One of my favorite professors from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, Lodis Rhodes, recently won the 2008 Dewey Award based on his work with the Austin Learning Academy, Austin Free-Net, and other efforts relating to technology and communities, particularly in East Austin.
I enjoyed taking Lodis’ class on Building and Sustaining Local Communities a few years ago. The syllabus had an interesting mix of books and articles pertaining to community development, civil rights, education, and even some philosophy. Some topics we covered were:
- What are some different perspectives on development?
- How do communities build trust and legitimacy?
Each member of our class chose their own research project topic. The project let us apply what we were learning about research methods:
- What are some good, practical ways to structure a research project?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of various research methods?
- How do theory, method, and practice interrelate?
Lodis reads widely and diversely, so each time the class is offered, he incorporates a slightly different set of readings. So the class evolves over time; in addition, it is very participant-driven. Some students, I think, are a bit surprised by the format and diverse readings. I considered it to be a welcome change from the traditional, more formulaic class style.
Prof. Rhodes helped expand our thinking while also letting us work on projects we cared about. I recommend his class if you are looking to improve your critical thinking abilities and bolster your research.