Social Justice and Social Change

Course Description

This course is designed specifically for English Language Learners interested in further developing their English skills in a challenging college-level academic setting.

Social Justice and Social Change is designed to provide students with the knowledge and tools to more actively and sustainably contribute to their respective communities. The course explores social justice theory, drawing specifically on historical movements for social change throughout the world. Students will use this knowledge to consider the implications for their own communities: How do I define community, and is that the same as how others define it? What do I already know about my community, and where are there gaps in my learning? How can I better serve my community, and what talents do I and other community members bring to the table? How can I use my voice as a tool for social change?

This course takes a multidisciplinary approach to understanding and analyzing contemporary social justice topics, including LGBTQ rights, educational inequity, immigrant rights, and more. This course has two main aims: for students to gain a more basic understanding of different social justice topics and to also understand modern theories of social change. Through course readings, videos, podcasts, lectures, and discussions, students will gain a better understanding of complex social justice topics and the ways in which people worldwide have used specific tactics to bring about change.

In addition to reading and viewing all of the course materials, students will be expected to complete independent research about a specific social justice topic of their choice. They will analyze this topic from multiple lenses (historical, sociological, economic, political, etc.), make connections between their research and their own communities, and consider the ways in which they can use this knowledge to make change. The research project will consist of both a short research paper and a culminating in-class presentation.

As a result of completing this course, students will be able to:

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for this course.