| 2023-2024 Course Catalog
Social Justice
Learning Outcomes
Students who complete this minor will be able to:
- Demonstrate understanding of power dynamics within institutions and across social identities.
- Articulate a historical understanding of social justice issues and how they manifest in current events and apply to their major areas of study. (Electives)
- Articulate an understanding of the affordances and limitations of various approaches to social change. (Electives)
- Demonstrate cultural awareness and sensitivity in their communication skills. (Core)
- Apply their knowledge to strategic participation in social justice actions (internal and external). (Core)
Curriculum
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+Minor
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Core Courses: -------------------- SWK102 Introduction to Social Work, Social Justice and Social Issues This course examines selected social issues as well as related social welfare policies and programs. It introduces the profession of social work, key aspects of the professional knowledge base, fields of practice, and populations served by social workers. This course is appropriate for students who are considering social work as a profession and as well as for those with an interest in related fields such as psychology, counseling, and public policy.
3 OR WGS101 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies Examines the role and status of women in society using a variety of disciplinary perspectives. Students will examine materials that present and challenge cultural assumptions of the nature and roles of women and consider diversity among women.
3 OR POL101 American Government and Public Policy This course provides an introduction to the principles and practices of government, federalism, with special attention to the policy process, political participation and selected political issues in the United States.
3 -------------------- IND310 Chatham Semester International Internship Reflection Seminar This class will allow international non degree academic students participating in the Chatham Internship to reflect on their internship experience using academic journals and course texts.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - IND210 Chatham Semester International Internship Preparation Seminar
3 IND207 Systems of Social Indentity, Power, and Justice This course examines the concept of power and how it is applied in both public and private spaces. We examine philosophical definitions of power, how power is wielded in various institutional settings and how power imbalances are demonstrated in several contemporary issue debates.
3 COM209 Intercultural Communication The course introduces students to theories of culture and identity. Students will examine how culture and identity give people their sense of self. Students will also examine contemporary approaches to gender, race, and sexuality in international contexts. The course includes a term-long project emphasizing empirical research.
3 Elective Courses: Choose 1 courses from each of the tracks below: Theory and Identity - Outcomes 2 and 3 CST183 Representations of Race and Gender This course introduces students to the methodology of cultural studies. In this survey students learn those skills essential to analyzing social constructions of identity. Specific attention is paid to diverse texts, including film, in order to locate how representations of race, gender, ethnicity, and "otherness" are culturally produced and disseminated.
3 WGS202 Women's Leadership in the 21st Century This interdisciplinary seminar provides a foundation in leadership theory and models, including women's diverse ways of leading; women's roles as leaders and agents of change; feminist leadership styles and agendas; and the impact of intersectional identities (such as race, ethnicity, sexuality, and religion and worldview) on leadership styles and agendas.
Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: - CST183 Representations of Race and Gender
- WGS101 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
3 WGS365 Gendered Resistance, Riots, and Rebellions This course explores gendered resistance to social, political, and economic inequalities from the twentieth century through the present. The class examines leaders and issues in both organized movements, as well as events often labeled as riots or rebellions, and considers how we understand different attempts to challenge systems of power.
Pre-requisites Complete any 1 of the following courses: - ENG105 First-Year Writing
- WGS101 Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies
3 CST215 Perspectives in Queer Theory This course examines the cultural representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in literature, film, history and social movements. We will explore how gender and sexual identities intersect with race, class and ethnicity. Finally, students will become conversant with the arguments and critical terms used in the field of queer theory.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - ENG105 First-Year Writing
3 HIS285 African-American History This course examines the history of African Americans within a global context from the 1500s through present. The course explores the role of West Africa in the Atlantic economy and slave trade; the nature of slavery in the US as compared to Latin America; emancipation in the US and Latin America; industrialization and migration; and the civil rights movement in its international context.
3 CRM332 History of Crime and Punishment This course will provide an introduction to the historical study of crime and punishment. Specifically, the course will examine definitions of crime, goals of punishment, and how these forms of crime and punishment reflect the structure of that society within that specific historical context.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - CRM101 Introduction to Criminal Justice
3 HIS351 Asian Pacfic Islander America: History and Culture Asian Pacific Islander American is a category well worth unpacking in cultural history contexts from the Western Pennsylvanian to the American and global, in order to grasp these communities’ diversity and commonality, as well as struggles, resilience, and creative impact in social formations and in the arts.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - ENG105 First-Year Writing
3 SUS102 Sustainability and Society Students examine core concepts of sustainability, and explore its origins, history, and achievements across the globe at multiple scales. Students gain a foundation for more in-depth study of sustainability. Students also focus on their personal conception of sustainability and engage in a sustainability group project linked to community partners.
