Widening Circles—Global Social Impact Program

Online Classroom

Participants will join a shared online learning space via the Omprakash EdGE online learning platform for ongoing critical dialogue and reflection to support their civic engagement and social impact.

The EdGE classroom is designed to help students reflect on the complexities of striving for justice across differences of culture and power and to examine one’s own location within global flows of power and resources.

Each ‘unit’ within the classroom is oriented around an essential question. The essential questions are as follows:

• Unit 1 (Pre-Program Information): What are we doing here? 
• Unit 2: How are you situated in relation to global structures of power and inequality, and how will you move forward — or outward — from this particular positioning?
• Unit 3: What are the risks of trying to 'help others' when crossing significant differences of culture and power—and how might 'raising consciousness' offer more expansive possibilities for social change?
• Unit 4: What assumptions underpin popular ideas about poverty, affluence and development—and to what extent might non-linear perspectives offer viable alternatives?
• Unit 5: How can storytelling be a force for raising consciousness—and in that sense, what new stories would you like to tell?

Please note that while this program is not for UC Davis credit, it is academic in nature so participating students should expect to engage in the online classroom through readings and multimedia content for each unit and to share ongoing reflections through online posts within the classroom, the creation of a Digital Portfolio and active participation in live calls on Zoom.

Certification

Students who successfully fulfill program expectations will earn an EdGE Certificate in Critical Global Engagement. The following are expectations for earning a certificate:

• Reflective participation in the online classroom.
• Creation of a Digital Portfolio throughout the summer which includes at least three storytelling posts.
• Active participation in the Live Sessions and the final Digital Symposium.
• Ongoing thoughtful engagement with the EdGE Mentor.