Service Learning Courses

Fall 2021

Due to COVID-19 and current uncertainty about the viability of face-to-face experiences for Fall 2021, the following courses and their service learning projects are subject to change. 

ANTH 4723/5723 – Historic Sites Archaeology
Instructor – Dr. Ryan Gray
Days/Times – Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Community Partners – Whitney Plantation, Descendants Project

This course deals with the theories and methods of historical archaeology, or the archaeology of the modern world, particularly the study of European colonial expansion and the growth of the capitalist world economic system in the years from ca.1500 to the present. In Fall 2021, students will develop hands-on experience with historical archaeology through a service learning project conducted in association with the Whitney Plantation Museum and the Descendants Project in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. Students will work with representatives from the Whitney and the local St. John the Baptist Parish community to develop public archaeology programming for the fall. This discipline-based service-learning project will require students to engage in community dialogues to assess stakeholder interests in the project, as well as conduct archaeological testing and laboratory analyses, perform historical and cartographic research, and organize and implement on-site activities at the Whitney and in the nearby community of Wallace, Louisiana.  The project will incorporate structured reflections on the ethical obligations of community-based research and historical interpretation, particularly with regards to situations of conflict, violence, and resistance.  Students will particularly engage with issues over environmental justice in the river parishes, particularly as it pertains to controversies over a proposed industrial-scale grain elevator project in Wallace.

FTA 3460 – Introduction to Documentary Production
Instructor – Laszlo Fulop
Days/Times – Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Community Partner – Vianolavie.com

An introduction to the fundamentals of writing, producing, directing, and editing the documentary film. Students develop an understanding of the aesthetic dimensions of documentary film and learning the craft of documentary filmmaking through production assignments, critiques, and film analysis. In this course, students will do two projects with community partners.  One will be a PSA (Public Service Announcement) about an issue concerning the New Orleans community. The other one is a short documentary about an issue, a non-profit organization, or a portrait of a member of the community, etc.

GEOG 5832 – Advanced Techniques in GIS
Instructor – Guang Tian
Days/Times – Hybrid (monthly meeting + online)
Community Partner – The City of New Orleans Mayor's Office 

The City of New Orleans is anticipating the release of the 2020 decennial census data later this year and subsequent redistricting of their federal, state, and local boundaries. The City is seeking assistance in understanding the potential urban demographical shifts based on recent population estimates, defining various communities of interest to avoid gerrymandering, ensuring the residents of Orleans Parish are equitably and fairly represented by their elected leaders. Students in this course will utilize GIS-based tools to model potential changes to districts at the precinct-level based on anticipated changes within current census boundaries, and to produce a recommendation for district boundary changes that preserve and adequately represent the vulnerable populations and communities of interest. 

Students (or teams of students) relate to the community much as "consultants" working for a "client" - The City of New Orleans. Student work with city staff to understand their particular need - redistricting the city based on 2020 decennial census data. Students will have some skills of GIS and knowledge of the literature on redistricting that they can draw upon to make recommendations of redistricted maps to the city.

ANTH 4723/5723.225 – Historic Sites Archaeology
Instructor – Dr. Ryan Gray
Days/Times – Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Community Partner – 1811/Kid Ory Historic Museum; assorted others

This course deals with the theories and methods of historical archaeology, or the archaeology of the modern world, particularly the study of European colonial expansion and the growth of the capitalist world economic system in the years from ca.1500 to the present. In Spring 2021, students will develop hands-on experience with historical archaeology through a service learning project conducted in association with the 1811/Kid Ory House Museum and other community partners and stakeholders. Students will engage in community dialogues to assess stakeholder interests in the project, as well as conduct archaeological testing and laboratory analyses, perform historical and cartographic research, and produce a technical report of investigations.  The project will incorporate structured reflections on the ethical obligations of community-based research and historical interpretation, particularly with regards to situations of conflict, violence, and resistance.  Students will additionally select a group-based community service project, based on community needs identified during the project.

HIST 4008/5008 – Public History Methods
Instructor – Dr. Molly Mitchell
Days/Times – Thursdays, 5:00 PM - 7:45 PM
Community Partner – New Orleans Public Library

The on-going discussions in New Orleans regarding public monuments and street re-naming have exposed the need for concerted, educational public outreach, so that the city's residents can explore for themselves the lives of those who have contributed to the city's development, from pre-colonization to the present.  Public History Methods students in Professor Mitchell's HIST 4008/5008 spring 2021 course will partner with NOPL librarians and archivists to develop an outreach program that will invite the public to explore the library’s holdings to learn more about the lives of significant New Orleanians.  To produce a pilot version of this program, LSU New Orleans students and librarians will select a small group of individuals whose lives can be traced through secondary materials and archival holdings at the library.  They will produce short videos, highlighting these materials and the lives they document, which can be shared on social media via NOPL and the Midlo Center at LSU New Orleans.

