1. CASE STUDY: BOSTON
Elizabeth Parfitt
First-Year Writing Program
Writing, Literature and Publishing Department
Emerson College
AAUP Conference -- June 12, 2010

2. As we enter into the conversation…
“Smartphones, GPS, wireless technology,
and a resurgent spirit of civic
engagement mean that all of us are
eyes and ears on the streets, that
neighbors are our greatest source of
data, and our citizens the best civic
entrepreneurs.
-- Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino
January 4, 2010 Inaugural Address
Elizabeth Parfitt

3. The Research Questions?
 How do you design an education in civic
engagement? (Instructor)
 What does it mean to be civically
engaged? (Student)
 What are our roles as citizens and
scholars? (Instructor and Students)
Elizabeth Parfitt

4. The Hypothesis
WR121 Research Writing
Writing for Civic Engagement, Case Study: Boston
After this course you should be able to…
 Understand the civic roles you play as a scholar and citizen in the Boston
community.
 Make informed choices about genre presentation based on given rhetorical
situations.
 Implement multiple research methodologies, including: field work, visual
documentation, theoretical analysis, and rhetorical interpretations of texts.
 Use research to create professional public documents in a variety of genres
including: rhetorical analysis, personal memoir, commentary, letters,
informed reports and fact sheets.

5. Research Methods
Student Work Student Roles
 Civic Reflections Facilitators
 Volunteer Projects Volunteers
 Class readings Students
 Writing Assignments Reporters, Memoirists,
 Magazine Project Scholars, Citizens…
Magazine writers,
editors,
photographers,
designers
Elizabeth Parfitt

6. Civic Reflections
 Student-facilitated discussions based on intellectual and
artistic readings meant to foster an open dialogue about
what it means to be civically engaged, an active citizen, and
a community leader. These conversations promoted inquiry
into one of our biggest research questions this semester:
what does it mean to be civically engaged?
 Sample Readings:
 “The Drum Major Instinct,” Martin Luther King, Jr.
 “The Unknown Citizen,” W.H. Auden
 “ A Bed For The Night,” Bertolt Brecht
 “Fellowship,” Franz Kafka
 “Theme for English B,” Langston Hughes
Elizabeth Parfitt

7. Boston Cares
“Boston Cares is a member
of the HandsOn
Network and Points of
Light Institute, an
international
organization which
inspires, equips, and
mobilizes people to take
action that changes the
world. At the center of
the network are 250
affiliates serving 83% of
the American population
and 12 international
communities.”
Elizabeth Parfitt

8. Town and Gown
Partnerships
Emerson College First-Year Writing Program
Writing, Literature and Publishing Department
Emerson College Office of Service Learning
and Community Action Seed Grant
Boston Cares Volunteering and Project
Management
Jeannie Harrell, Emerson College Senior,
Publication Design and Production Editor.
Elizabeth Parfitt

9. Community
Involvement
Education in
Writing Civic Reflection
Engagement
Class
Elizabeth Parfitt

10. By the Numbers:
Research Components and Constraints
 14 semester weeks
 7 Formal Writing Projects
 3 Service Projects per student
 3 Written Reflections per student
 1 Community Partner for hundreds of
non-profit needs
 1 Civic Reflection
 10-12 hours of service per student
Elizabeth Parfitt

11. A genre-based approach to writing
that emphasizes purposeful
rhetorical choices
Genre:
Memoir, Personal Essay,
Research Report,
Review, Testimonial,
Fact Sheet
Message
(logos)
Research
Purpose
Context
Writing Persona:
Readers: Formal,
Peers, Boston Conversational,
Audience Writer Sarcastic,
Cares, First-Year
(pathos) (ethos) Compassionate,
Writing students,
Future Employers, Informative,
Parents, Friends, Intellectual,
Boston Community Elizabeth Parfitt
Humorous

12. Our on-going
conversation…
http://www.wordle.net/. Images of Wordles are
licensed Creative Commons License. 12

13. What does an education in Civic Engagement Look Like?
Elizabeth Parfitt

14. The Sky is Wicked Huge
Elizabeth Parfitt

15. Student-driven editorial choices
“Exploration involves going to a new place, material or otherwise, and
existing there, if only for a few minutes. You’ll come away having not
necessarily learned something, but having felt something.
In here you will find a report from each of us about our first year at
Emerson. Dr. Seuss’s Oh The Places You’ll Go ain’t got nuffin’ on us. Liz
looks at bathrooms, Carson explores a film archive, Brendan stares at the
sky.
Elizabeth Parfitt

16. Volunteer Reflections
“I really felt connected to the
group of people at the event, as I
am from the area and Drumlin
Farm was part of my childhood. It
really confirmed for me how
important Drumlin Farm is to the
community that I come from and
“At Xcel GED math tutoring, I got to it felt really rewarding to me to
pass on some of my knowledge to give back to a place that had
those in need. My class of 15 adult nurtured me when I was young.”
students looked to me for answers,
a person only about half their age.”
Elizabeth Parfitt

17. City Explorations
“I always figured Boston was too
conventional a city to cater to my
most obscure tastes. I figured I
needed to get out of American for
that. But of course I was wrong,
and The Archive was a place that
“Certain aspects of Chinatown almost perfectly fit the radical cinematic
make the area seem like a portal exploration that I like to partake
between every city that one can travel in.”
into and out of at his or her own will…
Finding places like Chinatown where I
can feel a little more comfortable is
integral to my survival here in Boston.”
Elizabeth Parfitt

18. One student’s journey through
civic engagement…
“On the surface, I didn’t think playing Trivial Pursuit with
senior citizens at the Hale House would be rewarding. I
really should know better by now than to underestimate the
value of service…
Out the gate, I felt I was at a critical disadvantage. The Trivial
Pursuit edition we played with was from 1985, five years before I
was born…
This is why we root for the underdog, because they make us
feel like anything is possible. One can create the illusion of
imperviousness to time. That night the lesson was reinforced
for me, that it is easily done, with compassion.”
Elizabeth Parfitt

19. Boston Cares Component for
Community Partners
…A journey through what it
means to be American, my
culture, and my profession.
I learned a lot about myself and got to
meet new people.
…Make my own
change in my
community…
…they will become
inspired to make a
difference.
Elizabeth Parfitt

20. What we accomplished…
On-going
Reflection
40 page
online
magazine
90+
Volunteer
Hours
Knowledge of
Research, Writing,
Rhetorical Awareness,
Community Relations,
Citizenship,
Volunteering,
Collaboration
Elizabeth Parfitt

21. As we continue working to straddle the
line between scholars and citizens…
“We would like to differentiate between what we feel is civic engagement and
effective civic engagement…
There has been a tendency among our generation to become what is known as the
“me generation.” We implore you to strive to be the “us generation.”
We are not asking you to become an activist. We are not asking you to go out and
change the world single handedly. But we as the writers are convinced that by
reflecting on the work that we do, you can create a more effective, civically
engaged community.”
Elizabeth Parfitt