Courses

Reflecting the United States' birth as a slaveholding republic, many higher education institutions in pre-Civil War America promoted white supremacy ideologically and were subsidized economically by profits made via racial slavery. Students explore the role of US colleges and universities in institutionalizing racism, from this era of slavery though the heyday of Jim Crow racial segregation in the 20th century, and probe resistance to this regime among abolitionists, African American educators, Reflecting the United States' birth as a slaveholding republic, many higher education institutions in pre-Civil War America promoted white supremacy ideologically and were subsidized economically by profits made via racial slavery. Students explore the role of US colleges and universities in institutionalizing racism, from this era of slavery though the heyday of Jim Crow racial segregation in the 20th century, and probe resistance to this regime among abolitionists, African American educators, Reflecting the United States' birth as a slaveholding republic, many higher education institutions in pre-Civil War America promoted white supremacy ideologically and were subsidized economically by profits made via racial slavery. Students explore the role of US colleges and universities in institutionalizing racism, from this era of slavery though the heyday of Jim Crow racial segregation in the 20th century, and probe resistance to this regime among abolitionists, African American educators, integrationist lawyers, social scientists and civil rights organizations, as well as recent attempts by universities to confront their racist roots.

• Department: Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities

The relationship of higher educational institutions to other social institutions in American society. The development of this relationship and its consequences and implications for the internal structure and functioning of higher educational organizations and for society at large. Issues surrounding role of students, faculty, administration, and external interests are examined.

• Department: Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities

This course examines the meaning and study of culture through a sociological lens. The first goal of this course is to provide a solid, introductory grounding in some of the many ways in which the term culture has been used in the study of societies. The second goal is to raise questions about the relationship between culture and structures and to provide analytical tools to understand institutions (like schools) as sites of culture-building and cultural struggle.

• Department: Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities

Rigorous examination of the social development of children & adolescents based on current theoretical positions & research. Topics include social learning, identification, sex & gender roles, friendships, peer-group relationships, & social development in different cultural contexts.

• Department: Applied Psychology

The consequences of agricultural exceptionalism, migration laws, income
inequality, and climate change reverberate throughout the food system. This course examines the interplay among these factors, identifying how they lead to disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups (for example, farmworkers). Students will analyze the successes and failures of policy to reduce the inequities.

• Department: Nutrition and Food Studies

This course introduces students to the concepts, frameworks & models to systematically build successful, socially-conscious businesses that are both sustainable & public health-driven. Topics will include how to 1) identify & analyze need-gaps, 2) develop a sustainable-food business concept, 3) identify a profitable niche in the global, social-justice oriented market, & 4) raise capital in innovative ways. The course will also provide access to domain-specific resources including key industry participants, industry experts & research partners.

• Department: Nutrition and Food Studies

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of social movements like Black Lives Matter and #metoo, the field of social good advertising has rapidly expanded as brands seek social relevance, governments and nonprofits look to inform, and activists try to persuade. In this course, students will learn to plan and execute powerful social advertising campaigns, while thinking critically about the blurred lines between advertising and information, and branding and politics, in what Sarah Banet-Weiser calls "Shopping for Change."

• Department: Media, Culture, and Communication

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of social movements like Black Lives Matter and #metoo, the field of social good advertising has rapidly expanded as brands seek social relevance, governments and nonprofits look to inform, and activists try to persuade. In this course, students will learn to plan and execute
powerful social advertising campaigns, while thinking critically about the
blurred lines between advertising and information, and branding and politics, in what Sarah Banet-Weiser calls “Shopping for Change.

• Department: Media, Culture, and Communication

Throughout history, effective activists have utilized the affective power of arts to win campaigns for social change. The goal of this participatory and discussion-oriented interdisciplinary seminar is to develop a theoretical and practical understanding of this "artistic activism." Informed by scholarly writings as well as current and historical case studies from around the world, students will put theory into practice as they develop their own artistic activist interventions.