Due to COVID-19 and current uncertainty about the viability of face-to-face experiences for Fall 2020, the following courses and their service learning projects are subject to change. 

FTA 3460.225 – Introduction to Documentary Production
Instructor – Laszlo Fulop
Days/Times – Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Community Partner – Vianolavie.com

An introduction to the fundamentals of writing, producing, directing, and editing the documentary film. Students develop an understanding of the aesthetic dimensions of documentary film and learning the craft of documentary filmmaking through production assignments, critiques, and film analysis. In this course, students will do two projects with community partners.  One will be a PSA (Public Service Announcement) about an issue concerning the New Orleans community. The other one is a short documentary about an issue, a non-profit organization, or a portrait of a member of the community, etc.

Spring 2020

ANTH 3402.225 - Storytelling & Culture
Instructor - Dr. Rachel Breunlin
Days/Times -
Community Partner - Neighborhood Story Project, various

This course introduces students to storytelling as a collaborative method of cultural research. Student will choose a community they are part of, and, through writing about their own backgrounds and conducting in-depth interviews, will contribute to a self-published book project developed in the class. The course is run as a workshop, emphasizing both process and product. It is experiential and interactive. In the complicated places you find yourself, to borrow the words of anthropologist Paul Stoller, "in between," you will discover the power of reciprocity

Fall 2019

ANTH 3095.225 – New Orleans Public Culture
Instructor – Dr. Rachel Breunlin
Days/Times – Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Community Partner – Backstreet Cultural Museum

This course is designed to introduce students to theories of the public sphere as well as the incredibly vibrant street cultures of two of the Neighborhood Story Projects’ main fieldwork areas of the city, the Tremé and the Seventh Ward. Throughout the semester, students read about the culture of the city and participate in it through a series of field trips to the area and to the NSP’s workshop where they get to interact with community-based scholars and artists who work with the NSP.  The class will partner with the Backstreet Cultural Museum to help organize its All Saints Day parade on November 1. Once they have developed rapport and understanding of the culture they will be participating in, students are given assignments to help run the second line parade, including promotion, creation of an interactive All Saints Day altar, documentation during the parade, and programming at the museum after the event is over.

FA 3050.225 – Professional Practice
Instructor – Ariya Martin
Days/Times – Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:30 AM – 12:15 PM
Community Partner – Prospect New Orleans

Students in this course will have the unique opportunity assisting the non-profit Prospect New Orleans, a citywide contemporary art triennial with all their media needs for P.5 that takes place in sites/locations all over the city. Students will be guided by staff at Prospect, and by course instructor, in creating media content/information about P.5 as well as an online archive of artists they have showcased in the past. Class time will be used for students to create an online presence for their own artwork through various platforms and the instructor will lead further discussions on how artists market themselves and work professionally with galleries, museums and collectors.  

FA 3550.225 – Advanced Studio in Digital Art, Video, & Animation
Instructor – Dan Rule
Days/Times – Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:30 PM – 5:15 PM
Community Partner – Arts Council New Orleans

Students in this course will use their skills working with digital art programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, Video editing, and Animation to assist the Arts Council of New Orleans directly in producing digital media. The final project is as of yet undetermined given the need for a collaborative inception. However, an example project would be a large-scale projection onto Gallier Hall during the 2019 Luna Fete Festival created by LSU New Orleans undergraduates and local high school students.  LSU New Orleans students would have the opportunity to use their digital art skills while guiding the high school students along the way. Work would include storyboarding, shooting video, video editing, animating, working after effects, post-production, and rendering.  

FTA 3460.225 – Introduction to Documentary Production
Instructor – Laszlo Fulop
Days/Times – Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Community Partner – Vianolavie.com

An introduction to the fundamentals of writing, producing, directing, and editing the documentary film. Students develop an understanding of the aesthetic dimensions of documentary film and learning the craft of documentary filmmaking through production assignments, critiques, and film analysis. In this course, students will do two projects with community partners.  One will be a PSA (Public Service Announcement) about an issue concerning the New Orleans community. The other one is a short documentary about an issue, a non-profit organization, or a portrait of a member of the community, etc.

