Courses

Engaged Scholarship Courses (ESCH)

The Lang Center works with faculty and the Registrar’s Office to designate certain courses as Engaged Scholarship, or “ESCH” courses. Swarthmore College identifies ESCH courses as those that: address a contemporary issue of pressing public concern; build knowledge about how to ameliorate social problems; produce work that engages with various publics and/or includes a community-based learning component.

Some Engaged Scholarship courses include Community-Based Learning (CBL), a pedagogical approach that asserts profound learning often comes from experience that is supported by guidance, context, foundational knowledge, and intellectual analysis. The opportunity for students to bring thoughtful knowledge and ideas based on personal observation and social interaction to a course's themes and scholarly arguments brings depth to the learning experience for individuals and to the content of the course. The communities of which we are a part can benefit from the resources of our faculty and students, while the courses can be educationally transformative in powerful ways.

• Fall 2024 Engaged Scholarship Courses [SwatSheet]
• Past Engaged Scholarship Course Lists [SwatDoc]

ESCH Course Highlight

Introduction to Engaged Scholarship (PEAC 009)
Co-facilitated by Prof. Ben Berger and Dr. Jennifer Magee of the Lang Center, and designed in consultation with faculty from across the disciplines, this course brought together students who were interested in connecting their academics with action to explore and promote ethical intelligence, active yet reflective civic engagement, and innovative solutions to pressing social problems.