, Secondary Education and Political Attitudes: Examining the Effects
on Political Tolerance of the “We the People…” Curriculum Center for Civic Education
(1994). See also Elizabeth B. Gardner & Corinne M. Baron, Attitudinal and Academic
Effects of Service-Learning in Educating Students to Make-a-Difference: Community –
Based Service Learning 97-109 (Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999). See
also Judy Primavera, The Unintended Consequences of Volunteerism: Positive Outcomes
for Those Who Serve in Educating Students to Make-a-Difference: Community-Based
Service Learning (Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman, 1999). For other findings
supporting service learning’s positive effects on these skills or attributes see Alexander
W. Astin & Linda J. Sax, How Undergraduates are Affected by Service Participation,
39:3 Journal of College Student Development 251 251-263 (1998). See also Janet S.
Eyler & D.E. Giles, Jr., Where’s the Learning in Service-Learning? Jossey-Bass (1999).
See also Janet S. Eyler & B. Halteman, The Impact of a Legislative Internship on
Students’ Political Skill and Sophistication, 9 Teaching Political Science 27-34 (1981).
See also Sam Marullo, Sociology’s Esssential Role: Promoting Critical Analysis in
Service-Learning in Cultivating the Sociological Imagination: Concepts and Models for
Service-Learning in Sociology 11-25 (James Ostrow et al. eds., 1996). See also Maria W.
McKenna & Elaine Rizzo, Student Perceptions of the “Learning” in Service-Learning
Courses in Educating Students to Make-a-Difference: Community-Based Service
Learning 111-123 (Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999).
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
28
20 Janet S. Eyler, What Do We Most Need to Know About the Impact of Service-Learning
on Student Learning? Special Issue: Service-Learning Research The Michigan Journal of
Community Service Learning (2000).
21 Gregory B. Marcus et al., Integrating Community service and Classroom Instruction
Enhances Learning: Results from an Experiment, 15:4 Educational Evaluation and
Policy Analysis 410 410-419 (1993). See also M. Michelle Rowe & Judith G. Chapman,
Faculty and Student Participation and Perceptions of Service-Learning Outcomes in
Educating Students to Make-a-Difference: Community Based Service Learning 83-96
(Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999). See also Judy Primavera, The
Unintended Consequences of Volunteerism: Positive Outcomes for Those Who Serve in
Educating Students to Make-a-Difference: Community-Based Service Learning 125-140
(Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999).
22 Gregory B. Marcus et al., Integrating Community service and Classroom Instruction
Enhances Learning: Results from an Experiment, 15:4 Educational Evaluation and
Policy Analysis 410 410-419 (1993). See also Ed Schwerin, Service Learning and
Empowerment n Experiencing Citizenship: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in
Political Science 203-213 (Richard M. Battistoni & William E. Hudson eds., 1997). See
also Janet S. Eyler, What Do We Most Need to Know About the Impact of Service-
Learning on Student Learning? Special Issue: Service-Learning Research The Michigan
Journal of Community Service Learning (2000).
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
29
23 Benjamin Barber, Afterword in Experiencing Citizenship: Concepts and Models for
Service-Learning in Political Science 227-235 (Richard M. Battistoni & William E.
Hudson eds., 1997). See also James J. Youniss et al., What We Know About Engineering
Civic Identity, 40:5 American Behavioral Scientist 620 620-631 (1997). See also Michale
X. Delli Carpini & Scott Keeter, What Should Be Learned Through Service Learning?
33:3 PS: Political Science and Politics 635 635-637 (2000).
24 M. Michelle Rowe & Judith G. Chapman, Faculty and Student Participation and
Perceptions of Service-Learning Outcomes in Educating Students to Make-a-Difference:
Community Based Service Learning 83-96 (Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds.,
1999). See also Tobi Walker, The Service/Politics: Rethinking Service to Teach Political
Enlightenment, 33:3 PS: Political Science and Politics 647 647-649 (2000). There may
also be the added benefit of enhancing the community-campus (or “town-gown”)
relationship via positive service learning experiences. See Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo &
Sally Raskoff, Community Service-Learning Promises and Problems, 22 Teaching
Sociology 248 248-254 (1994). Many towns feel that their local college or university is
too isolated and remote from their daily lives, while many campuses find that
relationships with supporting communities are strained at best. Service learning provides
a positive interaction in which both campus and community benefit – a “win-win”
situation. It is a further reminder to students, faculty, administrators, and community
members that a “college is not separate from the community, but a part of it.” See
Gregory B. Markus, Community Service Learning as Practice in the Democratic Political
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
30
Arts in Experiencing Citizenship: Concepts and Models for Service Learning in Political
Science 76 (Richard Battistani & William Hudson eds., 1997).
25 Janet S. Eyler, What Do We Most Need to Know About the Impact of Service-Learning
on Student Learning? Special Issue: Service-Learning Research The Michigan Journal of
Community Service Learning (2000).
