Critical community-engaged scholarship (CES) is a form of community-engaged scholarship that is informed by critical theory, including anti-racist and other anti-oppressive theories, asset-based understandings of community, and an explicit focus on and commitment to justice. Critical CES addresses public issues by drawing attention to the structural causes that underpin social and other issues, and by working to mobilize scholarship in ways that serve justice-seeking communities and initiatives. Critical CES supports university and community partnerships in producing knowledge that works to dismantle systemic sources of racial and social injustice. It also ensures equitable access to high impact educational practices.
CESI is committed to practicing critical CES and to supporting people, projects and practices that align with the principles of critical CES. Through all of our programs and projects we seek to pursue:
- Relationships
- Community-identified need
- Clear communication
- Shared input
- Mutual benefit
- Meaningful outcomes
Adapted from (Gordon da Cruz 2017).