MANG 4710 – Innovation Management
Instructor – Cherie Trumbach
Days/Times – Mondays & Wednesdays, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Community Partner – Various

Students will serve as consultants to businesses and provide each with an Innovation Management Best Practice Analysis. The students are required to find businesses operating locally and willing to provide the needed information through documentation and interviews. The structure of the analysis is such that there are sections in which students use specific tools and assessment models to review aspects of the business.  The last two sections require the students to reflect on the models that they have used, identify how the models relate to each other and formulate a broader assessment as well as suggest recommendations for the future based on what they have discovered.  Students will present their results to their clients and record their presentations.

EDAD 6684 – Teaching, Learning, & Curriculum in Higher Education
Instructor – Dr. Christopher Broadhurst
Days/Times – Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:00 PM – 7:45 PM
Community Partner – Office of Diversity, GenEd Council

Advanced and in-depth study of the classic, contemporary, and emerging issues, ideas, concepts, theories and research that serve to define and expand the boundaries of the literatures related to the areas of teaching, learning and curriculum in higher and postsecondary education. Research and theory in these areas will be studied in ways that emphasize scholarly writing as well as concrete applications to the development of effective policy and practice in each area.  Students will apply concepts from the class to their most immediate community, LSU New Orleans, to improve that community. Students will be assigned to one of two service learning projects. One project will focus on the current programming efforts from the Office of Diversity. The other project will focus on data collected by the General Education Committee as well as current and proposed general education curriculum changes.  Students in both groups will be required to write summaries of their findings which will include an analysis of data and will be grounded in scholarly literature and theories from the course to guide best practices.

MANG 3778 – Introduction to Management Information Systems
Instructor – Dr. Cherie Trumbach
Days/Times – N/A (online course)
Community Partner – various

An online presence has become a staple part of businesses, even small businesses. Therefore, we have incorporated a basic webpage design and social media audit project into the course’s curriculum. Students must find a local business or non-profit organization that either does not have a website at all or has a website which does not meet the criteria of a well-designed website as discussed in the course. The student will be expected to obtain the needed information from the organization to conduct a simple social media audit and design a website using templates.  Additionally, students must submit a statement expressing the challenges they faced in working with an actual organization and what they learned from the experience.

EDSP 3660.256 – Practicum in Inclusive Practices
Instructor – Dr. Jan. Janz
Days/Times – N/A
Community Partner – Edward Hynes Charter School

This practicum is taken after candidates have taken 3 courses in special education and during the time when candidates are demonstrating their knowledge and skills related to the professional standards for the Council of Exceptional Children. The course involves site-based performance activities, observations, and seminar in inclusive practices for students with mild/moderate disabilities. This course emphasizes meeting the needs of students with disabilities in inclusive general education settings as well as integrating knowledge and skills acquired in the associated coursework in special education.

FA 3050.225 – Professional Practice
Instructor – Ariya Martin
Days/Times – Tuesdays & Thursdays, 9:30 AM – 12:15 AM
Community Partner – Paper Machine

Students registered for FA 2050 will have the unique opportunity to assist the non-profit Paper Machine in archiving their collection of over 100 discrete artist books. Paper Machine is a 5000 square foot printshop in the Lower 9^th Ward housing a range of traditional and cutting edge print technologies, to enhance, amplify, and explore New Orleans’ rich printing heritage while providing significant opportunities for artists and residents of the Lower Ninth Ward and beyond. In return, students will be guided by staff at Paper Machine, as well as by the instructor in the classroom, to create their own one-of-a-kind photography book.

FTA 3460.225 – Introduction to Documentary Production
Instructor – Laszlo Fulop
Days/Times – Mondays & Wednesdays, 3:30 PM – 4:45 PM
Community Partner – Vianolavie.com

An introduction to the fundamentals of writing, producing, directing, and editing the documentary film. Students develop an understanding of the aesthetic dimensions of documentary film and learning the craft of documentary filmmaking through production assignments, critiques, and film analysis. In this course, students will do two projects with community partners. One will be a PSA (Public Service Announcement) about an issue concerning the New Orleans community. The other one is a short documentary about an issue, a non-profit organization, or a portrait of a member of the community, etc.

HRT 4150.225 – Events Management and Convention Planning
Instructor – Dr. David Pearlman
Days/Times – Wednesdays, 4:00 PM – 6:45 PM
Community Partner – LSU New Orleans SIL, LSU New Orleans HRT ICHRIE/ACF Dinner

This course teaches how to plan, organize, staff, and evaluate any meeting or event using a standardized process. The importance of this course is further justified given the increasingly important role that meetings and events play in both the local and national economies. Learning will occur through a combination of lectures, podcasts, readings, assignments and a service learning project. The project is designed to be beneficial to student’s professional development through skills acquisition as well as the partner organization by addressing their individual meeting/event problems and needs. Student teams will work as event planners for their respective organizations by solving current event issues or will develop a pilot program.

