GIRLS, ART, & ACTIVISM (Undergraduate)
Girls, Art & Activism explores, analyzes, and strengthens connections between critical issues affecting girls, social activism and artistic practice. More specifically, students take community derived art including community murals, spoken word poetry, hip hop music, graffiti, and dance and examine its ability to function as an arena and medium for political protest and social activism by and for women. Students examine issues affecting women and girls across race, ethnicity, class and gender experience. Students examine feminist movements, womanist movements, and contemporary arts movements and Mantras like Girl Power! and Black Girls Rock! Women arts activists do not want to merely criticize the general political and social conditions. Rather, they want to change these conditions by means of art. Art activists try to change living conditions in economically underdeveloped areas, offer access to culture and education for the populations of poor countries and regions, and make known issues in their current communities like a college campus. Students will not just study art, they will also create it.
Girls, Art & Activism explores, analyzes, and strengthens connections between critical issues affecting girls, social activism and artistic practice. More specifically, students take community derived art including community murals, spoken word poetry, hip hop music, graffiti, and dance and examine its ability to function as an arena and medium for political protest and social activism by and for women. Students examine issues affecting women and girls across race, ethnicity, class and gender experience. Students examine feminist movements, womanist movements, and contemporary arts movements and Mantras like Girl Power! and Black Girls Rock! Women arts activists do not want to merely criticize the general political and social conditions. Rather, they want to change these conditions by means of art. Art activists try to change living conditions in economically underdeveloped areas, offer access to culture and education for the populations of poor countries and regions, and make known issues in their current communities like a college campus. Students will not just study art, they will also create it.
NCLC 101: Narratives of Identity (Undergraduate)
Narratives of Identity explores how individual and cultural identities are shaped and communicated. Encounters with seminal literary works in a variety of genres and media provide the socio-historical context for our study of identity as well as offer students an opportunity to analyze, write, and discuss the aesthetic, cultural, and political aspects of literature. Course activities are enriched by field trips, guest presenters, and innovative projects. The learning community addresses key concepts through sustained engagement with questions such as: What is identity? How does literature inform our understanding and expression of identity? What are the socio-historical, cultural and political influences on identity?
Narratives of Identity explores how individual and cultural identities are shaped and communicated. Encounters with seminal literary works in a variety of genres and media provide the socio-historical context for our study of identity as well as offer students an opportunity to analyze, write, and discuss the aesthetic, cultural, and political aspects of literature. Course activities are enriched by field trips, guest presenters, and innovative projects. The learning community addresses key concepts through sustained engagement with questions such as: What is identity? How does literature inform our understanding and expression of identity? What are the socio-historical, cultural and political influences on identity?
Diversity in Higher Education (Graduate)
Explores instructional interactions and communication strategies for diverse learner populations. Includes discussion of sociological, behavioral, and cognitive theories and scholarship on diverse populations (race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, ability, immigrant populations, etc). The course examines diversity from a broad spectrum both including and moving beyond the college campus.
Explores instructional interactions and communication strategies for diverse learner populations. Includes discussion of sociological, behavioral, and cognitive theories and scholarship on diverse populations (race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, ability, immigrant populations, etc). The course examines diversity from a broad spectrum both including and moving beyond the college campus.
95 South: Culture, Heritage, & Community Sustainability (Developed Course; Undergraduate): Field based course taking students to Columbia, Charleston, & St. Helena South Carolina to explore issues of community transformation, cultural heritage & sustainability, cultural tourism, politics, race, and class. The course is a public scholarship initiative.
Program/Course Design & Assessment (Graduate)
Explores issues of program planning and administration, such as documenting need, generating cost-estimates, and assembling a strong case for new programs. Also focuses on the critical aspects of program design including creating significant learning experiences, creativity in educational programs, course and program structure, and assessment.
Explores issues of program planning and administration, such as documenting need, generating cost-estimates, and assembling a strong case for new programs. Also focuses on the critical aspects of program design including creating significant learning experiences, creativity in educational programs, course and program structure, and assessment.
Cultural Leadership (Developed course; Undergraduate)
Course provides an intense exploration of the role that culture plays in influencing leadership proxy (exploring leadership through the lens of family, hip hop culture, and community ritual/tradition). Students learn a variety of leadership theories with a particular focus on servant leadership, citizen leadership, and community oriented leadership.
Course provides an intense exploration of the role that culture plays in influencing leadership proxy (exploring leadership through the lens of family, hip hop culture, and community ritual/tradition). Students learn a variety of leadership theories with a particular focus on servant leadership, citizen leadership, and community oriented leadership.
