Disaster Site (US)
Course Description
GLST271: Community Engaged Learning, Environmental Disaster and Response with MDS (3 cr)
This immersive course focuses on the direct environmental disaster impacts on a local community, with an emphasis on social inequalities and the resources, relief, and response available to communities post-disaster. This interdisciplinary course builds upon social policy, climate change, inequalities and disaster management scholarship. Clear community service and action-research opportunities and expectations are built into the course. See our flyer.
Course Overview
What you can expect to see/learn/do. . .
You will spend two weeks volunteering on a recent disaster site with Mennonite Disaster Service. You will live in communal housing and share communal meals. The last four days of the course will be spent at a retreat working on final projects.
You do not need to have construction skills to participate, but you do need to be physically able to do repair and clean-up work for 8 hours per day. Also note that your food choices will be limited to whatever food is prepared for us.
The 2020-21 class worked on housing construction in Mariana, Florida, which was still recovering from Hurricane Michael. Read their blog here.