Course Syllabus

 

TCCLD Community Leadership and Civic Education

In partnership with University of Toronto

Fall 2024

Class: Tuesdays, 6-8pm

Location: Toronto Community Centre of Learning and Development

540 Dundas Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 2B3

 

 

Course Description:

Students will learn “how” the city of Toronto works, from levers of power in government to community organizing strategies. This course will cover Toronto municipal governance, community development and housing policy and relevant applied skills, such as writing grants or communications strategies. Moreover, this course will address important community concerns such as food sovereignty, the impacts of COVID-19 and neighborhood safety.  Students will hear from guest speakers –University of Toronto faculty and leaders in local non-profit organizations – in small, engaging seminars. Throughout the nine weeks, students will work on an individual project based on the skills workshops (i.e. writing a grant, practicing public speaking, creating a social media campaign). The last session will be dedicated to sharing final projects relating to community leadership. Ultimately, this course is designed for students to explore the dynamic and complex issues facing Toronto today.

 

Learning Objectives

In this course, students will:

• Gain a sophisticated understanding of who (from city official to organizations to residents) holds political power in the City of Toronto 
• Learn how neighborhood policy, plans, and programs are designed and implemented in Toronto
• Develop applied leadership and community organizing skils such as effective communication, conflict resolution and harm reduction, fundraising/grant-writing, editorial journalism, digital storytelling, strategic deployment of social media, etc.
• Design and implement a neighborhood improvement intervention using one or more of the aforementioned skills

 

Weekly Topics

 

Week 1: October 8

Introduction and welcome

Speakers: Professor Aditi Mehta, University of Toronto & Arden Irish

Aditi and Arden welcome everyone; discuss the purpose of the course; survey students about what they want to learn  

Key questions: What is the right to research? What is the purpose of this course? What are the end products? 

Governance & Grants: Toronto Municipal Governments

Speaker: Professor David Roberts, University of Toronto

Key questions/learning objectives: How does city government work? Structure of city government and levers of power; Learn the purpose of grants and different sources of money/grants (non-profits, arts councils, government)

Applied skills: Follow the money! Applying for a grant

• Learn and practice how to write a grant.

 

Week 2: October 15

Public Health and Indigenous-led approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic

Speaker: Professor Magdalena Ugarte, Toronto Metropolitan University

Key questions/learning objectives: How did COVID-19 impact inequality in Toronto?; Across housing, low-wage work, food insecurity?; How did Indigenous communities respond to COVID-19?  

Break from applied skills workshop

 

Week 3: October 22

Labour History and Organizing Strategies: History of Social Movements

Speaker: Tzazna Miranda Leal, Staff organizer at OPSEU

Key questions/learning objectives: What is the difference between organized vs. unorganized labour?; the challenges with informal, contract work & winning a union; the importance of rank & file organizing within a union; Principles of successful organizing

Applied skills: Community organizing strategies

• Learn to share a "Story of Self"
• Learn to have 1:1 organizing conversations

 

Week 4: October 29

Cultural and Heritage Planning

Speaker: Instructor Sneha Mandhan, University of Toronto

Key questions/learning objectives: How can mapping be used as a creative research method?; What does culture and heritage mean to urban communities and to planners?; How is urban space used amongst immigrant communities in Toronto?

Applied Skills: Mapping Workshop

• Learn to use mapping as a storytelling method and research tool

 

Week 5: November 5

Housing Justice and Community Development Struggles

Speaker: Chiyi Tam, Executive Director of The Kensington Community Land Trust

Key questions/learning objectives: Learn about urban-growth machines, pro-development policies, the contradiction of development and public welfare; Understand the challenges of the Toronto housing market and why rental housing is so inflated; Learn to be an effective and persuasive writer; Know important media sources in the city

Applied skills: Writing an Op-Ed or letter to your representative

• Learn to tell your story through written communication strategies

 

Week 6: November 12

Migration, Gender and Waged Work: Institutional Racism

Speaker: Nikisha Browne, Sole Proprietor of Soleil Counselling and Wellness

Key Questions and Learning Objectives: Institutional vs. interpersonal racism; How are racialized immigrant women affected by precarious work in Toronto?; How are race, migration, and gender connected? 

Applied Skills: Advocacy in the Workplace

• Learn and practice how to exercise assertiveness, set boundaries, and support others at work

 

Week 7: November 19

Community Safety and Wellness

Speaker: Professor Leah Montange, University of Toronto

Key questions/learning objectives: Avoiding contact with police in order to reduce violence, incarceration & harm; what are existing alternatives instead of calling the police? What does community care look like?

Applied skills: Conflict resolution, harm reduction, and stress management

• Effectively faciltate meetings or conflict
• Learn and practice harm-reduction strategies for short-term or long-term conflict
• Talk about feelings and speaking from "I" statements

 

Week 8: November 26

Urban Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Storytelling

Speaker: Jade Guthrie, Community Learning and Engagement Manager at Foodshare

Key questions/learning objectives: Understand urban food systems in Toronto: where does our food come from, how does social stratification/class/racism intersect with food access?; What is a food desert?; Why is food stigmatized?

 Applied skills: Learning to tell a story on social media

• Identify social media platforms for different purposes
• Understanding what makes social media effective

 

Week 9: December 3

Final presentations and workshop

Speakers: Professor Aditi Mehta, University of Toronto & Arden Irish

Course instructors conclude the course; students present final projects