Place

Implement a Domain Across the Curriculum Initiative

Rationale

One of the touchstone experiences for University of the South students is their interaction with the natural environment, history, and communities of Sewanee and neighboring counties. The University is fortunate to be able to deepen student engagement with coursework, research, and extracurricular activities that connect students to this place, along with its people, affectionately known as the Domain. Students who engage with community and place feel a high degree of belonging, which helps raise retention and graduation rates and fosters great loyalty among our alumni. The Domain enriches the educational experience by offering students extraordinary opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty of the plateau, learn experientially about stewardship of resources and the natural world, and help build inclusive and just communities, all of which contribute to a holistic formation of students as global citizens and environmental leaders.

Description

The goal of Domain Across the Curriculum is to elevate and augment the extraordinary place-based experiential learning opportunities that truly distinguish an education at the University of the South. Every department in the College, the School of Theology, and the School of Letters will develop a course, a set of courses, and/or experiences that foster student engagement with our place, including its physical geography, history, and social fabric, broadly defined. Many academic units already have offerings related to the region, including community-engaged learning courses. This initiative encourages all academic units to develop courses that use our location as a living laboratory and a model for creating community, in which students can learn about natural phenomena, social formations, and artistic products related to Sewanee and the surrounding region. Additionally, exploring the Domain and surrounding communities will compel students to confront the history of race relations and the displacement of Indigenous groups and its legacies. From these place-based experiences and explorations, students can acquire knowledge and hone skills that can be applied beyond the region and the United States.

Supporting Tactics
  • Engage in dialogue about the place of Sewanee, the natural environment, history, social structure, culture, and surrounding communities so that students develop a nuanced understanding of Sewanee and are equipped with place-building skills to apply in other locales.
  • Offer professional development in place-based education to assist faculty in the development of plans for integrating Sewanee and surrounding communities into their classes.
  • Facilitate access to Domain resources via databases managed by the Library and Information Technology Systems Division or on the Office of Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability website so that colleagues may easily learn about and engage more deeply with our story.
  • Integrate Domain Across the Curriculum in a universal first-year experience (see Strategy 1A) that communicates our shared narrative about the history, natural environment, and people of our place. Ensure that every department in the College and seminary as well as the School of Letters develops a course or courses that engage students with the Domain.
  • Create a Domain-Engaged Fellows program that provides resources to develop a course or line of research that deeply integrates the Domain, including the
  • University Farm, and/or surrounding community or to encourage interdisciplinary team teaching and project-based collaborations focused on place.
  • Strengthen connections between the College and the Center for Religion and Environment and remove structural barriers such as calendar discrepancies that make it difficult for School of Theology students to take advantage of courses offered by the College.
  • Explore novel investment strategies in which the University and our students apply their learning to planning and decisions that intentionally build community, enhance regional economic development and prosperity, and foster student engagement with real-world problems in our region.
  • Leverage existing collaborations between local community organizations (e.g. South Cumberland Community Fund, Housing Sewanee, tourism boards) and the Office of Civic Engagement to support integration of sustainable development goals into regional planning.
  • Work with the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Center to engage with local communities to understand local social structures and inequities and consider ways to reconcile the legacy of historical injustices.