HRTS 521: Community-Based Participatory Action Research for Gender-Based Violence

This course focuses on how to implement community-based action research projects relevant to protecting and advancing the rights to be free from violence, and preventing violence against women and LGBTQ+ communities. Building off of themes from the introductory course, we will consider how to integrate intersectional frameworks into methodological practice so that the research and work itself does not cause further harm, trauma, and community disenfranchisement. Community ownership and/or access to data as an empowerment tool will be examined. Students will learn how community members participate in developing research questions, choosing and implementing data collection methods, interpreting findings, and sharing/presenting of results. Case studies of community research that resulted in empowerment and enfranchisement will be presented. Students will work hand-in-hand with faculty and community members in designing and running two community-based action research projects.