ABSTRACT
This chapter examines an integrated model for bridging traditional curricular/co-curricular divides through service-learning programming that is intentionally anchored to institutional mission and informed by interdisciplinary academic course work. The PULSE Program for Service-learning educates Boston College undergraduate students for social justice through the interplay of direct service with individuals and communities experiencing varieties of oppression and the interdisciplinary study of classic and contemporary works of philosophy and theology. At the heart of Boston College’s Jesuit, Catholic identity, PULSE seeks to enable undergraduates to develop critical consciousness, to question conventional wisdom, and to learn how to work for a just society by becoming people for and with others. This illustrative case study explores the purpose and role of service-learning in accomplishing the social justice mission of Jesuit education. After reviewing PULSE’s founding principles, program features, and student outcomes, the chapter concludes by considering implications for program improvement, future research, and wider application within Christian higher education.
