Curricular Connections

“For programs to be effective, colleges must from the beginning seek to establish collaborations that relate to each of the three contexts of program operation—classroom, campus, and community,” Lang Center founder Eugene Lang wrote in “Distinctively American: The Liberal Arts College” (1999). We regard community members as essential contributors to our co-created knowledge, because social and political solutions must consider the perspectives of those most directly affected.

Continuity between Swarthmore College and Chester resident-leaders is the guiding spirit of our Chester-based curricular opportunities. Through rigorous academic inquiry and reflection, and hands-on community work, these courses invite intentional cultivation of long-term relationships with Chester residents to accomplish its mission of building societies of shared values which meet the needs of community members and students alike.

ChesterSemester Fellowship (ENVS 007/BLST 007)
The ChesterSemester Fellowship is a transcript-notated, interdisciplinary program on social change with an engaged scholarship internship component. 

ChesterSemester Fellowship

Critical Environmental Geographies of Race and Class (ENVS 041SR)
Students learn and contribute directly to meeting the needs of Chester Residents for Quality Living (CRQL) and Campus Coalition Concerning Chester (C-4).

Critical Environmental Geographies of Race and Class

The Urban Underclass and Public Policy (POLS 028)
This course critically examines of some of the most pressing (and contentious) issues surrounding the nation’s inner cities today and the urban underclass.

The Urban Underclass and Public Policy