HRT 6495.225 – Special Topics: Event Management
Instructor – Dr. David Pearlman
Days/Times - Mondays, 6:00 PM – 8:45 PM
Community Partner – Harrison Avenue Marketplace, Ashe Cultural Arts Center

This course teaches how to plan, organize, staff, and evaluate any meeting or event using a standardized process. The importance of this course is further justified given the increasingly important role that meetings and events play in both the local and national economies. Learning will occur through a combination of lectures, podcasts, readings, assignments and a service learning project. The project is designed to be beneficial to student’s professional development through skills acquisition as well as the partner organization by addressing their individual meeting/event problems and needs. Student teams will work as event planners for their respective organizations by solving current event issues or will develop a pilot program.

URBN 4145.225/5145.225 – Green Infrastructure
Instructor – Dr. Tara Lambeth
Days/Times – N/A (hybrid)
Community Partner – The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans

As a part of the course, the students will work with various members of the Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans, to include Global Green, Recharge NOLA, Dana Brown and Associates, the Urban Conservancy, and the Friends of Lafitte Greenway. The students will assist these community partners in the maintenance of green infrastructure projects. These projects could include tree planting, weeding of living wetlands, building rain barrels, and other maintenance activities, for a total of 25 hours of service. Following the work, the students will be asked to participate in group discussions in order to reflect on each service experience. As this is a problem-based service learning course, during the discussions, the students will identify an issue the green infrastructure provider is working to address, and ways that provider can continue to address the issue and find solutions to the problem. At the end of the course, students will make use of these reflections to write a research paper identifying an issue and particular green infrastructure methods that can help solve the issue. The papers will be a case study of the City of New Orleans, the challenges and needs in the city, and the green infrastructure methods that can address those needs. The students will share the paper with the community partners for use in future grant opportunities.

MURP 6720.225 – Practicum in Urban and Regional Planning
Instructor – Dr. Marla Nelson
Days/Times – Tuesdays, 6:00 PM – 8:45 PM
Community Partner – Town of Campti, Louisiana

MURP 6720 Practicum in Urban and Regional Planning is designed to be a culminating experience for MURP students who apply the academic and professional knowledge and skills developed through their planning coursework as well as their life knowledge and skills to a real planning projects. Students will work with Campti, LA community stakeholders to create a strategic urban design and historic preservation plan that identifies opportunities to attract and leverage investment in the community. This course will be offered in conjunction with a separate but coordinated urban design studio offered through the LSU School of Architecture. This project is endorsed by Roland Smith, Mayor of the Town of Campti, Rick Nowlin, President of Natchitoches Parish; and Donna Isaacs, Executive Director of Campti Field of Dreams, Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit corporation dedicated to improving the quality of life for residents in underserve communities.

HRT 2000.225 Introduction to Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management
Instructor – Dr. Yvette Green
Days/Times – Tuesdays & Thursdays, 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Community Partner – Louisiana Hospitality Foundation (LHF), Acme Management Group

The HRT 2000 Introduction to HRT course is a survey of the hospitality and tourism pillars including customer service, the lodging industry, restaurant industry, travel/tourism industry and attractions/events. As a part of the course, students learn about the special events and golf industries. The service learning project ties together the special events and food and beverage course materials and applies it to a charity golf tournament. The service learning project with the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation and Acme Management Group in the planning and execution of food venues at the Zurich Classic International Golf Tournament – a four day golf event at TPC Golf Course. The students will help plan and execute the Champions Club and Acme Oyster House venues – two high profile food venues for the Zurich Classic. The proceeds of the venues go back to each foundation for support of grants and programming in the community within the community.

MURP 4005.225/5005.225 Introduction to Neighborhood Planning
Instructor – Dr. Michelle Thompson
Days/Times – Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2:00 PM – 3:15 PM
Community Partner – HousingNOLA

This course provides students with an understanding of land use planning principles, methods and formats. In addition, students will gain the skills needed to create an effective and appropriate land use plan for a small city. The Spring 2019 course will focus on updating the existing neighborhood typologies for the City of New Orleans. Students will use the HousingNOLA model criteria to evaluate neighborhood change and if any would be categorized as a new ranking.