August 7, 2008
For Immediate Release

RCCC Course Combines English, History, Community Service

          SALISBURY, N.C. — A unique course being offered at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College blends literature, history and community service. Students do more than listen to lectures, they read books, hear first-hand accounts and teach each other about historic events, while working together on a service project.

           The combination American literature and American history course begins Aug. 19 and will meet Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Taught by instructors Sandie Barnhouse (English) and Sherylle Smith (history), the course blends history textbooks and other materials with period literature and multiple guest lecturers. Students participate in book-club-type meetings and teach the rest of the class through oral presentations. RCCC has offered the course in the past; however, it took a year off in 2007-08.

           As in previous years, the class will also undertake a community service project of its own choosing. Past projects have included fundraising efforts for tsunami and hurricane victims, cleaning and grounds upkeep for a local hospice, and service to a women and children's shelter.

           Guest speakers have included persons with first-hand experience of Nazi concentration camps, World War II combat, and civil rights and integration struggles.

           "While combining courses is fairly common in higher education, adding a community service component is rather unique," Smith explained. "This course reaches out to the community, with guest speakers and service projects. It also helps students form connections with each other and understand their connection to their community."

           For more information about the "Collaborative Course of American Literature and American History," offered at RCCC, contact Sherylle Smith at smiths@rowancabarrus.edu or 704-216-3811.

           Rowan-Cabarrus Community College is a comprehensive, community-based institution of higher learning, serving the citizens of Rowan and Cabarrus Counties. RCCC offers approximately 40 programs of study in business, health and human services and engineering technologies at multiple campus locations. RCCC annually provides more than 2,000 course offerings, serving an enrollment of approximately 20,000 adult students. RCCC programs include an associate degree in arts and sciences, an associate degree in applied science, and diploma and certificate programs focusing on workforce training, continuing education and basic skills education.

           In addition, RCCC provides the education and job-training programs needed to meet many of the workforce demands of the North Carolina Research Campus, under construction in Kannapolis, N.C.

           For complete details, see the RCCC website at www.rowancabarrus.edu.