All first-year CBRS students will enroll in IDIS-101 and choose one section of CORE-106.

CORE-106 Creating Social Entrepreneurs   

Professor Brett Gilbert 

This course introduces students to how social entrepreneurs can be created and supported. Social entrepreneurs create businesses to address social problems or needs that are unmet by governments and current markets. These social entrepreneurs generally work with, not against, market forces and are typically motivated by social benefit, but may also attain clear economic benefits as well in order to become sustainable and survive a turbulent marketplace. Social entrepreneurs recognize an opportunity to create social value, which then leads to the development of an enterprise concept. They then gather resources and seek to launch and grow their ventures. This course explores this process by giving students the opportunity to start their own social enterprise and incorporates multiple points of view. The course analyzes and synthesizes a diversity of perspectives on how best to create and support social entrepreneurs and emphasizes discussion, active learning, and opportunities to meet with guest lecturers and associated groups in the greater Washington, DC area. It also utilizes on campus resources such as the AU Bender Library and Kogod's Center for Business Communication and Financial Services & Information Technology Lab (FSIT). The course also includes optional off-campus site visits.

CORE-106 Navigating Childhood

Professor Jane Palmer

This course focuses on the extent to which inequality and public policy affect a child's experience of childhood. The course draws on historical, sociological and legal perspectives to examine what rights children have (and when they might lose them), the role of the state in protecting children and how the zip code where a child is born may affect a child's life trajectory. The course will primarily focus on children's diverse experiences within the United States, but there will be some content related to international contexts.

IDIS-101 Community Scholars Lab I
Ms. Amanda Harrison

In this multidisciplinary course taken by all first-semester Impact Scholars, students learn the principles of responsible and ethical engagement with DC communities. This lab will focus on preparation for and beginning service in the DC community, emphasizing cultural humility, understanding systemic inequities, and gaining the historical and contemporary context of issues facing DC communities.