Family Matters: Family, Community, & the College Experience of Students of Color (Developed Course; Graduate)
The course examines the critical role of family and community in the life and college experiences of students of color. The course explores the various ways that higher education institutions approach familial inclusion as well as the various ways that these institutions devalue family (marking healthy adjustment by social distance away from family, using labels such as helicopter parents, etc). that focus on family (both on and off George Mason’s campus).
Place, Community & Higher Education (Developed Course; Graduate)
Place, Community & Higher Education is a multi-layered learning experience for graduate students in the student affairs masters program at the University of Hawaii. It is a partnership between a professor in higher education and an administrator in the Student Equity and Diversity Office. This initiative is being nominated for an excellence award because of its creative approach to graduate education, offering hands-on experience (in the classroom rather than the assistantship) in designing an outreach/access program for traditionally marginalized youth. The foundational knowledge of the course explores the value of incorporating communities, places, and cultures external to campus into the educational experience. This includes examining the utility of place based and experiential learning as well as exploring culture itself as an important tool for critical learning (including indigenous culture and popular culture). Graduate students explore these issues across various educational contexts including college classrooms, college co-curricular environments (student life), and higher education pipeline work (college partnerships with local schools and communities).
The course examines the critical role of family and community in the life and college experiences of students of color. The course explores the various ways that higher education institutions approach familial inclusion as well as the various ways that these institutions devalue family (marking healthy adjustment by social distance away from family, using labels such as helicopter parents, etc). that focus on family (both on and off George Mason’s campus).
Place, Community & Higher Education (Developed Course; Graduate)
Place, Community & Higher Education is a multi-layered learning experience for graduate students in the student affairs masters program at the University of Hawaii. It is a partnership between a professor in higher education and an administrator in the Student Equity and Diversity Office. This initiative is being nominated for an excellence award because of its creative approach to graduate education, offering hands-on experience (in the classroom rather than the assistantship) in designing an outreach/access program for traditionally marginalized youth. The foundational knowledge of the course explores the value of incorporating communities, places, and cultures external to campus into the educational experience. This includes examining the utility of place based and experiential learning as well as exploring culture itself as an important tool for critical learning (including indigenous culture and popular culture). Graduate students explore these issues across various educational contexts including college classrooms, college co-curricular environments (student life), and higher education pipeline work (college partnerships with local schools and communities).
Student Comments
CTCH 606 - Diversity in Higher Education
If you ask students at George Mason University why they decided to pursue their college education at this particular institution, most students mention that the diversity that Mason offers attracted them to the campus. When I learned that the Higher Education program offered a course that discusses diversity in higher education, my interests was immediately piqued. Yet, while Mason boasts to be one of the diverse institutions in the nation, and despite the students attraction to the university because of the diversity, I immediately noticed that I was one of two African Americans out of a class of 10. I found this to be quite contradictory because the message that was being relayed, was inconsistent with reality. Thus, I was interested to find if this class would highlight these incongruencies that often happen on college campuses. This class did not disappoint. We touched upon areas of African American males, LGTBQQA, faculty of color, poor students, etc. Furthermore, the way in which Dr. Jenkins required us to approach our assignments deviated from what I'm accustomed to: field trips, workshops, cultural cajitas, digital stories. While, initially, I was resistant to branching out of my comfort zone as it related to how we presented our assignments, I am much more appreciative and grateful that she challenged us to tap into resources and ideas that we had no idea we possessed. For instance, I thoroughly enjoyed presenting my cultural cajita, whereby we collected items that symbolized important aspects of our culture and put them inside a box. It allowed each of us to personalize our culture experience inside the classroom. Lastly, my digital story visually depicted my desire to gather a better understanding of African American males in higher education, that a traditional term paper would not be able to convey. This class provided me with a deeper meaning as to what diversity should look and feel like within an academic environment. Nicole Woodard, PhD Student
NCLC 375 - Cultural Leadership
Toby Jenkins’ contributions to George Mason University’s cultural enrichment are noteworthy. Her classroom curriculum and outings provided various opportunities to examine leadership amongst various demographic perspectives. Classroom dialogue about leadership formed or forming by the forces of social media were pretty interesting. A peripheral spinout from the classroom experience was what we were able to share with some of the classroom speakers. In one instance we had a restaurateur who advocated for opportunities for non-monopolistic employment. This led to some mutual engagement on concepts of social entrepreneurship. In her role as the instructor of the Cultural Leadership seminar, she invoked many provocative discussions about cultural diversity that we actually leveraged in a subsequent Newark New Jersey summit on cultural leadership hosted at Rutgers University. It included visits to local vendors, with whom we discussed social programs, activities, giving back to the community, and engaging in a variety of situations and modules that allowed us to deeply reflect on our experiences. Other geographical areas invoke leadership styles forced by economics, population size, religious tolerance, political rest and unrest and racial /ethnic strife were very thought provoking and raised the consciousness of more than a few of my classmates. The winning part of this contribution to the promotion of cultural diversity is that each student will carry what he learned from this session into the world as we leave George Mason bound for the many corners around the world. Elvin Keller, Senior
