Service Learning for Civic Engagement Series
Summary Excerpts
DNA as a Tool for Social Justice:
Service Learning and Paternity Testing in Tanzania, Africa
Ruth Ballard, Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Sacramento
On a trip to Tanzania in 2002, a team from CSU Sacramento met a local woman, a single mother who
was struggling to support her family. This story was the story of many families they encountered and
inspired the Service Learning and Paternity Testing Project. Lack of well-paying jobs, unhealthy living
conditions, rampant disease and the absence of fathers have plagued Tanzania. Ruth Ballard was
already working to create a research laboratory in DNA forensics and found that they could broaden
their original mission and establish a system to prove paternity, providing a scientific basis for enforcing
child support. Service learning for the students was multi-dimensional and extended beyond the initial
scientific perspective. They participated in random DNA sampling efforts, but also observed the
unhygienic conditions of laboratories, learned about human dynamics of the polygamous households
common to the area, health problems and cultural beliefs in Sub-Saharan Africa. What began as a
mission to bring forensic science to Tanzania evolved into a campaign for social justice.
Gender, Identity, Theory, and Action
Talia Bettcher, California State University, Los Angeles
In chapter 1, author Talia Bettcher, introduces herself as a philosopher and a transgendered woman—
qualities that uniquely equip her to inspire and guide students in the use of philosophical principles to
critically examine ‘‘identity-centered beliefs.’’ The theoretical perspective of ‘‘worldtraveling’’
introduces students to the notion that people move through different social realities (worlds) that impose
on and change identity—an individual may express a ‘‘different self ’’ in a ‘‘different world.’’ The
service-learning experiences in Introduction to Transgender Studies introduces students to wider worlds
of possibility—including the choice to become involved in social activism with grassroots groups
addressing gendered and transgendered oppression—that are designed to challenge students to a deeper
examination of the themes of the class.
Reclaiming a Forgotten Past:
The San Fernando Valley Japanese American Oral History and Photograph Collection Project
Edith Wen-Chu Chen, California State University, Northridge
Japanese Americans in the San Fernando Valley have a rich history dating back to the early 1900s.
Unfortunately, their lives were interrupted by the events surrounding World War II. Following the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated to internment
camps. Nancy Takayama, a third generation member of this community, found that after trying to locate
information about her family before, during, and after the war, she came up empty-handed. She saw a
need to reclaim this lost history, and after partnering with Edith Wen-Chu Chen, the Asian American
Studies Department, and the San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center (SFVJACC),
the Oral History and Photograph Collection Project was born. Students worked with members of the
Japanese American community to gather stories, photos and video that resulted in several exhibitions at
local venues. Once thought to be lost, the stories are being reclaimed one by one and the impact of their
work will continue to be felt, well past the last class.
Designing a Safety Program for Day Laborers – The Forgotten Workers
Edward V. Clancy, College of Engineering, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
For many workers, day labor is a chance to gain a foothold in the economy, but it also places these
workers in environments where their health and lives are at risk. Edward V. Clancy saw an opportunity
to pair his safety engineering class with the Pomona Day Labor Center (PDLC) after hearing stories
about day laborers who were injured or killed on the job. Students enrolled in Professor Clancy’s
Capstone Course in Safety Engineering found a long list of factors that were contributing to work injury
such as lack of safety education, language barriers, and absence of personal safety equipment. From
start to finish, the engineering students dedicated themselves to this project and demonstrated that the
skills they developed extend beyond engineering and project management, but also to communication,
public speaking, applied research and analysis, teamwork and the value of hard work. Many of the
students and Professor Clancy himself are at most two generations from being immigrants themselves.
This was an example to the class of how beneficial service learning at the CSU is and through this
opportunity how they were able to reconnect with a common past.
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The first two excerpts can be found in the book, Gender Identity, Equity, and Violence:
Multidisciplinary Perspectives through Service Learning, edited by Geraldine B. Stahly, professor of
psychology at California State University, San Bernardino.
José Z. Calderon, professor of sociology and Chicano Studies at Pitzer College, edited the book, Race,
Poverty, and Social Justice: Multidisciplinary Perspectives through Service Learning of which the latter
two summaries are based.
San Francisco State University President, Robert A. Corrigan, a former chair of California Campus
Compact and a long-time supporter of service learning and civic engagement, wrote forwards for both of
the books. Gerald Eisman, Acting Director, Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, San
Francisco State University is creator and series editor. (Dr. Eisman served as the Service-Learning
Faculty Scholar in the CSU Chancellor’s Office from 2003-2006).