Villanueva, George

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epublications@Marquette

Conversations on Jesuit Higher EducationVolume 52 Article 6September 2017Engaged Scholarship Methods for Positive SocialChangeGeorge VillanuevaFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversationsRecommended CitationVillanueva, George (2017) "Engaged Scholarship Methods for Positive Social Change," Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education: Vol.52 , Article 6.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol52/iss1/612 CONVERSATIONS ON JESUIT HIGHER EDUCATION                                                                                                                                          One of the main attractions for me in coming to Loy-ola University Chicago in 2015 was its Jesuit missionrooted in faith and justice and its commitment to the“scholarship of engagement,” a term coined by ErnestBoyer, who describes it as the application of universityresearch, teaching, and service to society’s most press-ing problems. Like most Jesuit universities, Loyola ex-plicitly commits to growing the university’s socialjustice ethos, and I felt blessed by the opportunity tocome to Loyola’s School of Communication to furtherdevelop my own engaged scholarship.        This focus on research, practice, and socialchange has led me to consider three criteria in myprojects: they must be place-based, collaborative,and public. By “place based,” I mean situating proj-ects in the physical neighborhoods that are most im-pacted by any change interventions. Second,“collaborative” means ensuring that projects inte-grate and partner with stakeholders (e.g. residents,community organizations, local businesses, etc.) inthe communities of concern. Lastly, “public” refersto considering alternatives to academic journalswhen thinking about the dissemination of researchin these communities. My desire to keep these threecriteria in play in my scholarship and teaching hasled me to Jesuit education.Los Angeles RootsMy dissertation work at the University of SouthernCalifornia examined the impact of engaged commu-nication scholarship projects I spearheaded, with thegoal of positively reimagining the urban environ-ment of South Los Angeles. South L.A. continues tobe stigmatized because of the legacy of the 1965Watts rebellion, the 1992 civil unrest, and a main-stream media that depicts the area as a place of vio-lence, gangs, and drugs. USC is also situated inSouth L.A., and even the campus community oftendiscussed the area as dangerous. But from my yearsof contact with community organizers in the areatrying to effect social change, I knew that was not thewhole story.        In each of my projects, what was central to mymethod was bringing university researchers, com-munity organizers, residents, and local media to-gether. These multiple actors participated incommunity-based research that positively reimag-ined the area based on what I defined as “communi-cation assets” – communicative spaces that helpmaintain and create positive social change – as seenby the local community.        For example, one project called “South L.A.Democratic Spaces” brought in the collaboration of15 community organizers to map out communica-tion assets and to tell stories of spaces in which theirdemocracy-building work takes place. Organizersidentified spaces such as specific schools, parks,community theaters, community centers, and neigh-borhood art. Results were shared through multiplecommunication platforms that included a print map,videos, a photo exhibit that ran for 18 months onUSC’s campus, and events in which organizers wereinvited onto campus to dialogue about ways to col-laborate for positive change in the area.        Another project called “Ride South L.A.” was abike tour to the Watts Towers that involved creating amobile participatory activity with university and com-munity partners. The activity engaged residents, bicy-cle clubs, community organizations, universitystudents, faculty, and staff to use their phones to doc-ument communication assets along the bike route. Af-terward, we invited riders to a workshop to co-designa print and digital map that highlighted assets andlocal advocacy campaigns. We handed the map overto the bicycle clubs and community organizations touse in future Ride South L.A. rides to the Watts Tow-ers. Both projects were successful in revealing theEngaged Scholarship Methodsfor Positive Social ChangeBy George Villanueva1Villanueva: Engaged Scholarship Methods for Positive Social ChangePublished by e-Publications@Marquette, 2017                                                                                                                                                                                                               13everyday positive spaces that contribute toSouth L.A.’s vibrant community, while work-ing against the negative narrative that themainstream media continue to circulate.The Chicago PresentNow as a professor at Loyola, I have contin-ued my engaged scholarship by collaboratingwith community organizations to replicatecommunication asset mapping and promotepositive change. The “Chinatown Anti-Dis-placement Map” is an intervention in re-sponse to the current threats of economic andcultural gentrification there. Recently, na-tional news outlets such as the Chicago Trib-une, National Public Radio, Next City, andHyperallergic have discussed the threats ofand resistance to gentrification in Chinatownsacross major cities. Through our collaborationwith the Coalition for a Better Chinese Amer-ican Community (CBCAC) in Chicago’s Chi-natown, we developed the “ChinatownAnti-Displacement Map.” The map wassourced from community-based focus groupswith local residents, youth, seniors, community or-ganizations, and ethnic media that mapped commu-nication assets they found of value and as resourcesfor positive change. Our project wanted to be proac-tive, inviting the community to become aware of cur-rent development trends and advocate to be part ofa shared vision for the future planning and develop-ment of Chicago’s Chinatown.        Notably, the Chinatown Anti-Displacement Mapdeploys methods that incorporate the three criteria Ihighlighted above. It is place-based because of itsfocus on Chinatown’s physical neighborhood. It iscollaborative because of community partnershipswith CBCAC. We expanded this collaboration by re-cruiting a Loyola graduate student into the collabo-rative design and involved undergraduate studentsfrom my course, Designing Media for Social Change,to help with the design of future community engage-ment events for the map, thereby making the workmore public. In April, we will be holding an eventthat will release the map to the community and alsotake attendees on a walking tour of assets from themap. Simultaneously, Chinatown residents leadingthe tour will underscore the local advocacy cam-paigns that community organizations are leading toeffect positive social change.Key TakeawayUnlike much engaged scholarship in universities,the mission of Jesuit higher education prizes the in-tegration of academic and theoretical work with thecommunities we serve. It’s crucial that engagedscholars do “in community” work, but find ways toreflect, theorize, and evaluate engaged scholarshipin academic journals. And what is best, it also createspositive social change within universities, because itbridges academia and communities that can benefitthe most from knowledge.George Villanueva is on the faculty of Loyola UniversityChicago as assistant professor of advocacy and socialchange. He studies questions about the changing globalcontext of community, civic engagement, sustainableurban development, the city, and visual communicationpractices, among other fields. 2Conversations on Jesuit Higher Education, Vol. 52, Iss. 1 [2017], Art. 6http://epublications.marquette.edu/conversations/vol52/iss1/6

Engaged Scholarship Methods for Positive Social Change

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Engaged Scholarship Methods for Positive Social Change

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