Degree Name

MA in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management

First Advisor

Paula Green

Abstract

Alternate ROOTS (ROOTS), an organization that supports artists committed to social and economic justice in the Southeastern United States has a training program for cultural workers and communities called Resources for Social Change (RSC). This capstone looks at the definitions of the RSC principles of Power, Dialogue, Partnership, and Transformation, as stated in the RSC workbook (Alternate ROOTS 2005) and considers community engagement using arts-based practices to create social change. I asked how people define and experience the RSC principles in their lives and developed methods for initiating and building partnerships between cultural workers and their community partners for the ROOTS RSC program. A team of facilitators was invited to lead a RSC Learning Exchange at South Carolina State University to bridge the gap between the university and the surrounding community. Open interviews were given to artists, community members and academics about the RSC principles, and during the course of several months the procedures of RSC educational and training engagements were analyzed. Data was gathered to explore how the RSC program may be more effective in using inquiry and dialogue in communities to promote a culture of positive social change. People interviewed were asked questions about the RSC principles, power structures they see in their communities, what tools work to resolve conflict, and if social justice plays a role in how events are organized in their communities. The outcome of this inquiry is a series of tables, figures, and information to be used as methods for initiating and building partnerships between cultural workers and their community partners, as well as tools to provoke long-lasting social justice.

Disciplines

Civic and Community Engagement | Politics and Social Change

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