NCLC 375 - Cultural Leadership
I have had the pleasure of participating in Dr. Jenkins' Cultural Leadership course during the spring of 2011. It was there that my perspective on culture and community was significantly impacted by Dr. Jenkins. She encouraged every student to explore and appreciate our own cultures; our root; what makes us who we are. It is only after learning your own roots, she explained, will you be able to appreciate other cultures; that is what makes a great leader. This is a belief that she continues to demonstrate with every person that I've observed her with. Her actions modeled for her students how to embrace multiculturalism and inclusion of every person, no matter who they are. She encouraged many group activities that allowed students of different cultures and backgrounds to interact and form bonds with one another. Based on this idea of learning through community, Dr. Jenkins created a unique learning experience by bringing students from our class together with students from Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. This Culture Leadership trip was an eye-opening experience for me—as I'm sure it was for many others—because it allowed me to practice what I had learned in class. Coming from Northern Virginia, I was already accustomed to diversity; however, meeting students from inner city Newark, New Jersey was an experience far from the usual. I learned to appreciate how different everyone was from one another; and more importantly, how many brilliant and unique ideas came about by using our diverse set of knowledge and backgrounds. In addition to learning, students came away from this experience with full appreciation for diversity, community, and friendship formed with other students within the program. Beyond this, Dr. Jenkins has offered her time and sound advice to many students, including myself, whenever she is needed. Her innovative lessons and actions clearly demonstrate her passion to teach others the value of a multicultural community. Mimi Do-Wilson, Senior
EDEA 780K Experiential Learning
This class fantastically demonstrated the meaning of experiential learning, for both graduate students who attended this class, and the 70 middle school participants who attended these students’ last assignment. This class began with introductions of experiential learning’s theories, and continuously served real experience of learning by seeking and providing multiple chances, activities and places for students to physically involved in the untraditional learning environment. The various educational philosophy and teaching methods embraced in this course broadened my knowledge and understanding about education, especially the involvement of hip-hop culture and the example of High School for Recording Arts. This class ended with an assignment of providing a one-day university immersion experience for local middle school students. During the preparation time, the students had to contact different departments for support and cooperation, which spontaneously promoted the students’ understanding and interactions with various functional areas and colleges. Such experience is very important for me as an international student who had little knowledge about all these departments in American universities. Because reading from the textbook, writing one or two functional area reports can hardly help me build up a clear image about the university’s constructions in my mind, but learning this course remedied these insufficiencies. During the process of designing and arranging this activity for middle school students to know the university, I am also educated and get better and deeper understanding about the institution. The activity went well. The excitement and happiness appeared on the participants’ faces confirmed our effort and my proud of being a service provider for all the students. And the knowledge I acquired from this real experience is more powerful, memorable and illuminating. Yue Pan, International Masters Student
If you ask students at George Mason University why they decided to pursue their college education at this particular institution, most students mention that the diversity that Mason offers attracted them to the campus. When I learned that the Higher Education program offered a course that discusses diversity in higher education, my interests was immediately piqued. Yet, while Mason boasts to be one of the diverse institutions in the nation, and despite the students attraction to the university because of the diversity, I immediately noticed that I was one of two African Americans out of a class of 10. I found this to be quite contradictory because the message that was being relayed, was inconsistent with reality. Thus, I was interested to find if this class would highlight these incongruencies that often happen on college campuses. This class did not disappoint. We touched upon areas of African American males, LGTBQQA, faculty of color, poor students, etc. Furthermore, the way in which Dr. Jenkins required us to approach our assignments deviated from what I'm accustomed to: field trips, workshops, cultural cajitas, digital stories. While, initially, I was resistant to branching out of my comfort zone as it related to how we presented our assignments, I am much more appreciative and grateful that she challenged us to tap into resources and ideas that we had no idea we possessed. For instance, I thoroughly enjoyed presenting my cultural cajita, whereby we collected items that symbolized important aspects of our culture and put them inside a box. It allowed each of us to personalize our culture experience inside the classroom. Lastly, my digital story visually depicted my desire to gather a better understanding of African American males in higher education, that a traditional term paper would not be able to convey. This class provided me with a deeper meaning as to what diversity should look and feel like within an academic environment. Nicole Woodard, PhD Student
