VALUES AND VOCATION: REFLECTIONS ON WORK AND THE COMMON GOOD
SPR 2016
Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Burwell
CS Office: 312-922-3243, ext. #14, rebeccab@chicagosemester.org
Course Description: Values and Vocation
In the Values and Vocation course, students will explore the intersection between their individual
callings and the call to social responsibility. Through a variety of disciplinary lenses, we will explore the
concept of vocation and how it relates to us personally and collectively. We will discuss socio-economic
realities that impact work (family status, gender, race, religion, and class, among others) and how that
shapes our understanding of vocation. Finally, we will examine cultural and religious values that shape
our definitions and practices of work.
Chicago Semester Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Chicago Semester program we expect graduates to be able to:
1) Apply Christian worldview concepts (wonder, heartbreak, hope) to city life
2) Demonstrate an appreciation for diversity encountered in the city
3) Articulate the meaning and significance of a vocational calling
4) Exhibit high standards of professional behavior and competence
5) Practice responsible citizenship that contributes to social justice
Course Objectives
1.) To understand and broaden one’s concept of vocation.
2.) To explore our individual gifts, values, and life experiences and consider how they can promote
the common good.
3.) To examine various practices from the Christian tradition and others that assist in discerning
one’s calling.
4.) To be aware of the socio-economic realities that shape individuals’ vocational choices.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of this class, students will be better able to:
1) Articulate their personal understanding of vocation and its significance for their personal and
professional development.
2) Identify the connections between vocation and social responsibility.
3) Determine how engaging in dignified work can lead to human flourishing.
4) Demonstrate professionalism through class discussion and engagement with fellow students,
guest speakers, and professors.
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Course Requirements:
1) Class participation and attendance. Class participation is very important as well as regular
attendance. In order to gain a better understanding of the subject matter, you need to be willing to
engage in class discussions. You should be prepared to discuss questions pertinent to each session’s
readings, such as: What is the author’s main point? How did the readings resonate with your own
experience? Do you agree with the author’s main ideas? You are allowed one absence; 5 points off class
participation grade for each unexcused, subsequent absence. Class participation and attendance are
worth 10% of your final grade.
2) Four Short Reaction Papers. Students must reflect weekly on the readings for class. To facilitate this,
there will be four short reaction papers that students will write during the semester. The questions and
due dates for each reaction paper are listed on Moodle. The papers will ask you to describe and analyze
some component of the week’s readings. This builds a sense of accountability for the readings and gives
the instructor an understanding of what questions students might have about course materials. These
four reaction papers together are worth 20% of your final grade. See Moodle for dates and questions
for each paper.
3) Course Projects. These projects, each of which will be outlined in more detail at the end of the
syllabus, will be a chance for students to reflect on several of the main authors/themes we will read and
discuss this semester: the themes of vocation, the common good, and dignified work. Together, these
projects constitute 50% of your final grade.
a. Essay: Personal Understanding of Work and Vocation. In this essay, you will explore
your own definition of vocation, ethical work, and how your vocation can impact the
common good. Due February 5th and worth 25% of your final grade.
b. Interview: Stories of Vocation. This will include a personal interview you do of a
person and their history of work, what their work means to them as well as a
description and photos of their organization and how that organization works within
the community. You will present that story to the class along with an outline (no
paper) of the interview and person’s story. Due March 30th. Presentations will take
place on both the 30th and April 6th and worth 25% of your final grade.
4) Final Exam. There will be a final essay exam on our final book Poor Millionaires, with particular
attention to how the individuals in the story understood and pursued their calling and how their social
and cultural contexts influenced their life choices. The essay will ask you to think about your own
vocational journey in light of what we learned from Roberts’ and Kimpur’s book. The exam will be due
on April 27th and worth 20% of final grade.
Papers, Academic Integrity, and Other Issues:
1.) All papers and assignments must be typed and double-spaced
2.) Deadlines are important. Late papers will be dropped 5 points each day that they are late,
unless you have made previous arrangements with me or there is some emergency.
3.) Finally, students are expected to honor the standards of academic integrity at all times.
Cheating or plagiarism will not be tolerated and may result in an F for the course.
**Students with Disabilities: Chicago Semester will make reasonable accommodations for
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students with documented disabilities. Students should alert the Director, Dr. Mackenzi Huyser
(mackenzih@chicagosemester.org) and instructors during the first two weeks of class so that
accommodations can be made.
