Motivation to Teach Social Action:
I am an applied medical anthropologists that does community research and student service learning in communities. I would like to take my service learning and community engagement to the next level.
Course Description:
SOC 290 is a special-topics course in social action, open to students from all majors. The course examines how ordinary people work collectively to change policies, institutions, public narratives, and community conditions. Students learn to distinguish charity and direct service from organizing and social action; connect personal concerns to structural inequalities; investigate a community problem; analyze stakeholders and power; identify a specific, achievable demand; communicate with public audiences; engage appropriate decision-makers; and evaluate the results of collective action.
This is an experiential Teaching Social Action (TSA) course. Students work in teams of four or five on one semester-long, real social-action campaign selected by the students. The campaign is the principal way students learn the course material: teams develop an issue, formulate a demand, identify a target, research the issue and power structure, build support, choose strategy and tactics, launch the campaign, implement actions, and evaluate the results. Course projects must use lawful, nonviolent methods and respect informed participation and the autonomy of affected people and organizations. Students may not violate any university rules and campaigns must adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.