Humanitarian Action in Praxis – CLCM 475

Course Description

This course serves as an integrator of requisite courses on humanitarian action. The praxis course will review and build upon previous courses in the humanitarian action and human rights cognate, including factors such as ethics, self-care, and boundaries. Applying a well-grounded theology, students will make decisions and mitigate the consequences of case-study-based scenarios of humanitarian action and human rights at home and abroad.  In this course, elementary design work and developmental evaluation will help students develop and test their theological and theoretical perspectives on realistic scenarios of humanitarian action in practice.

Rationale

Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you,” so the need to respond is a permanent human reality. A solid theology gives us our “why”, and an overview of praxis gives us some starting points for “What” we will do and “How” we might respond in these complex and dynamic situations of humanitarian action and human rights advocacy. Tools to integrate as well as mitigate the factors of theology, practice and context will serve us well as we prepare to engage in this vital, often chaotic reality of human need. 

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (4)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student is required to create a thread in response to the provided prompt for each discussion. The thread must be at least 350 words and demonstrate course-related knowledge. In addition to the thread, the student is required to reply to 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be at least 150 words. Please see the Discussion Assignment Instructions in Canvas for specific expectations for class Discussions. (CLO: B, C, D, E)

Peer Review Discussion

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will complete one Peer-Review discussion in this course. This Peer-Review Discussion provides an opportunity for a collaborative learning experience. The student will receive many benefits by completing this assignment, as collaborative learning provides an opportunity for the student to share insights on other’s work to note strengths and weaknesses. For the Peer-Review Discussion, the student will post a copy of the Cumulative Project: Timeline Assignment and then respond to at least 2 peers. (CLO: F)

Theological and Ethical Reflection Journal Assignments (3)

These assignments will help the student integrate theological and ethical considerations into the course material for the assigned module: week. These assignments will expose the student to a variety of foundational ideas related to humanitarian action and human rights. (CLO: A)

Community Leader Interview Assignment

In this assignment, the student will need to go out and talk to a 'real person' who is currently involved in some aspect of HAHR that the student chooses in order to better understand what they do, and why and how they do it. (CLO: B)

Cumulative Project Assignments (3)

Cumulative Project: Causal Loops Diagram Assignment

In this assignment, the student will create a CLD (Causal Loop Diagram) of a system dynamic in his/her chosen context for HAHR focus. The student will utilize various concepts he/she has interacted with in the course to complete this assignment. (CLO: F)

Cumulative Project: Feedback Loops and Forcefields Assignment

In this assignment, the student will create a Force Field model of a system dynamic in his/her chosen context for HAHR focus. The student will utilize various concepts he/she has interacted with in the course to complete this assignment. (CLO: F)

Cumulative Project: Timeline Assignment

In this assignment, the student will create a Timeline model of a life situation in his/her chosen context for HAHR focus. The student will utilize various concepts he/she has interacted with in the course to complete this assignment. (CLO: F)

Quizzes (2)

There are two quizzes in the course. The first quiz focuses on the focus of a student’s focus for his/her cumulative project. The second quiz will cover critical elements of the course from the assigned Modules: Weeks. Each quiz is open-book/open-notes, allows multiple attempts, and have varying time limits. (CLO: A, B, C, D)