(APS2b) The Highlights and Challenges of Community Engaged Sociology II

Community engaged research and work continues to become more mainstream within our discipline, with sociologists recognizing the ways in which community engaged projects can provide opportunities for more insightful and ethical work. This session will explore the “work” that goes on behind the scenes of community engaged sociology. Proposals were welcomed from those researching, teaching, or contributing to the community engaged space, to share insights around the challenges of these projects, the successes, and ideas for how to develop our community engaged work. Sessions which describe the process of teaching community engaged sociology or conducting a community engaged research project are encouraged. Tags: Community Engagement, Equality and Inequality

Organizer: Ashley Berard, University of Victoria; Chair: Ashley Berard, University of Victoria

Presentations

Landon Turlock, Coalitions Creating Equity

Developing Community-Based Responses to Addressing Hate in Alberta

Reports of hate crimes in Canada increased by 72% from 2019 to 2021 (Moreau, 2022). Hate crimes have significant negative impacts on both those directly impacted and members of targeted communities (Erentzen and Schuller, 2020). Canadian research primarily focuses on the effects of hate crimes and their underreporting. However, there is little understanding of survivors experiences when they report a hate crime or incident, and how organizations respond to these reports. Further, there are not easily accessible training opportunities for organizations and community members to develop capacity to support survivors of hate crimes and incidents. This presentation will discuss how community-based participatory research, engagement, and public education have been used to strengthen community capacity in Alberta to respond to hate crimes and incidents. In 2022, Coalitions Creating Equity Edmonton (CCEE) used a trauma-informed Community-Based Participatory Research approach to answer three research questions: What are the experiences of people who report hate crimes and/or incidents to organizations in Edmonton? How do individuals who have reported hate crimes and/or incidents experience organizational responses to these reports? What are the policy and practice implications of these experiences for organizations that respond to hate crimes and/or incidents? The study resulted in three key findings: Firstly, how organizations respond to reports of hate crimes and incidents does not reliably meet the needs of people victimized by these occurrences and can significantly impact survivors. Secondly, understandings and experiences of hate crimes and incidents and how organizations respond to them are based in lived experiences of historical and ongoing systemic and societal discrimination. Thirdly, interpersonal relationships, existing knowledge and beliefs, and previous experiences influence the series of choices involved in reporting a hate crime or incident. This presentation will provide strategies for how community-based approach to research, advocacy and public education can be used to strengthen approaches to addressing hate crimes and incidents, such as collaboration and relationship building; using a trauma-informed, culturally sensitive approach; and creative, multi-faceted knowledge mobilization tactics.

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Non-presenting authors: Irfan Chaudhry, MacEwan University; Sunpreet Johal, StopHateAB (formerly the Alberta Hate Crimes Committee)

Deborah Conners, Carleton University

Isn't that a lot of work? Strategies to address workload and risk issues associated with community engagement courses

While university course instructors using community-engaged learning approaches are enthusiastic about the benefits, instructors also struggle with the amount of work required to manage and support community engagement projects. Of significant import, is the need to address the position of the university as a site of dominant knowledge creation that has both marginalized and exploited community knowledge, an effort which must rely on the development of long-term relationships and trust (Verjee, 2012). On a practical level, ensuring the right fit of people, problem, and resources can be challenging (Mill et al., 2012). The number of actors involved, the sometimes conflicting needs and timelines of community organizations with university course schedules, the desire to provide students with flexibility and options in the context of a project requiring a specific sequence of activities to be completed in a timely way, the importance of creating products of a high enough quality to benefit community participants, and the extra work for both instructors and students in moving beyond traditional lecture style courses, all contribute to a level of risk and work (before, during and after the course) that is daunting to all and intimidating to those who have not yet presented such a course (Scheffelaar, Blignaut-van et al., 2023). As a long-term member of the Carleton University Committee for Community Engaged Pedagogy and more recently the Community of Practice for Community Engagement, I have been part of a group of practitioners who have sought to provide insight and support to instructors desiring to include community engagement projects in their courses. As part of this effort, I have supported course instructors bringing community engagement into their courses for the first time; there are also those who continue to attend events but do not initiate a community engagement project. This winter I am working with a student research assistant to conduct a small research project exploring barriers to integrating community engagement pedagogies into undergraduate courses. This session will present some preliminary findings designed to identify the extra work and risk assumed by course instructors and to explore strategies to address these barriers to implementation, both for those who currently include community engagement projects in their courses and those who aspire to do so.

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Non-presenting author: Pragati Parajuli, Carleton University