26 Gregory B. Marcus et al., Integrating Community Service and Classroom Instruction
Enhances Learning: Results from an Experiment, 15:4 Educational Evaluation and
Policy Analysis 410 410-419 (1993). See also Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo & Sally
Raskoff, Community Service-Learning Promises and Problems, 22 Teaching Sociology
248 248-254 (1994). See also Susan Hunter & Richard A. Brisbin, Jr., The Impact of
Service Learning on Democratic and Civic Values, 33:3 PS: Political Science and Politics
623 624 (2000).
27 James J. Youniss et al., What We Know About Engendering Civic Identity, 40:5
American Behavioral Scientist 620 620-631 (1997). See also Alexander W. Astin et al.
Long Term Effects of Volunteerism During the Undergraduate Years. 22:2 Review of
Higher Education 187 187-202 (1999). See also David E. Campbell, Social Capital and
Service Learning 33:3 PS: Political Science and Politics 641 641-645 (2000). It should
also be noted that community organizations frequently report satisfaction with service
learning programs with which they are affiliated. See e.g. Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo &
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
31
Sally Raskoff, Community Service-Learning Promises and Problems, 22 Teaching
Sociology 248 248-254 (1994).
28 Benjamin Barber, Afterword in Experiencing Citizenship: Concepts and Models for
Service-Learning in Political Science 227-235 (Richard M. Battistoni & William E.
Hudson eds., 1997). See also David E. Campbell, Social Capital and Service Learning
33:3 PS: Political Science and Politics 641 641-645 (2000). See also Robert D. Putnam
Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community Simon and Schuster
(2000).
29 Sheilah Mann, What a Survey of College Freshmen Tells Us about Their Interest in
Politics and Political Science, 32:2 PS: Political Science and Politics 263 263-268
(1999).
30 Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo & Sally Raskoff, Community Service-Learning Promises
and Problems, 22 Teaching Sociology 248 248-254 (1994). See also M. Michelle Rowe
& Judith G. Chapman, Faculty and Student Participation and Perceptions of Service-
Learning Outcomes in Educating Students to Make-a-Difference: Community Based
Service Learning 83-96 (Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999). Some have
found that service learning demonstrates to students how traditional classroom learning
can be relevant to their lives. See Gregory B. Markus, Community Service Learning as
Practice in the Democratic Political Arts in Experiencing Citizenship: Concepts and
Models for Service Learning in Political Science 74 (Richard Battustani & William
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
32
Hudson eds., 1997). See also Elizabeth B. Gardner & Corinne M. Baron, Attitudinal and
Academic Effects of Service-Learning in Educating Students to Make-a-Difference:
Community-Based Service Learning 97-109 (Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds.,
1999). See also Susan Hunter & Richard A. Brisbin, Jr., The Impact of Service Learning
on Democratic and Civic Values, 33:3 PS: Political Science and Politics 623 623-626
(2000). Others find that service learning actually increases students’ sense of self-esteem.
See Judy Primavera, The Unintended Consequences of Volunteerism: Positive Outcomes
for Those Who Serve in Educating Students to Make-a-Difference: Community-Based
Service Learning 125-140 (Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999). See also M.
Michelle Rowe & Judith G. Chapman, Faculty and Student Participation and
Perceptions of Service-Learning Outcomes in Educating Students to Make-a-Difference:
Community Based Service Learning 83-96 (Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds.,
1999). Either of these findings might explain students’ positive perceptions of service
learning experiences.
31 Glenn Beamer, Service Learning: What’s a Political Scientist Doing in Yonkers? 31:3
PS: Political Science and Politics 557 557-561 (1998). See also Judy Primavera, The
Unintended Consequences of Volunteerism: Positive Outcomes for Those Who Serve in
Education Students to Make-a-Difference: Community-Based Service Learning 125-140
(Joseph Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999).
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
33
32 Kerry J. Strand, Sociology and Service-Learning: A Critical Look in Cultivating the
Sociological Imagination: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Sociology 29-37
(James Ostrow et al. eds., 1999).
33 David Cooper, Reading, Writing and Reflection in Academic Service Learning: A
Pedagogy of Action and Reflection 47-56 (Robert Rhoads & Jeffrey Howard eds., 1998).
See also Kathleen Rice & Seth Pollack, Developing a Critical Pedagogy of Service
Learning: Preparing Self-Reflective, Culturally Aware, and Responsive Community
Participants in Integrating Service Learning and Multicultural Education in Colleges
and Universities 115-134 (Carolyn R. O’Grady ed., 2000).
34 Richard P. Lipka, Research and Evaluation in Service Learning: What Do We Need to
Know? in Service Learning: Ninety-Sixth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study
of Education. Part I 59 (Joan Schine ed., 1997).
35 Bill Swinford, Civil Rights and Liberties in Experiencing Citizenship: Concepts and
Models for Service-Learning in Political Science 143 (Richard M. Battistoni & William
E. Hudson eds., 1997). For examples of studies that have employed journal entries
successfully as both a pedagogical and an evaluative tool see Elizabeth B.Gardner and
Corinne M. Baron, Attitudinal and Academic Effects of Service-Learning in Educating
Students to Make-a-Difference: Community-Based Service Learning 97-109 (Joseph
Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999). See also Maria W McKenna & Elaine Rizzo,
Student Perceptions of the “Learning” in Service-Learning Courses in Educating
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
34
Students to Make-a-Difference: Community-Based Service Learning 111-123 (Joseph
Ferrari & Judith G. Chapman eds., 1999).
