DC ‘26 Institute on Teaching Social Action

This two-day Institute will introduce faculty and teaching staff to an experiential learning approach for incorporating social action campaigns into either a semester-long course or co-curricular workshop series. The Institute will take place as a part of the Eastern Sociology Conference; sociologists and faculty from other disciplines are encouraged to apply.

In this transformative experiential learning model, students develop and launch a social action campaign of their choosing during the semester the course is taught.

The student campaigns seek to change a rule, regulation, norm, or practice of an institution, whether on campus or in the community. While not all of the student campaigns are successful, many have been and those that haven’t succeeded have still taught valuable lessons to those who led them and those who were engaged in one form or another.

Our long-term goal is to mainstream this model for teaching active democracy. The world needs more people who have developed their knowledge and skills in bringing about positive change through real world experience.

Note: we ask that attendees fully participate in our community of practice by making the following commitments.

Application

There is no registration fee for the DC ‘26 Institute on Teaching Social Action. However, we want to restrict participation in the institute to those faculty or staff (who can teach) who are committed to implementing this experiential social action course model.Please note that preparing and supporting students to launch their social action campaigns generally takes at least half of the course content and assignments. Some courses are directly on social action and change, while others address a societal issue (e.g., climate change, housing, poverty, etc.) around which students develop their campaigns. From experience, the social action campaign dimension of these courses takes up roughly half of the course work (readings, assignments, and in-class teaching and group work).

Institute Preparation

During the two-day Institute, participants will begin to develop a teaching plan to support student campaigns to be launched mid-semester. The Institute sessions will be led by Dr. Eugene Pringle, who is teaching social action in his Education and Policy Leadership course this fall and Dr. Scott Myers-Lipton, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at San José State University. In preparation for the Institute, participants will read two textbooks — CHANGE! A Student Guide to Social Action and CHANGE! A Guide to Teaching Social Action — as well as CHANGE! A Companion Guide to Teaching Social Action.

These resources address all aspects of teaching a social action course, including:

• An Overview of Teaching Social Action
• Organizing Your Class
• Issue Development & Choosing Campaigns
• Change Theory & Building Power
• Research & Group Dynamics
• Strategy & Tactics
• Campaign Kick-Off
• Campaign Plan & Evaluation

Host

Amy Best

President, Eastern Sociology Society

Professor Sociology & Co-director Youth Research Council

George Mason University

Read profile here.

Trainers