Community Education Chicago: Cultural Experiences with the Chicago Center
While you will definitely learn career skills and other practical knowledge during your time in your internship at the Chicago Center, you will also learn directly from being immersed in our home city: Chicago. As you study off campus in Chicago, you will learn directly from the rich diversity of Chicago neighborhoods; the opportunities that come along and teach you the most might not be the ones you are expecting!
Community Education Chicago: A Definition
Community education means exactly what it sounds like– learning directly from Chicago’s neighborhoods by participating in activities and events important to the community itself.
Chicago Center calls this educational philosophy First Voice pedagogy. We engage students with urban resources, realities, and issues through a First Voice pedagogy which utilizes the city directly as a teaching resource. First Voice pedagogy integrates community based resources and experiential education into more traditional ways of learning; seminars are designed to extend the text into the dynamics of the city.
First Voice brings the liberal arts into practice by engaging students in a dialogue with artists, historians, writers, and activists.
At Chicago Center, we encourage you and your fellow students to take part in the activities in Chicago that matter most to Chicagoans themselves and that shape and reflect the culture and neighborhoods of the city. There is no better way to get to know a city and its neighborhoods than to forgo the usual tourist stops and experience the culture of the locals first hand. We think you should eat what Chicagoans love to eat, listen to their music, and see their forms of self-expression to better understand the city and its people. If you are from Chicago, seek out a part of the city you aren’t familiar with.
Here are some of the experiences our students have learned from and why they are so important to understanding the Chicago community from the inside out.
Community Education Chicago: Cultural Opportunities
Theater: From one of the best improv comedy theaters in the nation, The Second City, to the well-known Goodman Theater, we encourage students to take part in the Chicago theater scene. This particular form of expression has grown with the city to embrace smaller theater companies such as Teatro Luna and Bailiwick and allow them to flourish.
Chicago Center students studying off campus with David Zac, Artistic Director at Bailiwick Repertory Theater
Why does this art form flourish in Chicago, and which pieces resonate the most with Chicagoans? What kind of theater best expresses the neighborhoods and culture of the city– community comedy or large scale dramatic productions? You can find out firsthand by checking out some shows while you study off campus in Chicago.
Food: Chicago is home to some of the most decadent and gourmet dining destinations in the world, but what food inspires the citizens of the city day to day? Eating the local fare can be the best way to understand the history and culture of a place, and we encourage you to try foods new and old to Chicago during your stay. Discover the delicacies of the city and why the people of Chicago came to value them.
Sometimes visitors comment that traveling through Chicago’s neighborhoods feels like traveling through many countries; our students experience world cultures through the many languages spoken and world cuisines of the distinct areas of our home city.
Chicago Center interns out to dinner in the city.
Another great opportunity for community education is to eat in diners and dives in various neighborhoods, and meet the citizens who influence the neighborhood directly at its meeting places. Sometimes the place a community coalesces is a coffee shop or a local eatery. While you’ll cook dinners with your roommates in your apartment, we also encourage you to engage in your neighborhood by visiting local haunts and meeting the people that work and patron there.
Sports: What makes a city love its sports teams so much? Whether it’s the Bears, Cubs, Sox, Bulls, ‘Hawks or one of the many other teams around the city, we encourage you to join the Chicago fans in cheering them on.
Chicago Center Students participating in community education at a White Sox Game.
Just look at what winning the Super Bowl has done for the spirits of the people of New Orleans. What historical significance do Wrigley and Soldier Field contribute to Chicago? Which neighborhoods cheer for which teams? Find out while you’re here and gain a deeper understanding of Chicago culture while you’re at it. There’s no more fun form of community education than immersing yourself in the following of a local team!
Music: What tells the story of a city better than its music, and what city has a richer musical culture than Chicago? Blues and Jazz blossomed here, and now the city hosts musical events from alt-rock and country festivals in the summer to performances by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra year round. Many folk musicians stop by the Old Town School of Folk Music on a regular basis. Some of the most famous and up-and-coming rap and R&B artists are from Chicago and often bless the mic at local hot spots.
Music is simply a form of storytelling, and storytelling fills us in on the history of a city and its neighborhoods in the most personal way possible. What inspires the musicians of Chicago to play, and what draws musicians here from across the country? During your stay at Chicago Center, we hope you’ll experience the music of the city with your fellow students and see for yourself how it deepens your understanding of the city and your community education.
While internships are an integral part of your Chicago Center learning experience, what you learn from your stay in the city and the activities in each neighborhood is just as important!
With an educated and informed staff to guide you to the best cultural and community events and to help you understand their meaning and history, you can get the most fulfilling education from the experiences you have while at the Chicago Center.