Classes
Fall 2022
Intro to Entrepreneurship
ECON 238-01 (Economics): This course focuses on theories and applications of Entrepreneurship to identify opportunities and solve problems around the world. Students will learn contemporary methodologies used in startup companies and early stage organizations including: Lean Startup and Human Centered Design methodologies and the Business Model Canvas framework. Students spend the semester working in teams to apply the methodologies to identify a problem and develop a solution. For their final project students will prepare a plan for their solution and present it to an external audience. This course is open to those who are interested in social entrepreneurship as well.
Spring 2023
Introduction to Social Innovation
INTD 192 (Interdisciplinary Studies): What is bothering you about the status quo? This interdisciplinary course offers creative problem solvers an opportunity to think beyond the system “as it is” and imagine how transformation might occur. In this course, you’ll learn to combine the analytical tools of systems thinking with the creative mindsets of human-centered design. Rather than focus on one solution to a problem, students tackle real-world problems from a systems perspective while staying grounded in the needs of people (who are at the heart of every complex human system). Integral to this process is the practice of visualizing a system, and students will map the component parts of their chosen problem through the use of digital tools. Outcomes include: exploring techniques for mapping complex systems, identifying root causes of problems, learning how to reframe problems from different perspectives, and understanding the complexities of the context in which a system operates. Students will collaborate not only with fellow classmates, but also community partners, local entrepreneurs and alumni mentors to develop their system and learn from living experts. Although it is not a requirement of the course, students in the class are encouraged to participate in Map the System (MTS), a global competition of the University of Oxford’s Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. The most important prerequisite for this course is that you are curious, passionate about social change, and ready to take action.
Arts in the City
MCST 192 (Media and Cultural Studies): Ask anyone a question that is not yes-or-no, and they’re liable to answer with a story. It could be an anecdote about their day, a reflection on a film or book, or a metaphor about the latest innovative idea jazzing them. Stories help us to know ourselves and inspire us towards our dreams. What is yours? In this discussion- and writing-based course, we look at stories through an immersion in arts and culture, taking advantage of the riches that surround us. Minneapolis and St Paul are a cultural mecca with a plethora of first-rate national and regional flagships. Students will take in shows, exhibits and concerts, including, in Spring 2023, the Broadway tour of “Hamilton” at the Orpheum, “Blues for an Alabama Sky” at the Guthrie and “We Shall Someday” at Theater Latte Da. We will write critically about these cultural offerings, reflections that may be published on campus and elsewhere. We also will have guests in to talk about their craft and curating their own stories in a saturated, ever-changing social and traditional media landscape. Twentieth Century poet, critic and wit Dorothy Parker once advised: “If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of ‘The Elements of Style’ [Strunk and White’s definitive writing guide]. The first greatest [favor], of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.” We do not promise to make students who take this course into professional writers. But we will have fun as we grow to recognize the narrative elements that animate, constrain, or expand the world around us while building foundational skills that are invaluable in any field.
Ongoing
Environmental Sustainability Ambassadors Initiative
This seminar course uses a sustainability framework for considering the economic, environmental, and social dimensions of problems and their potential solutions, followed by a summer internship working in collaboration with an organization looking to address issues of sustainability. They spend a semester preparing for their work and a summer working collaboration with the organization. For more information: www.macalester.edu/igc/sustainabilityambassadors
Chuck Green Fellowship
During this six-month fellowship inspired by retired Macalester professor Chuck Green, fellows participate in a spring semester Political Science seminar focused on analyzing and addressing community-based issues followed by an on-site project at a community-based organization to implement the recommendations developed in the spring. For more information: www.macalester.edu/politicalscience/studentopportunities/chuck-green-fellowship/