Call for Social Change

Storytelling is powerful. Storytelling can change the way we see reality, and ourselves in it. Storytelling can inspire; it can change lives. In this class, students will write a personal narrative that calls for social change. Each writer will grapple with a unique and personal issue that has significantly impacted their life. They will set out to express their call to action so as to inspire the next wave of changemakers. This is a highly participatory class in which students work to support one another through workshop-based activities and constant reflection, writing, and editing. Students will work in teams to write, edit, typeset, market, and design their book. This book will to be published through Amazon's platform known as Createspace. In the process, students will gain the skills needed to communicate to a broader public and become published authors. Students will discuss the meaning of social change in their everyday lives and examine what they can learn from other young social changemakers by reading books, such as Adam Braun's The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change, and viewing films like The Clean Bin Project and Living on One Dollar. They will also write a journal to reflect on their own growth throughout the course.