Civic Engagement

This track gives students the opportunity to learn how to act upon their passion for civic issues through the study and practice of writing related to governance, citizenship, and civil society. Students study and practice communication that:

1. Aims to influence public understanding of civic issues, such as op-ed pieces, policy briefs, and political campaigns
2. Functions within a civic organization to meet its mission, such as grants, educational brochures, and marketing documents.

What do students do in Civic Engagement minor courses?

Students start with their own passion about civic or social issues, then learn to write arguments about these issues for specific audiences and professional contexts. They also learn to write documents to help organizations with civic missions. Assignments may include: researching and analyzing the rhetorical features of documents within specific genres and organizations; writing to advocate issues within concrete social and institutional contexts; writing grants or other fundraising documents; producing marketing or educational brochures for organizations; creating websites or pages. Students may also write reflective pieces on their writing, as well as career and job application documents. In the course of these assignments, students will explore the use and possibilities of digital media.

Visit the Civic Engagement Website

RECOMMENDED PREPARATION COURSES FOR THE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TRACK: 

These are the recommended courses for the Civic Engagement track to fulfill the three required prerequisites from the Writing 105, Writing 107, or Writing 109 series:

• WRIT 105PD: Writing for Public Discourse

• WRIT 195S: Writing About Sustainability

• WRIT 107G: Professional Writing for Global Careers

WRIT 153A: CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND PUBLIC WRITING (Winter)

This first capstone course introduces students to active participation in (re)framing public narratives of current social issues. Students explore personal agency while working on public genres like explainers, profile stories, or media awareness campaigns. 

WRIT 153B: WRITING FOR CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS (Spring)

In this second capstone course, students learn to engage their civic commitments through writing that advances an organization's social mission.  Students also explore the opportunities and challenges of professional work that aims to impact civic life.

WRIT 150: INTERNSHIP (Spring) and/or WRIT 162: ADVANCED PUBLIC SPEAKING or WRIT 161: DIGITAL STORY (Spring - depending on which course is offered that year) 

Students have the opportunity to find internships with organizations whose mission they support. Such organizations can be educational, municipal, non-profit, or even commercial. Some examples include:

• Community Environmental Council
• Santa Barbara Museum of Art
• UCSB Alumni Association
• Fund for Santa Barbara
• Santa Barbara Dance Alliance
• UCSB Associated Students
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
• Legal Defense Fund

We recommend expressing your interest to the director(s) of the track or tracks you are interested in. They will know more in depth details regarding their specific track.

Director

• Ljiljana Coklin,  lcoklin@writing.ucsb.edu