3 FDT225 Female Narration: Race and Gender in Women's Films This course looks predominantly at films directed by women who have worked out strategies for feminist film practice. The course will focus on the relationship between representations of women and the socio-political structures in which women live. It will also focus on the need for women, if they wish to affect perception of self and other, us and them, to take up the means of production. Exposing the sexual stratagems in various contemporary societies' permits women filmmakers to recreate the world in their own image. Study of traditional portrayals of women will support understanding of the differences between subject and object position. Negotiating these often-conflicting spaces allows students to comprehend the multiple mediations that structure a critical consciousness. Such awareness allows questions of responsibility in a world of diverse values and perspectives. The course is organized as a reading, viewing, and lecture, experience.
3 EDU104 Perspectives on Education Students examine the role of teachers and schools in past and contemporary society. Selected educational issues are analyzed including role of technology in the classroom, legal issues for teachers, school-community relations, and current legislative initiatives.
3 Law and Policy - Outcomes 2 and 3 POL262 Women and Politics Does gender make a difference in politics? Are women different from men in their political behavior? Do women contribute different norms, rules, and outcomes within political institutions? Students become familiar with the literature on, and conduct research projects in a specific aspect of, women's involvement in politics.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - POL101 American Government and Public Policy
3 POL268 Environmental Policy This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the theory and practice of environmental policies. The course focuses on the political and economic factors contributing to the success and failure of present environmental policies. Topics include the roles of government and the market in causing environmental problems, analysis of proposed means for resolving those problems, and the application of economic and political analyses to selected environmental issues.
3 POL303 Constitutional Law I: US Govt Powers/Relationships This course examines the political science of law and courts through a consideration of the scope of Article III jurisdiction, bargaining and decision-making on the U.S. Supreme Court, and political struggles over doctrine within the judicial hierarchy. Topics include the ways in which courts have affected Congressional power over taxation and commerce and presidential domestic and international powers.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - POL101 American Government and Public Policy
3 CRM310 Survey of Corrections This course provides both a historical and contemporary exploration of correction methods utilized in the United States. This course examines the philosophy, theory, and practices involved in the control and behavior modification of offenders. Issues of inequality and at-risk populations are explored.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - CRM101 Introduction to Criminal Justice
3 FST315 Food Access and Policy If food is a basic human right, how do societies create universal access to food? This course explores the ethical basis for making citizens food secure despite global inequality. Major topics include private vs. public solutions and the relationship between food access, gender, cultural appropriateness, nutrition, sustainability, and justice.
3 -------------------- SWK322W Social Welfare: Women and Policy This course is designed to examine current issues and policies that impact the lives of women and to explore methods of creating or modifying policies. This course will utilize a comparative policy framework to explore the strengths and weaknesses of current interventions regarding their promotion of social and economic justice.
3 OR WGS322W Social Welfare: Women and Policy This course is designed to examine current issues and policies that impact the lives of women and to explore methods of creating or modifying policies. This course will utilize a comparative policy framework to explore the strengths and weaknesses of current interventions regarding their promotion of social and economic justice.
3 -------------------- EDU430 Diverse Family and Community Partnerships Advocates, educators, and parents have called for more and better family-school partnerships for decades. Recently, a body of empirical evidence has indicated that partnerships can have a positive impact. A number of studies highlight the positive associations between parent involvement in schools and their children's social and emotional development and academic achievement. This course explores the form and focus of several types of partnership.
3 Practical Application - Outcome 5 IND246 Intergroup Dialogue Facilitator Training These courses give students a foundation to facilitate intergroup dialogue classes and workshops. The topics of this course include group facilitation skills; individual and group social identity development; impact of prejudice and stereotyping; difference and dominance and the nature of social oppression; culture, culture cues, and judgements.
3 INTXXX303 - Internship POL202L Public Policy Analysis Field Experience A community partnership provides a real-world context for students to assess an issue of public policy. Students develop and research policy alternatives, create an appropriate system for analyzing and evaluating alternatives, make a recommendation for action, and present their findings to a decision-making body.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - POL202W Understanding Public Policy
2 SWK355 Working with Organizations and Communities The focus of this course is generalist social work practice as applied to macro practice activities. It introduces students to generalist social work practice intended to bring changes to organizations, communities, and institutions with the goal of advancing the achievement of individual and collective social and economic justice.
Pre-requisites Complete the following course: - SWK102 Introduction to Social Work, Social Justice and Social Issues
3 HIS307 Oral History, Neighborhoods, and Race Through this course, students will learn about oral history and the racial dynamics of American cities, especially Pittsburgh, since World War II. Students will learn about the history of racial inequality in cities and the efforts of people to both combat and maintain that inequality. They will then conduct oral history interviews to further explore the role the lives of people in two neighborhoods in Pittsburgh.
3 PSY211 PAAR Training in Sexual Assault Counseling This course will provide students with 40 hours of volunteer training developed and implemented by the Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR). Successful completion of the training will qualify them as a Sexual Assault Counselor.
3 SUS306W Equitable Community Development This class introduces community development theory, history, and practice through an equity lens. We explore the roots of racial inequities and the role of urban planning in perpetuating inequities. Students assess case studies and learn how to support equitable development, including through housing, social capital, the arts, and local economies.
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