• Department: Media, Culture, and Communication

This course teaches students to research, plan, and craft social impact messages for audio, digital, social and email, mobile and experiential platforms. The goal is not only to become better copywriters and content strategists, but to critically deconstruct and examine methods of persuasion used by advertisers and marketers. Through weekly readings and class discussions, we’ll explore the benefits and risks of persuasive communication and models for creating ethical and engaging social messages.

• Department: Media, Culture, and Communication

The field of social good advertising is rapidly expanding, causing social service
organizations to produce large amounts of content across multiple media platforms. But in order to engage and activate their audiences, nonprofits, government organizations and activists must understand the science of what makes people care and develop strategies that can drive action. This course teaches students how to conduct “just enough research” into relevant social sciences and craft creative strategies for what FDR coined “Art for the public good.

• Department: Media, Culture, and Communication

Consideration of the role of educational institutions in fostering, preventing, and maintaining equalities and inequalities in American society.

• Department: Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities

This course will introduce students to issues in the design, implementation & evaluation of social interventions aimed at addressing social problems such as delinquency, lags in early learning, youth unemployment, poverty & its effects on human development, & so on. Students will become familiar with a range of problems & programs, and will study one program in depth across the semester with a small team of classmates.

• Department: Applied Psychology

Mental health counselors are in a unique position to utilize their knowledge and skills to advocate for clients that are part of the LGBTQ+ community. This course will introduce students to social justice and advocacy efforts in the mental health profession. Students will learn practical skills to provide consultation services to agencies and organizations that serve LGBTQ+ communities. Students will also have opportunities to practice drafting and creating proposals for consultation services and delivering workshops and presentations that center the mental health of LGBTQ+ clients.

• Department: Applied Psychology

This class introduces social justice art pedagogy in preschool and elementary schools as “situated practice,” that is both teaching and learning take place within particular historical and societal contexts. Students develop knowledge and skills to plan, organize, and facilitate meaningful, socially relevant art curricula for students with varying needs and abilities, paying attention to learning processes, motivation, communication, classroom management and the inter-relationship of art to speaking, critical thinking, writing, reading and other curricular subjects.

• Department: Art and Art Professions

Integration of art education theory and practice in secondary school art classrooms that address the question of the role of art in our democratic society. Developing socially and culturally relevant curricula. Researching and planning appropriate instructional strategies that address student interests and issues, including motivation and classroom management through assessment in order to plan and/or modify students' teaching practices. Through a systematic approach such as action research, students reflect on and analyze their own teaching practices and develop a portfolio of their teaching experience, thereby learning to be reflective practitioners.

• Department: Art and Art Professions

This course will cover the origins of social justice theory and its current-day relevance for higher education educators and practitioners. Students will explore models of oppression and empowerment and learn to infuse social justice frameworks into curricular and extracurricular programming.

• Department: Administration, Leadership, and Technology

This course is intended for students who have experiences working in schools or clinical settings and examines interdisciplinary connections to counseling using a postmodern framework. Emphasis is placed on learning practical applications of social justice theory, narrative theory, and trauma-informed interventions as they apply to the sociocultural aspects of counseling. Focus on the utilization of critical thinking skills applicable to intersectional identities, and the effects of intergenerational and historical trauma on communities and families.

• Department: Applied Psychology

What is the cultural work performed by or with the technology of paper? How can history of paper supplement and enrich recent histories of printing technology and printed artifacts like 'the book'? What would it mean to imagine a paperless future? Organized around discussions of readings in common, this course considers the history, production, circulation and use of paper in the social production of knowledge, the shared imagination of value, and the mutual relations of consumers and commodities.

• Department: Media, Culture, and Communication

This course examines social media as a set of platforms, cultures, and networked publics that shape how people connect, represent themselves, organize, and circulate information. Students explore how social media developed, how platforms structure visibility and attention, and how users navigate algorithmic, commercial, and political conditions. The course also introduces methods for studying social media, including digital ethnography and discourse analysis. Emphasis is divided between globally dominant platforms and specific geopolitical or regional contexts.