Required Texts:
A Sacred Voice is Calling, by John Neafsey
Poor Millionaires, by Nathan Roberts and Michael Kimpur.
**Various Articles for Course. Articles are designated in the syllabus and will be handed out in class
prior to the date by which they need to be read or available on Moodle.
Course Outline
Week 1, January 13 - Introductions
Week 2, January 20 – Vocation: Listening to Live
Read Chs 1 and 2 in Neafsey “Introduction: Personal Vocation and Social Conscience” and “Sacred
Voices,” and two articles on Moodle entitled “A Slender Thread” and “Road to Redemption.”
Reaction Paper #1 due via Moodle.
Week 3, January 27 – Discernment and Spiritual Practices
Read Chapter 3 in Neafsey, “Discernment: The Inner Compass” and article on Moodle entitled “About
Labyrinths.”
Field Trip, Meet at 8:30am: Labyrinth walk, Fourth Presbyterian church, corner of Michigan Avenue and
Chestnut.
Week 4, February 3 – The Enneagram: Strengths and Weaknesses
Read article on the Enneagram on Moodle.
Project #1 due on 2/5 - Personal Essay on vocation.
Week 5, February 10 – Authenticity, Passion and Compassion
Read Chapters 4 and 5 in Neafsey as well as article on Moodle by Parker Palmer entitled “There is a
Season.”
Reaction Paper #2 due via Moodle.
Week 6, February 17 –Creating Spaces for Dignified Work
Read articles about work and ethics on Moodle entitled “The Job,” and excerpts from “Gig.”
Week 7, February 24 - Identity, Justice and Work
Please read the articles posted on Moodle on theology, work, justice, and identity. The first is an article
from the Worker Justice Reader entitled "God and Work," by M. Douglas Meeks. The second article is
called "We Make a Life by What We Give," by Gunderman. Finally, please read the two blog entries by
Gideon Strauss entitled "Identity and Belonging at Work," Parts 1 and 3.
Week 8, March 2
- Field Trip
Field Trip TBD
Reaction Paper #3 due via Moodle.
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Week 9, March 9 – Work/Life Balance
Readings TBD.
Week 10, March 16
– No class – Program Wide Service Learning
Week 11, March 23 – Field trip – Writing our Life’s Story
Field Trip to Beauty and Brawn Gallery
Read “Composing a Life’s Story” on Moodle. Meet at Beauty and Brawn at 9am.
Reaction Paper #4 due.
Week 12, March 30 – Presentations
Project #2 due and presentation on interview. Presentations will begin in alphabetical order with the
first set presenting on the 30th and the rest of the class going on April 6th . It is possible that class will
end late due to the number of presentations we must complete so please be flexible.
Week 13, April 6 – Presentations Continue
Week 14, April 13 - Writing our Life’s Story
Read Chapters 1-11 in Poor Millionaires as well as Chapters 9 and 10 in Neafsey.
Week 15, April 20 - Writing Our Life’s story
Read Chapters 12-21 in Poor Millionaires
Week 16, April 27 Final Exam
Final essay exam on Roberts and Kimpur’s Poor Millionaires due today by 5pm. See questions on
Moodle.
Attendance and Withdrawal Policies
Students are expected to attend all class sessions for which they are registered. Any anticipated absence
on the part of the student must be cleared with the instructor. Students are also expected to be at their
internships sites each day. Anticipated absence or absence due to illness must be communicated and
approved by the internship supervisor and the practicum group/seminar instructor.
Students must withdrawal officially from a course by contacting the program’s registrar, Silvia Navarro,
if they wish to drop the class. Failure to do so may result in a failing grade. Timelines for withdrawal are
publicized each semester by partnering college registrars.
Academic Integrity Policy
Chicago Semester holds every student in the program to the highest standard of academic integrity in
principle and spirit. Students who compromise standards of academic integrity are held accountable for
their actions. For Chicago Semester’s policy regarding expectations for academic integrity and
procedures for responding to violations of this policy, see the student handbook section titled,
“Academic Policies”.