36 Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo & Sally Raskoff, Community Service-Learning Promises
and Problems, 22 Teaching Sociology 248 248-254 (1994). See also Scott James Myers-
Lipton The Effects of Service Learning on College Students’ Attitudes Toward Civic
Responsibility, International Understanding, and Racial Prejudice (1994) (Unpublished
Ph.D dissertation, University of Colorado, Boulder) (on file with author).
37 Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo & Sally Raskoff, Community Service-Learning Promises
and Problems, 22 Teaching Sociology 248 248-254 (1994).
38 Id. at 248-254.
39 Tony Robinson, Service Learning as Justice Advocacy: Can Political Scientists Do
Politics? 33:3 PS: Political Science and Politics 605 605-612 (2000).
40 Kerry J. Strand, Sociology and Service-Learning: A Critical Look in Cultivating the
Sociological Imagination: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Sociology 29-37
(James Ostrow et al. eds., 1999).
41 Tobi Walker, The Service/Politics Split: Rethinking Service To Teach Political
Enlightenment 33:3 PS: Political Science and Politics 647 647-649 (2000).
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
35
42 Sam Marullo, Sociology’s Contribution to the Service Learning Movement in Service
Learning and Undergraduate Sociology: Syllabi and Instructional Material 1-9 (Morton
G. Ender et al. eds., 1996).
43 The issue of whether or not to require all students to participate is a contentious one.
For a brief review of the debate and how recent findings affect it, see Kathleen Maas
Weigert Academic Service Learning: Its Meaning and Relevance in Academic Service
Learning: A Pedagogy of action and Reflection 8 (Jeffrey Howard & Robert Rhoads eds.,
1998). See also Mary A. Hepburn et al., Service Learning in College Political Science:
Queries and Commentary, 33:3 PS Political Science and Politics 617 621 (2000).
44 Richard G. Neimi & Jane Junn, Civic Education: What Makes Students Learn, Yale
University Press 1998.
45 For a review of this literature, see Mark D. McCarthy, One-Time and Short-Term
Service Learning Experiences in Service –Learning in Higher Education: Concepts and
Practices 113-134 (Barbara Jacoby and Assoicates eds., 1996).
46 We relied heavily on discussion and evaluation of the documents currently archived in
Human Rights Watch, A Summary of United Nations Agreements on Human Rights
(2001) at: http://www.hrweb.org/legal/undocs.html. See also Jack Donnelly,
International Human Rights Westview Press (1998).
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
36
47 Diana Ayton-Shenker, The Challenge of Human Rights and Cultural Diversity United
Nations Department of Public Information (1995). See also Jack Donnelly, International
Human Rights Westview Press (1998). See also Shashi Tharoor, Are Human Rights
Universal? 16 World Policy Journal (2000).
48 Original documents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
Declaration of the Rights of Man, and the United States Constitution served as a useful
jumping-off point for these discussions. See also Human Rights Watch, A Summary of
United Nations Agreements on Human Rights (2001) at:
http://www.hrweb.org/legal/undocs.html.
49 Amnesty International, Rights for All - Human Rights Violations in the USA Amnesty
International USA (1998). See also Mumia Abu-Jamal, Live From Death Row Addison-
Wesley (1995).
50 Amnesty International, Betraying the Young: Human Rights Violations against
Children in the US Justice System. Amnesty International USA (1998)
51 See http://e-volutiondesign.com/masks/masks.html. While not all the artwork remains
on display, a sample of the masks may be viewed at the cited URL. Our initial plan was
to collect the masks, take them with us, and display them, along with the artists’
handwritten descriptions of them in some public exhibit. However, it soon became
Teaching Human Rights through Service Learning
37
obvious to both authors that the residents took such pride in their artwork that to take it
away from them would be very upsetting. By simply photographing the masks, we were
able to leave them at the Center for the residents to take home when they were released.
52 Garry Hesser, Faculty Assessment of Student Learning: Outcomes Attributed to
Service-Learning and Evidence of Changes in Faculty Attitudes About Experimental
Education, 2 Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning 33 33-42 (1995). See
also Janet S. Eyler, What Do We Most Need to Know about the Impact of Service-
Learning on Student Learning? Special Issue: Service Learning Research The Michigan
Journal of Community Service Learning (2000).
53 See http://www-gse.berkeley.edu/RESEARCH/SLC/rande/sslpost.htm.
54 Estimate provided by the Wooster Volunteer Network at the College of Wooster.
55 Anne Nurse & Matthew Krain, Mask-making: A Service Learning Approach to
Teaching the Social Construction of Deviance (2002) (unpublished manuscript, on file
with authors).