Service-Learning as a Path to Virtue: The Ideal Orator in Professional Communication

This article examines service-learning as a means to bridge the gap between practical courses in the curriculum such as professional communication, which are linked to a market-economy, and the ideal of public service. By outlining ways in which service-learning has been used in the professional communication field, and problems and concerns with its use, the author explores the charge of “vocationalism.” The historical connection between rhetoric and professional communication is developed through a detailed case study analysis covering the author’s partnership with a non-profit organization over several semesters. The author suggests that when used with care and reflection, service-learning can be a path toward virtue for students, helping them to inculcate a public service ideal.