Don't Forget the Politics: The Broker's Role in Community Interventions

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Published: Jan 1, 2009

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Daniel Lowery Ph.D.
Calumet College of St. Joseph
Stanley Wigle Ph.D.
Indiana University Northwest
Karen Evans Ph.D.
Indiana University Northwest

Abstract

An initiative funded by a Community Outreach Partnership Center grant is examined. Those involved attempted to broker the construction of a co-located community center and elementary school with an innovative academic program in Gary, Indiana. The initiative proved to be highly political and eventually failed. Along the way, participants found themselves engaging in behaviors that seemed, at least on the surface, to violate the community intervention canon reflected in much of the literature. Reflections on this effort provide a foundation for a more sophisticated understanding of the concept of community engagement and the role of the change agent.

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Article Details

Issue
Vol. 3 (2009)
Section
Scholarly and Creative Works
On acceptance of work, the authors agree that the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article have been given to The South Shore Journal. Materials published in The South Shoure Journal remain the property of their authors.

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