Course Info: CSI-0252

This community engagement course aimed to foster collaboration and social change between Hampshire and Five College students with local residents of Holyoke, a community where more than 50% of its residents are Puerto Rican. The year 2017 marks one hundred years of US colonialism in Puerto Rico, one of the remaining colonies that has attracted national attention but also been relegated to the periphery. The purpose of this Community-Based Learning course was to foreground this important history and explore and strategize structural and grass-roots responses to colonialism in both Puerto Rico and US Diaspora communities. Collaboration, listening, and rigorous research are the hallmarks of developing shared approaches to the social, cultural, and economic impacts colonialism has within Puerto Rican communities. Given that this is a transnational community that resides across national borders and across multiple US states, we discussed how local communities within these various locations can proactively and creatively respond to the "coloniality of power." In this course, we seriously considered Hampshire's motto: "To Know Is Not Enough." Action infused with rigorous research sparks knowledge for social change. Alternating between holding class on the Hampshire College campus and within a community setting in the city of Holyoke, with transportation provided by the College, we discussed what "community" and "engagement" are, what "colonialism" is, identified its multiple manifestations, and explored how to resist and respond to it by undertaking direct action and working toward community building. As a group, we engaged in both community dialogue and rigorous research to facilitate partnerships with local organizations and/or community-based learners and activists. This course was demanding, exciting and, hopefully, life-changing. Prerequisites: A prior course in or related to U.S. Ethnic Studies, Africana Studies, Latin American Studies, Sociology, Anthropology, Community-Based Learning, and/or Educational Studies. Students who have not completed courses in any of these areas -- but have a nuanced perspective of the communities and issues in Holyoke and/or Springfield -- are welcome to register for the class. A lack of knowledge in these areas could result in compulsory course withdrawal.