Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

Combating White Saviorism In Community-Engaged Learning, Eva Harrell

Community Engagement Student Work

The white savior narrative can be seen in a number of different places, including community- engaged learning courses at higher education institutions. We must address this issue because it prevents students and communities from attaining mutual benefits within these relationships, and the student’s perpetuation of saviorism can cause harm in the communities in which they work. In this study, a workshop titled “Interrupting White Saviorism in Community-Engaged Learning” was held for community engaged learning (CEL) instructors and associated faculty in collaboration with the Center for Community-Engaged Learning at the University of Minnesota. Participants were presented with information on white saviorism …