Abstract: Community-Engaged Learning in East Scarborough: Reflections on a Decade of Collaboration - In this talk we will explore the development of a Scarborough-focused community-engaged learning course, taught in the City Studies program at UTSC, that was one of very first courses at the University of Toronto to be taught off-campus in a community centre. Created and first offered in 2009, the course has been taught each year since and has connected with a wide range of community partners in east Scarborough. The course provides undergraduate students the opportunity to learn about community development and social justice through community placements that are based upon the diverse needs of community organizations. Over the last decade, students have been partnered with over 20 community organizations. All-Stars Community Outreach, located in Mornelle Court, has been a placement host and student mentor each year since the course first started. Our talk will reflect on the course’s development, meanings of community partnership, the importance of sustained collaboration in local neighbourhoods, and a range of diverse experiences over a decade of teaching, mentorship, and learning in Scarborough.
Susannah Bunce: Associate Professor, Department of Human Geography and City Studies program at U of T Scarborough. Susannah’s research centres on the geographies of community engagement and development and socio-ecological transformations in urban communities and neighbourhoods. Her research has been published in two books with Routledge and UCL Press and in articles in journals such as Antipode, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, and Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers. Her research is grounded in scholar-activism, which blends long-term interest and engagement in anti-poverty and environmental activism with scholarly research and teaching. One of Susannah’s most meaningful activities at U of T Scarbough has been the development of a community-engaged learning course, based in several neighbourhoods of east Scarborough. Having grown up in east Scarborough, Susannah is dedicated to helping build local engagement, to celebrating its places and communities, and to providing U of T Scarborough students with the experience of learning from local communities.
Angela Brackett: Director of Mornelle Court Community Outreach, Angela Brackett is a long-standing community leader in Mornelle Court. Through her love for people and selfless passion for giving back, she has become a role model, teacher, mentor, friend and family to this community. Angela’s strong leadership enabled her to transform a community that was struck by tragedy, with a vision of making it a safe place to live and a place where youth and children can grow up safely and thrive enough to succeed in life. Through various programs like Safe Walk and the After School Program, Summer camp and many other programs and workshops that supports adults, and seniors, she has provided a core foundation of safety and success to the community of Mornelle Court that has made her programs sought after in communities across Toronto. Angela’s commitment to building community engagement has garnered positive relationships with community partners and organizations such as Toronto Public Health, Centennial College, Seneca College, Frontier College, University of Toronto, Toronto Pan Am Sports, Toronto District School Board, Toronto Community Housing, Community Crisis Response Program, and Community Outreach Canada to name a few. Angela’s hard work and dedication to her community have not gone unnoticed. She is the recipient of the 2014 Woman of Distinction Award on behalf of the Government of Ontario for her outstanding work on building communities. She was the recipient of the Volunteer of Year Award and The Mayor’s Safety Award in 2010. Angela continues to go above and beyond in her journey to achieve equity, inclusion, and diversification within communities.
Great Explorations, is a series of academic discussions we hope will inspire our communities. Our special thanks to our engaged, critical thinkers who attend our speaker series. The dialogues that came out of these talks, both in-person and online via Zoom, are integral to our campus community and Scarborough communities at large. We welcome your input for future topics, as well as a review of previous recorded sessions available on YouTube.