1. Photo: Rebecca Kennison
THE CITY AS INSPIRATION:
Elizabeth Parfitt
First-Year Writing Program
Emerson College Using Partnerships to Write toward Creative Change
ITGA Conference, June 2011

2. Allow me to introduce myself:
Past and Present Town/Gown Partnerships
Beth Parfitt
Emerson
College
MFA
2011
Creative 1981
Writing
__________
ONEin3
Lecturer MFA
Mayor’s
Candidate
Writing, Liter Sister Resident Advisory
ature and Student and Citizen Council
Publishing Nittany Dog Owner
Department Amateur Volunteer
Lion
Figure Writing
Skater Freelance Writer
Teacher

3. WR121: Research Writing
Research Writing
 Inquiry-driven  Genre-based
research assignments
 Web searching  Informative Report
 Library Archives
 Reflective Essay
 News reports
 Blogs
 Experience as
citizens, students and  Independent Study
scholars in the City of  Group PSA Script
Boston

4. RESEARCH WRITING: COURSE OBJECTIVES
 Understand the civic roles you play
After this course you as scholar, citizen and producer of
culture in the Boston community.
should be able to…  Make informed choices about
genre presentation based on given
rhetorical situations.
 Implement multiple research
methodologies.
 Use research to create professional
public documents in a variety of
genres.
 Use the community and city of
Boston as a resource for personal
and academic research.
 Collaborate with a civic
organization to craft public
documents

5. For Example…
Student Interest Sample Assignments
Student Major: Theater Studies Major  Craft a Profile on the Very Special Arts
(VSA) – state organization on arts and
with a minor in Communication Studies disability
Additional coursework: “ASL” (American  Conduct an Interview with a professional
at the Huntington Theater
Sign Language) and “Movement”
 Design a Fact sheet on Boston
(acting-emphasis theater course) organizations dedicated to accessibility for
the arts
 Volunteer with a Theater or non-profit and
reflect on the experience in a personal
narrative
 Participate in Deaf Deaf Boston at Boston
University and write a news report on the
event
Social Issue for Research Writing:  Keep a on-going public blog documenting
research and experiences
Disability Access for the Arts

6. My Philosophy on Teaching Writing
Created and Published with Permission from www.Wordle.net

7. Me and a few of my Partners
Emerson
College Office
of Service
Learning and
Community
Action
Students!

8. Case Study #1
INSTRUCTOR ROLE:
 Civic Leadership Institute Fellow, Boston
Cares 2009-2010
 Boston Cares Project Leader and Volunteer
2008-present
COMMUNITY PARTNER:
 Boston Cares Campus Initiative Program
 Promoting research on urban issues, city
inhabitants and social problems.
 18 students + 1 student design and production
editor
 40-page online magazine of research and
reflections
 90+ hours of community outreach.

9. Student Writing in the Community
The Sky is
Wicked Huge.
WR121:
Research
Writing Spring
2010 course
project. Funded
by a “Service
Learning Seed
Grant for Course
Development.”
Office of Service
Learning and
Community
Action. Emerson
College.
Boston, MA
Spring 2010

10. Graphic Design + Student Research

11. Case Study #2
INSTRUCTOR ROLE:
•ONEin3 Boston
•Mayor’s Advisory Council
•City of Boston, Redevelopment Authority
COMMUNITY PARTNER:
•ONEin3 Jobs and Careers Subcommittee
• Public Service Announcements for ONEin3 Boston
as part of an on-going course research project on
creativity and innovation as found on the streets of
Boston.
•36 students
•2 student filmmakers
•8 PSAs
One in every 3 Bostonians is between the ages of 20 and 34.
www.onein3boston.com

12. The PSA Assignment

13. Town and Gown Partnerships
Emerson College First-Year Writing Program
Writing, Literature and Publishing Department
Suzanne Hinton and the Emerson College Office of Service
Learning and Community Action Innovation Grant
ONEin3 Boston,
Mayor’s Advisory Council
City of Boston Redevelopment Authority
Hsiao-Yen Jones and Ananda Boga,
Emerson College First-Year Film Students

14. The PSA Partnership
Film
Student
Producer 1
WR121
Section 1
Roommate
Student
Office of
ONEin3
SLCA
Boston
Instructor
City of
Mayor Boston
Menino
Film WR121
Producer 2 Section 2

15. Elizabeth Parfitt
THE EMERSON COLLEGE
AND
ONEIN3
PARTNERSHIP
PSAs from WR121 Research Writing SPRING 2011

16. Designing Partner Projects
Using local partnerships for creative change on
campus, in the classroom, and around the local
community

17. Before you begin
Questions for Instructors Questions for University Colleagues
 Do I want to partner inside the university or outside in  What projects would help to promote our
the broad local community ?(remember the university organization, advance our mission, develop our
has a community all its own)
programming or bridge connections between
 Does my institution have an office of service learning students and the greater campus community?
or community engagement to help with my goals , and
do they offer grants or assistance for this type of  Which courses at the university might have students
work? with the talents and skills necessary to complete this
 What organizations do I already have partnerships project?
with that might be interested in working with my
students?  What kind of exchange can we create with those
 How can I connect my course to a community partner students? What might our office have to offer in the
in a way that establishes an exchange between form of education and experience?
students and the partner?
 Does our office/department/organization have access
 Is this a required course or an elective and how will to funds that would help to complete this project?
that effect student engagement?
 How will I negotiate participation, service hours or  What kind of connections do we already have with the
community time that requires off-campus visits? local community? What kind of connections do we
 What type of project will best showcase the skills and want to have? How will this project advance our
talents of my students, while also creating a goals?
deliverable that could be of use to audiences outside
the classroom?  Do we have the time and resources to commit to the
students who will be working on this project? Can we
 How will I grade the partner project? complete the project in a semester timeline? If
not, how can we break this project into manageable
pieces or steps?

18. What’s in it for me?
Or why you should experiment with partnerships as coursework on campus
Campus Community Student
Local Community Community
 Creates connections to a  Launches a positive  Potential connections for
broader community connection between internships and future
employment
residents and students
 Appeals to prospective
 Transferability of
students and parents  Works to fulfill needs with coursework across
(admissions and intellectual/physical disciplines and into the
recruitment tool) resources– communities public world
have needs and students
 Promotes engagement in  Experience in
often have the resources to collaborations, communicat
under-served campus
attack those projects ing with diverse
programs and
organizations  Revitalizes groups, problem
neighborhoods, organizatio solving, creating public
 Stimulates ties with alumni documents, and team
ns, or under-utilized spaces
through the development building
with youth appeal
or university advancement  Establishes an awareness
offices  Works to connect diverse for the civic and scholarly
audiences with a common roles played on campus and
goal in the community

19. Turning Partner Projects into Course
Assignments
Work Our timeline
backwards to The graded (though
The purpose of
establish elements of subject to
this project is…
this project change) is…
course-specific are…
learning
objectives and
show how
those goals This is what I
can be The time expect from
From this commitment your
achieved with for this project
experience, y participation…
the partner ou will gain… is…
project –this
information
should be
clear in the
The I’m excited
assignment about this
Our partners in audiences for
this project our work project
are… are… because…