This is the first course of its kind in Croatia that, through the service-learning method, enables students to familiarise themselves with the topics of human rights, LGBTIQ issues, gender equality, and gender-based violence through their application in civil society organisations and direct work in the local community.
This academic year, a new course entitled ‘Gender, Sexuality, Identities – From Oppression to Equality’, based on the service-learning method, is launching at the Department of Cultural Studies of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka. This is the first course of its kind in Croatia that, through the service-learning method, enables students to familiarise themselves with the topics of human rights, LGBTIQ issues, gender equality, gender-based violence, feminist and gender theory, and the theory of sexuality through their application in civil society organisations and direct work in the local community. The course will be accompanied by the first Croatian university textbook in the field of gender, which is currently in press. As part of the C-module, the course is open to all interested students of the University of Rijeka, not just those from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. The course is intended for first- and second-year graduate students, as well as fourth- and fifth-year students of integrated studies, and the first lecture will take place as early as October 15.
The course focuses on the acquisition of theoretical knowledge about contemporary social phenomena and current issues related to gender equality and human rights, as well as on the application of this knowledge through work in civil society organisations. It was developed as part of the project Humane Education – Responsible Society, implemented by the Lesbian Organisation Rijeka ‘LORI’ in partnership with the Association for Human Rights and Civic Participation PaRiter, SOS Rijeka – Centre for Nonviolence and Human Rights, and the Centre for Women’s Studies at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in Rijeka. The project is funded by the European Union through the European Social Fund, and according to Brigita Miloš from the Centre for Women’s Studies, the first cohort will consist of 9 students.
– “We are starting with a modest number of students as stipulated by the project documentation, and also because it involves a specific teaching method that, alongside regular class hours, entails weekly meetings, as well as student self-evaluation and group evaluation. The course is designed so that a smaller portion of the class hours is delivered ‘ex cathedra’ through the theoretical component, while the majority of the hours are spent in civil society organisations,” Miloš announces.
Evo točnog i tečnog prijevoda preostalog dijela teksta na engleski jezik (u skladu s britanskim engleskim):
“Lectures for the first cohort of students will be delivered by professors from various constituents of the University of Rijeka and the Ivo Pilar Institute in Zagreb, while a portion of the lectures will also be given by members of civil society organisations who have long-standing experience in the field of activism. This academic year will be a pilot year, whereas in the future, according to Miloš, there are plans to involve a larger number of civil society organisations in the course.
Author: Ingrid Šestan Kučić, original article!
