B’More Intersession Program
B’More Intersession
B’More Intersession courses are now open for students of all grades to participate in! Stay tuned here in the coming weeks for more information.
The B’More Intersession Program is a one-week academic and co-curricular experience designed to introduce Johns Hopkins University students to Baltimore City’s civic and cultural landscapes while showing them the ways in which community engagement can enhance their JHU education.
The courses run during the last week of the January Intersession period. During this weeklong experience, students can elect to register for a free of cost, one credit course, taught by either a JHU faculty or staff member, and/or a community partner in Baltimore City. Students are graded on a pass/fail basis.
B’More Intersession courses are now open for all JHU undergraduate students to take!
B’More 2025
Theme: What is human?
2024-25 Courses
B’More: Art and Healing in Baltimore
Instructor: Judah Adashi
Course Description: Baltimore’s artists, across multiple disciplines, play a defining role in repairing wounds caused by ongoing systemic violence and harmful media narratives. This course will center on the people and the art that change how our city is perceived and experienced. Guest artists, activists, and scholars will include Erricka Bridgeford (Baltimore Peace Movement). Dr. Lawrence Brown (Black Butterfly Academy), Andria Nacina Cole (A Revolutionary Summer), and interdisciplinary artist and image-maker SHAN Wallace.
B’More: City Planning
Instructors: Laurie Feinberg & Mark Cameron
Course Description: As a post-industrial city, Baltimore has seen a loss in population of nearly 4,000 people, leaving behind vacant properties, fragmented business districts, and inequitable communities. What role has city planning played in creating these problems, and more importantly, how can it be used to repair these problems? Using walking trips to local neighborhoods as well as readings and guest speakers, this class will explore contemporary issues of city planning, including equity, community development, sustainability, and civic engagement.
B’More: Effects of Public Health in K-12 Education
Instructor: Shantell Roberts
Course Description: This course will engage students in a week-long opportunity to learn more about the diverse and robust stories of the Baltimore community, while exploring their own social value of grassroots or community development work. Each student will explore the intersection of their self-selected public health-focused passion area and the implementation of current and/or future repair efforts taking place in Baltimore city and other public school systems throughout Maryland.
B’More: Breaking Generational Curses – Legacies of Health, Race and Class
Instructor: Sherri-Chanelle Brighthaupt
Sherri-Chanelle Brighthaupt, PhD is a behavioral scientist with strengths in public communication, educational instruction, and project implementation. She is a public health researcher by training with expertise in mental health, substance use epidemiology, and adolescent health. Dr. Brighthaupt uses qualitative and quantitative methods to study vulnerable populations and is particularly interested in student-centered engagement and the integration of research and teaching practices. A native of Prince George’s county, MD, Sherri enjoys creative writing, dancing, and discovering new hiking trails around the city. She earned her BA in psychology from Columbia University and her PhD in Mental Health from Johns Hopkins University
Course Description: When we speak of “breaking intergenerational curses”, we aren’t just talking about ending toxic family patterns…but also the harmful impacts of human policies and practices. The effect of policies from the 19th century can be felt today (i.e. The Tuskegee Experiment), while the impact of modern practices (i.e. Exclusionary zoning) are still being uncovered. How exactly are these “curses” passed and what does it imply when we use this word? We will explore answers to these questions through three case studies — health, education, housing — in Baltimore City and beyond.
For Students
As a result of participating in the B’More Intersession Program, students will be able to:
- Recognize actions they can take to be active citizens and critical thinkers in the JHU and Baltimore communities.
- Identify resources available to support their community and civic engagement at JHU and in Baltimore.
- Connect with other JHU students, staff and faculty, and Baltimore community partners.
Class Registration
Students can begin viewing Intersession courses on SIS on November 18th; registration for a 2025 B’More course starts December 2024 by logging into SIS”
Register for a 2025 B’More course starting December 2024 by logging into SIS!
For Faculty & Instructors
Each year, the B’More Intersession Program follows the theme of the Hopkins Common Question, which poses one big question to the Hopkins community, and inspires reflection, public discourse, and learning through immersion in relevant sources. Faculty and instructors are expected to embed this theme into their B’More courses. This year’s theme is What is human?
Compensation
Instructor teams are paid $2,000 and are set up through the Summer & Intersession Programs (SIP) Office and the Center for Social Concern. B’More instructors must have a sponsoring department. Students receive one (1) credit for their participation in a B’More course and are graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.
Application Process and Procedures
To express your interest and desire to teach a B’More course, please click on the link below. Fill out the application and attach your CV and Course Proposal Template by the deadline: September 30, 2024. All proposal templates will be reviewed by the B’More Committee. You will be notified if your course is approved to be a part of the B’More program by October 4, 2024.
A blank copy of the B’More Course Proposal Form can be found here.
Please direct any questions to [email protected]