SNGL4896

This course provides a cross-cultural experience of working on various development issues with a regional nonprofit organization. The course focuses on guiding students to understand their own identity as they integrate theory with reality through participation in local development sites. Students are prepared for entering into their community work through discussions on stakeholder and agency analysis, culture specific gender and diversity context, and power and privilege. Students will learn to develop, defend, and challenge their own values and beliefs

The mentoring continues while students are at their internship placement. They come in contact with social actors, community organizations, and local and national authorities in various regions of Dakar at the marginal urban and rural levels. The students are urged to play an active role in their internships by providing suggestions and solutions, discussing alternatives, and investigating all areas of their internship placement to garner a holistic experience of the realities of development work. Through practical internship experiences as well as readings, discussions, and written assignments, students will deepen their understanding of the host-country cultural context and development work from an international perspective, as well as critically examine their own worldview. Students will be presented with concrete opportunities to identify and apply their knowledge of ethics, both in solving short-term problems and in creating long-term forecasts.

The course will also include 15 hours of French or Wolof instruction to give students practical vocabulary for the workplace.