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Values and Vocation/Burwell
Project #1: Personal Essay on Vocation
For this 3-4 page paper, students will be asked to reflect on a series of questions related to their
understanding of vocation. Using the framework of the “three key questions” that Neafsey examines in
his chapter (#3) on “Discernment: The Inner Compass of the Heart,” you will be asked to address those
questions as well as discuss your own personal definition of what vocation is to you and who is the
“caller” in your life. You will also be asked to discuss what you think makes for dignified and meaningful
work. These questions are designed to help one in discerning one’s vocation. In the paper, please
answer the following questions:
1) What is the meaning of vocation for you?
a. Who or what is the caller in your life?
2) What must work “look like” in order to be meaningful to you?
a. What role does work play in your own spiritual development?
b. Should work play a role in promoting the common good? If so, how?
3) Three Key Questions:
a. Joy. Does this work (or the work that you are hoping to get) give you a sense of joy?
i. If yes, what about this work gives you a sense of satisfaction and/or joy?
ii. If not, why do you want to do this type of work?
iii. Were there external factors (family, sense of obligation, think it’s easy to get a
job in that field, didn’t know what else to do) that impacted your decision to go
into this field?
b. Talent. Do you possess the talent to do this work?
i. What do you think are your greatest strengths?
ii. In what areas do you think you have room for self-improvement?
c. Service. Would this work be of any real service to people and the world around you?
How?
i. If the organization/field of work you are in doesn’t seem to have a connection
and/or tangible impact on the common good (and the community around you),
should it?
ii. Why or why not?
This paper must be typed, double-spaced and is worth 25% of your final grade.
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Interview and Oral Presentation: Vocational Journeys/Stories
Values and Vocation
For this presentation, you will be asked to interview a person about their current work situation, work
history, and how they came to be involved in that kind of work. You will also explore the person’s
philosophical understandings of what contributes to a just, meaningful, and dignified work experience.
Part of the exercise is to become familiar with the different work trajectories out there and to see and
understand how and why people work in the ways that they do. This exercise will allow you to explore
the multiple avenues for work, and to also explore what we might call “invisible work” - work that gets
done without much fanfare, but still contributes some way to the common good. Questions we will
explore include: How is work understood by workers themselves, and how do workers feel about their
work? Why do people do the work that they do? How did they get involved in that type of work? Did
they have lots of choice in regards to their work?
It will also be important to record how they think that the world perceives the importance of their work.
As you are interviewing the person, refer to the articles we have read this semester. See if you see
anything in their stories that pertains to and/or resonates with our exploration of vocation.
Finally, refer to the questions below to guide your interview. Summarize the person’s story in the
presentation, relate to class readings, and think about what their story can teach you about your own
vocational journey.
Questions for interview and presentation:
1) Describe your work history. How did you end up in this position? Did you have to do some sort
of training, education to obtain this job? Depending on the person’s age, ask them whether or
not when they were your age they pictured themselves in this sort of work.
2) What is a typical day like in your line of work?
 Or, if unemployed, what is your history of work and then how did you end up unemployed?
3) Do you like this work? Why or why not? Do you think your work makes an important
contribution to the world around you? Why or why not? If so, how does it impact the world
around you? How do you think others think your work impacts them (or their community)?
Does the organization you work for explicitly acknowledge the way they impact the world? If so,
how?
 Or, if unemployed, how does the rest of the world treat you? What would you really like to
be doing at the moment if you could? Why is it hard to find that type of work?
4) Does this work (or, if unemployed, did this work) give you a sense of dignity and/or sense of selfworth? Why or why not? What types of things do you think are necessary to a job to make it a
good job? Do you feel like workers are treated fairly or equitably in this organization?
5) Should it matter that the work be something that people like or want to do? How does this
work make you a better person?
6) Where do you see yourself in 5 years, in terms of work? What would you really like to be doing?
At the end of your work life, what would you really like to say you were able to do?
For the presentation (in a Power Point or prezi), summarize the stories/answers from above. Then,
relate the person’s story to the articles we have read this semester. Do you see anything in the person’s
story that resonates with what the authors say about the dignity of work and human potential? About
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following your passions? About how the work might serve others? How does the person’s work
contribute to their own flourishing and to the common good? This presentation is worth 25% of your
final grade. Presentations will start on March 30th thru April 6th . However, outlines are due on the
30th. Please upload to moodle an outline of your presentation, your ppt, and any interview notes you
took while conducting your interview. You must also put together a power point presentation with
photos of the person, ideally at their work or of their work space.
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