Course Announcement: CED/VBSC 497 - Community-engaged Learning with Pennsylvania Farmworkers

• Have you ever wondered about the lives of the immigrant workers who harvest your food?
• Are you interested in community engagement with immigrants living right here in the State College area?
• Does your future career involve working with or managing Spanish speakers?
• Would tutoring a Spanish-speaking farmworker build your capacity as an educator?

This three-credit course gives you the opportunity to learn first-hand about immigration, local agriculture, and labor issues through a language partnership with Spanish-speaking immigrant farmworkers on local dairy farms. The course meets on Wednesdays and Fridays. On Wednesdays, you will visit immigrant farmworkers to provide tailored English-language tutoring that contributes to better communication in their personal lives and on the farm. These visits will also give you an opportunity to practice your Spanish skills and learn about the cultural contexts of farmworkers' lives. On Fridays, we will meet in the classroom for readings and discussion on immigration policy, immigrant social integration, labor issues in agriculture, the economic crisis in the U.S. dairy industry, and decolonial pedagogy.

By the end of the course you will achieve a deeper understanding of the transnational dimensions of Pennsylvania agriculture, awareness of the lives and experiences of immigrant farmworkers, intercultural sensitivity and awareness, improved skills to communicate and work with Spanish-speaking farm personnel, and stronger teaching skills.

This class provides an opportunity to practice/learn Spanish with native speakers from Latin America, but Spanish language skills are not required to participate. You must be available on Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:15 am to 1:10 pm to take the course. Please contact Dr. Kathleen Sexsmith at kjs95@psu.edu or Dr. Adrian Barragan at axb779@psu.edu with questions.

Apply here. Applications are due on May 30th, 2022.