NCLC 375 - Cultural Leadership
Toby Jenkins’ contributions to George Mason University’s cultural enrichment are noteworthy. Her classroom curriculum and outings provided various opportunities to examine leadership amongst various demographic perspectives. Classroom dialogue about leadership formed or forming by the forces of social media were pretty interesting. A peripheral spinout from the classroom experience was what we were able to share with some of the classroom speakers. In one instance we had a restaurateur who advocated for opportunities for non-monopolistic employment. This led to some mutual engagement on concepts of social entrepreneurship. In her role as the instructor of the Cultural Leadership seminar, she invoked many provocative discussions about cultural diversity that we actually leveraged in a subsequent Newark New Jersey summit on cultural leadership hosted at Rutgers University. It included visits to local vendors, with whom we discussed social programs, activities, giving back to the community, and engaging in a variety of situations and modules that allowed us to deeply reflect on our experiences. Other geographical areas invoke leadership styles forced by economics, population size, religious tolerance, political rest and unrest and racial /ethnic strife were very thought provoking and raised the consciousness of more than a few of my classmates. The winning part of this contribution to the promotion of cultural diversity is that each student will carry what he learned from this session into the world as we leave George Mason bound for the many corners around the world. Elvin Keller, Senior
NCLC 375 - Cultural Leadership
I have had the pleasure of participating in Dr. Jenkins' Cultural Leadership course during the spring of 2011. It was there that my perspective on culture and community was significantly impacted by Dr. Jenkins. She encouraged every student to explore and appreciate our own cultures; our root; what makes us who we are. It is only after learning your own roots, she explained, will you be able to appreciate other cultures; that is what makes a great leader. This is a belief that she continues to demonstrate with every person that I've observed her with. Her actions modeled for her students how to embrace multiculturalism and inclusion of every person, no matter who they are. She encouraged many group activities that allowed students of different cultures and backgrounds to interact and form bonds with one another. Based on this idea of learning through community, Dr. Jenkins created a unique learning experience by bringing students from our class together with students from Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. This Culture Leadership trip was an eye-opening experience for me—as I'm sure it was for many others—because it allowed me to practice what I had learned in class. Coming from Northern Virginia, I was already accustomed to diversity; however, meeting students from inner city Newark, New Jersey was an experience far from the usual. I learned to appreciate how different everyone was from one another; and more importantly, how many brilliant and unique ideas came about by using our diverse set of knowledge and backgrounds. In addition to learning, students came away from this experience with full appreciation for diversity, community, and friendship formed with other students within the program. Beyond this, Dr. Jenkins has offered her time and sound advice to many students, including myself, whenever she is needed. Her innovative lessons and actions clearly demonstrate her passion to teach others the value of a multicultural community. Mimi Do-Wilson, Senior
EDEA 780K Experiential Learning
This class fantastically demonstrated the meaning of experiential learning, for both graduate students who attended this class, and the 70 middle school participants who attended these students’ last assignment. This class began with introductions of experiential learning’s theories, and continuously served real experience of learning by seeking and providing multiple chances, activities and places for students to physically involved in the untraditional learning environment. The various educational philosophy and teaching methods embraced in this course broadened my knowledge and understanding about education, especially the involvement of hip-hop culture and the example of High School for Recording Arts. This class ended with an assignment of providing a one-day university immersion experience for local middle school students. During the preparation time, the students had to contact different departments for support and cooperation, which spontaneously promoted the students’ understanding and interactions with various functional areas and colleges. Such experience is very important for me as an international student who had little knowledge about all these departments in American universities. Because reading from the textbook, writing one or two functional area reports can hardly help me build up a clear image about the university’s constructions in my mind, but learning this course remedied these insufficiencies. During the process of designing and arranging this activity for middle school students to know the university, I am also educated and get better and deeper understanding about the institution. The activity went well. The excitement and happiness appeared on the participants’ faces confirmed our effort and my proud of being a service provider for all the students. And the knowledge I acquired from this real experience is more powerful, memorable and illuminating. Yue Pan, International Masters Student
I Am College Bound {Class Project for EDEA 780k}
75 Middle School Students from Ka Waihona o ka Na 'auao (KWON) Public Charter School were brought to campus for an "I Am College Bound" Visit Day planned by my class.
Students visited courses to get a sense of learning in college
Students visited and environment & culture course
Students visited a science course and conducted mini-experiments