Taught By:
Scott Myers-Lipton
Professor Sociology
San Jose State University
Read profile here.
Course Description:
to the Social Sciences in general, and Sociology in particular. More specifically, this course examines the topics of issue development, change theory, building power, group dynamics, strategy and tactics, and campaign planning and implementation.
What is unique about Soci. 164: Social Action is that it is designed to do democracy. Instead of just reading about social change, students will learn about power and democracy by doing it. Of course, we will still use “book knowledge,” but this knowledge will be challenged by what you’re learning in your social action campaigns, and that as a result, you will develop a more critical and deeper understanding of public issues and community change by integrating action and reflection. Therefore, this course is an action-oriented, solutions-based, course on community activism.
This class has fundamentally changed the campus and community. Over the past fifteen years, Social Action students have won 15 campaigns.
A key part of the social action model is that students have the opportunity to enact a policy (i.e., a rule, regulation, norm, or practice of an institution) on campus or in the community, with the students choosing and developing the campaigns on their own rather than assigned by the instructor. Another exciting part of this course is that you will hear directly from previous Soci. 164 students about their social action campaigns.
Student Campaigns:
