Meanings of social justice. Ways in which social justice advocates work for social change. Criminal justice, globalization, and social welfare. Students do service learning in a social justice organization.

Interdisciplinary field that considers questions such as how human conflicts can be resolved in ways that promote justice/peace. Definitions, conditions, and causes of violence, nonviolence, war, and peace between nations, groups, or individuals.

Concepts, theories, and practices of social change organizing. U.S. power relations. How people organize. Cross-class, multi-racial, and multi-issue organizing. Students do service learning in social justice organization.

Capstone course. Students complete a social justice portfolio, do service learning in a social justice organization. prereq: 1501 or 2501, 3501

We live in a society steeped in racial understandings that are often invisible?some that are hard to see, and others that we work hard not to see. This course will focus on race relations in today's society with a historical overview of the experiences of various racial and ethnic groups in order to help explain their present-day social status. This course is designed to help students begin to develop their own informed perspectives on American racial ?problems? by introducing them to the ways that sociologists deal with race, ethnicity, race relations and racism. We will expand our understanding of racial and ethnic dynamics by exploring the experiences of specific groups in the U.S. and how race/ethnicity intersects with sources of stratification such as class, nationality, and gender. The course will conclude by re-considering ideas about assimilation, pluralism, and multiculturalism. Throughout, our goal will be to consider race both as a source of identity and social differentiation as well as a system of privilege, power and inequality affecting everyone in the society albeit in different ways.

Global migrations to U.S. from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, from early 19th century to present. Causes/cultures of migration. Migrant communities, work, and families. Xenophobia, assimilation/integration, citizenship, ethnicity, race relations. Debates over immigration. Place of immigration in America's national identity.

This writing-intensive course examines the racial history of modern America. The focus is placed on how American Indians, African Americans, and immigrants from Europe, Asia, and Latin America struggle over identity, place, and meanings of these categories in society where racial hierarchy not only determined every aspect of how they lived, but also functioned as a lever to reconstitute a new nation and empire in the aftermath of the Civil War. We are interested in studying how these diverse groups experienced racialization not in the same way but in various and distinct ways in relation to each other.

Political, cultural, historical linkages between Africans, African-Americans, African-Caribbean. Black socio-political movements/radical intellectual trends in late 19th/20th centuries. Colonialism/racism. Protest organizations, radical movements in United States/Europe.

Course on the critical thought of Black intellectual-activists and others enmeshed in the struggles for the radical transformation of U.S. democracy. Introduces the following three leaders and activists--Ella Baker, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X--whose work in the building of the Black freedom movement spanned the period from the 1930s to the late 1960s. Course proposition is that their life and times in the struggle for liberation offer important insights into the transformation of the U.S. political economy from the welfare/warfare state to the neoliberal state. These intellectual-activists, as well as others who translate their radical traditions through Black-Brown and Afro-Asian solidarity projects (e.g. Grace Lee Boggs of Detroit) have responded to racial formation in the U.S. and presented not just visions of liberation but concrete alternatives at the grassroots to usher in a more just, egalitarian, and ethical society.

Departing from a country-specific focus and a comparative regional perspective, this course examines contemporary African challenges and varied struggles using case studies, and a range of analytical parameters. Of particular interest will be issues relating to peace and (in)security, ethnic/civil clashes, religious conflicts, authoritarianism, democracy and related impacts: political destabilization, social fragmentation, economic disruption; internal displacement and international migration within regional and global contexts etc. Historical contexts (colonial legacies) and contemporary dynamics (contemporary realities) will be studied from a political, and sociological perspective to establish course content and outcomes.

Socioeconomic, political, and cultural development in Africa, from abolition of trans-Atlantic slave trade through postcolonial era.

Modern black civil rights struggle in the U.S., i.e., the second reconstruction. Failure of reconstruction, abdication of black civil rights in 19th century. Assault on white supremacy via courts, state, and grass roots southern movement in 1950s and 1960s. Black struggle in north and west. New emphasis on Black Power, by new organizations. Ascendancy of Ronald Reagan, conservative assault on the movement.

American Indian environmental issues in U.S./Canada. Analysis of social, political, economic, legal forces/institutions. Colonial histories/tribal sovereignty.

History, development, structure, politics of American Indian Governments. North American indigenous societies from pre-colonial times to present. Evolution of aboriginal governments confronted/affected by colonizing forces of European/Euro-American states. Bearing of dual citizenship on nature/powers of tribal governments in relation to states, federal government.

Formulation, implementation, evolution, comparison of Indian policy from pre-colonial times to self-governance new millennium. Theoretical approaches to federal Indian policy. Major federal Indian policies. Views/attitudes of policy-makers, reactions of indigenous nations to policies. Effect of bodies of literature related to policies.

Socioeconomic/political forces that impact migrant farmworkers. Effects of the laws and policies on everyday life. Theoretical assumptions/strategies of unions and advocacy groups. Role/power of consumer. How consuming cheap food occurs at expense of farmworkers.

Experiences of people of Mexican descent in the U.S. Notions of citizenship from WWII. Chicano civil rights movement. Impact of immigration patterns/legislation. Cultural wars, changing demographics. Social, economic, and political changes that influenced day-to-day life of Mexican Americans. Meaning of racialized "Mexican" identity. How different groups of Mexicans have understood their relationships to other Americans and other Latino groups.

Theory/practice of Chicana/o politics through an analysis of Mexican American experience, social agency, and response to larger political systems and behaviors using social science methods of inquiry. Unequal power relations, social justice, and the political economy.

Global migrations to U.S. from Europe, Asia, Latin American, and Africa, from early 19th century to present. Causes/cultures of migration. Migrant communities, work, and families. Xenophobia, assimilation/integration, citizenship, ethnicity, race relations. Debates over immigration. Place of immigration in America's national identity.

Experiences of migrants from Latin America to the United States in 20th/21st century. Migrant engagements with US society. Pre-existing Latina/o and other ethnic communities. experiences within political, economic, and social aspects of life at local/global level.

Theoretical frameworks of social justice and community engagement for work outside classroom with/in Latina/o community. Worker issues/organizing. Placements in unions, worker organizations. Policy initiatives on labor issues. Students reflect on their own identity development, social location, and position of power/privilege.

Manifestations of culture/power in education. How culture is mediating factor in educational achievement of students of color. Relationship between home/community, school cultures. Theories/research that show importance of integrating students' interests, knowledge, experience for increasing student engagement/achievement.

Social, psychological, economic, political aspects of social class/poverty. Implications for education as social institution/classroom pedagogy. Social class in U.S., working-class literature for adults/children, labor histories, economic systems.

This course explores significant environmental issues (such as environmental justice, toxic chemicals, climate change) through the analysis of texts from diverse literary genres. It focuses as much on issues of language and meaning as it does on the subjects these texts concern. Students examine the formal dimensions of these texts, as well as their social and historical contexts. In addition, students are introduced to the underlying scientific principles, the limitations of technologies, and the public policy aspects of each of these issues, in order to judge what constitutes an appropriate response to them. Students also learn how to identify and evaluate credible information concerning the environment.

This course combines academic analysis and experiential learning to understand, in both theory and practice, different perspectives on the power of "protest" in civic life. We will read a selection from the vast genre of progressive protest literature (pamphlets, poems, polemics, lists of demands, teaching philosophies, organizing principles, cultural histories, newsletter articles, movement chronicles, and excerpts from novels and biographies) from four key social-justice movements: the American Indian Movement, the Black Power movement, the post-Great Recession struggle for economic power, and the battle for immigrant rights. We'll also learn about this experientially as we roll up our sleeves and get involved in local community-based education initiatives and local social-justice organizations through our service-learning. Students receive initial training from CLA Career Services, The Center for Community-Engaged Learning, the Minnesota Literacy Council, as well as orientations at community sites.

In this course, we'll examine four progressive social movements. After beginning with a foundational civil rights movement example, we will learn about the anti-racist feminism branch of the women's movement, often referred to as "third-wave feminism." We'll also study the Occupy movement that arose in response to the Great Recession (the financial crisis beginning in 2008). Then we'll take a look at two social movements that, while by no means underground, tend to fly below the radar: the prison abolition movement and the fight for public schools. While all of these social movements have different emphases, they also overlap quite a bit in their systemic analysis of society and their strategies for action. As activist, organizer, and trainer Rinku Sen observes, "the history of community organizing and social movements is replete with tactics learned in one movement being applied to another." As we study these social movements, community organizing will be of particular interest to us. How do the groups, collectives, nonprofits, and communities propelling these different social movements organize themselves, their leadership, their strategies, and their activities? How do they make decisions? What do meetings and planning processes look like? What do they do when they disagree? How do they recruit and mobilize? How do they communicate with and confront the general public, elected officials, and the more powerful elements of the ruling class? How do they talk about the work they're doing? How do they develop a vision of the world they'd like to live in while still inhabiting the present one, with all its flaws and injustices? We'll also examine the role of education in organizations working for social change. Whether through trainings, "political education," reading groups, or small group activities associated with popular education, many of the social-movement groups we'll study have developed educational strategies and curricula. Hands-On Learning through Community Education: As we study these social movements and their approaches to organizing and educating in the comfortable confines of our university classroom, we'll also learn about them experientially through our service-learning. That is, we'll work 2 hours per week at local education initiatives in K-12 schools, adult programs, and social-justice organizations in the non-profit and grassroots sectors, comprising a total of 24 hours by the end of the semester. This hands-on learning will strengthen our academic grasp of social movements, organizational dynamics, and teaching and community organizing by providing us with grounded perspectives. More broadly, we'll get a feel for what it's like to get involved as citizens, activists, teachers, and learners attempting to build cross-organizational coalitions. And we'll share what we learn with each other. Representatives from the Center for Community-Engaged Learning (the U's service-learning office) and various community organizations will attend our second class session to tell you about their respective sites and how you can get involved. For our third class session, you will rank the top three community sites you'd like to work at. You will then be "matched" with a community organization, and your community education work will begin as soon as this matching process is complete. (We try to honor students' first and second choices, while also making sure that you also have some fellow classmates at your site.) To help prepare you, at a time convenient for you, you will also attend a training session facilitated by the Minnesota Literacy Council (MLC) or the Center for Community-Engaged Learning-- details will be provided in class.

Interdisciplinary course. Development of GLBT social movements using social movement theory/service learning.

This course presents an introductory overview of the idea of human rights, its social and legal foundations and contemporary global issues. In the class, students will learn about the laws and procedures designed to protect the human rights of individuals and groups, with a special focus on the United Nations system. The course explores the conceptual underpinnings of human rights such as who is eligible to have rights, where those rights come from and who is responsible for guaranteeing them. Students will learn about how international laws are made and interpreted, and will consider the geo-political context which shapes human rights laws and procedures. Because of the evolving nature of the laws and issues in this field, students are encouraged to think analytically and ethically about how to address the many human rights challenges in the world today. The course will cover current human rights issues, including the right to health care, housing and other economic and social rights; and the right to life, freedom from torture and other civil and political rights. The course is writing intensive. The required paper for the class is a model complaint to the United Nations about a country and issue of the student's choosing. The class invites discussion and uses class exercises to engage students in the course material by shaping arguments for various legal fora.

Hands-on experience at Twin Cities organizations working at the nexus of the local and the global. Work 100 hours in non-governmental organization. Substantive coursework in Global Studies is required. prereq: dept consent

This course will introduce students to some of the world's most powerful global institutions -- such as the World Bank (IBRD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations, and affiliated agencies such as UNHCR (for refugee support). We will follow their efforts to promote a style of global development practices -- large-scale capital lending and global expertise building -- that has crystallized into a common understanding of how global north-south dynamics should progress. Cases pursued in class may include their lending and debt policies, dam building and energy projects, climate resilience and water loans, and the ways they mediate free trade agreements among competing countries. We will also hear from the multitude of voices, theories, and practices that offer alternative visions as to how peoples strive to produce a more just, socially equitable, and climate-safe world. We will use books, articles, films, in-class debates, case study exploration, small-group projects, and guest speakers to create a lively discussion-based classroom environment.

Comparative study of women, gender, race, class, sexuality in two or more ethnic cultures throughout U.S.

Similarities/differences in women's experiences throughout world, from cross-cultural/historical perspective. Uses range of reading materials/media (feminist scholarship, fiction, film, news media, oral history, autobiography).

Historical developments/contemporary manifestations of women's participation in labor force/global economy. Gender as condition for creation/maintenance of exploitable category of workers. How women's choices are shaped in various locations. Women's labor organizing. GWSS / Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies / Gender Studies

Analysis of media, art, literature, performance, on artistic contributions. History, politics, culture of Asian American women. Interpret cultural production to better understand role of race, gender, nation within American society/citizenship.

Interdisciplinary course. Development of GLBT social movements using social movement theory/service learning.

Global migrations to U.S. from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa, from early 19nth century to present. Causes/cultures of migration. Migrant communities, work, and families. Xenophobia, assimilation/integration, citizenship, ethnicity, race relations. Debates over immigration. Place of immigration in America's national identity.

One feature of life in modern society is the presence of deep moral disagreement. Individuals must decide what actions are right, and societies must make political choices. How do we know what the right answer is? Which answers and approaches are rationally defensible? Philosophical reflection, rational argument, and systematic analysis can help us think about these problems more clearly and arrive at answers that are both useful and intellectually satisfying. This course will address various rotating topics, such as abortion, animal rights, criminal punishment, censorship, personal relationships, affirmative action, and other active areas of moral and social concern.

In this course, we will engage in a sociological examination of major social problems facing the contemporary US and abroad. We explore the origins and causes of different social problems, seek to understand how they impact individuals, groups, and the society as a whole, and evaluate solutions. We ask how an issue becomes defined as a "social problem," discuss the social construction of reality and deviance, and consider the primary frameworks under which societies have organized their responses to different social problems. prereq: 1001 recommended; soc majors/minors must register A-F

Why does inequality exist? How does it work? These are the essential questions examined in this class. Topics range from welfare and poverty to the role of race and gender in getting ahead. We will pay particular attention to social inequities – why some people live longer and happier lives while others are burdened by worry, poverty, and ill health. prereq: soc majors/minors must register A-F

We live in a society steeped in racial understandings that are often invisible?some that are hard to see, and others that we work hard not to see. This course will focus on race relations in today's society with a historical overview of the experiences of various racial and ethnic groups in order to help explain their present-day social status. This course is designed to help students begin to develop their own informed perspectives on American racial ?problems? by introducing them to the ways that sociologists deal with race, ethnicity, race relations and racism. We will expand our understanding of racial and ethnic dynamics by exploring the experiences of specific groups in the U.S. and how race/ethnicity intersects with sources of stratification such as class, nationality, and gender. The course will conclude by re-considering ideas about assimilation, pluralism, and multiculturalism. Throughout, our goal will be to consider race both as a source of identity and social differentiation as well as a system of privilege, power, and inequality affecting everyone in the society albeit in different ways.

Focusing on the origins, dynamics, and consequences of social movements, this course explores debates about the dilemmas and challenges facing movement organizations, the relationship between social movements and various institutions, and the role of social movements and protest in bringing about change. The course is organized around general theoretical issues concerning why people join movements, why they leave or remain in movements, how movements are organized, the strategies and tactics they use, and their long-term and short-run impact. prereq: 1001 recommended; soc majors/minors must register A-F

"I can't breathe." The last words of George Floyd. Words that traumatized a nation, and the world. While the death of George Floyd galvanized peoples worldwide to speak out against discrimination and inequality, well before his death studies suggested that ethnic and racial discrimination and conflict re-occur on an ongoing basis. From the events of the Holocaust - to the genocide against the Rohingya in Myanmar - to the torture of Uighurs in China - to the Atlantic slave trade - we explore how identities are formed - and thereafter - how those same identities are deployed - to exclude and marginalize - with targeted precision. Across the world, we examine how racial bias and racial animus contribute to slavery, torture, mass displacement, economic destitution, and genocide. prereq: 1001 recommended; soc majors/minors must register A-F

Service-learning course. U.S. power structures associated with emigration from Latin America. Rapid demographic change. Global economic system/emigration. Human rights. Federal immigration reform. Language issues. Inclusive political, economic, educational systems. Dialogue with Latino immigrants, community visits, civic engagement. Instructor approval required for January or summer offering. Pre-req: A C- or better in SPAN 3015W or SPAN 3015V or SPAN 3019W

Theories/research on violence in intimate domestic relationships examined through multiple lenses. Overview of interventions in Minnesota, United States, and other societies.

Reading, writing, research, presentations and workshops explore activist performance projects. Theories of social formation and ideology provide framework to discuss/animate theater's potential for social change. prereq: Jr or sr or grad student

This course explores how written texts help to shape modern art and cultural movements. Writ 3381 first develops an understanding of the manifesto form by reading primary examples written by artists from such movements as Cubism and Expressionism. Students study the complex written and visual strategies of those texts and how they contributed to social and political change in the modern world. Out of those attempts to change culture, students will be challenged to consider how particular writing strategies developed in the U.S. aimed at bringing about change in 1960s culture in areas such as the women's movement, the move toward racial equality, and the environmental movement. Toward the end of the course, the writings of current movements are taken up as building on and departing from past writing and rhetorical strategies. Students both read about and practice writing strategies studied in the course.

Within the U.S. there is an ongoing conversation about what values, knowledge, skills, and practice are basic to the field of youth work. The occupational title, youth worker, is not widely recognized with a set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that distinguish it from other occupations that work with young people (teacher, coach, social worker). Often youth worker is taken to signify those who ?work with youth.? In recent years there have been attempts to clarify and specify what a youth worker does, whom a youth worker should be, and how one should be educated for this type of work. These debates now occur within international and national movements to ?professionalize? youth work. In this course, we enter this conversation by considering the multiple ways of becoming, being a youth worker, and doing youth work. Toward the end of the course, we will also explore how context?agency, street, and neighborhood?can have consequences on all three of these. To be knowledgeable participants in these conversations you must know the possible answers to at least four questions. Who are young people? What is youth work? Who are youth workers? Where is the location of the work? For each of these questions, we explore the diverse answers, given by scholars and practitioner, here in the United States and internationally. How one chooses to answer any one of these questions has consequences for the other three. Attention is also given to how you and I choose to answer these questions given our own experience of being a young person and our current interactions with young people. At the end of this course, you will be able to participate at a beginning level in the conversations that are of concern to youth work and enhance your direct work with, on behalf of, and/or for young people. In the process, you will have begun constructing and articulating a personal philosophy of youth work. prereq: One gen psy course, one gen soc course, or instr consent

Empowering methods of personal/creative development using experiential learning and theater activities to enhance creativity/imagination. Approaches to working with youth in school and youth agency settings. Experiential learning, improvisational theater theory/practice. prereq: 1001 or 2101

Structural or institutional conditions through which people of color have been marginalized in public policy. Critical evaluation of social theory in addressing the problem of contemporary communities of color in the United States.

Examination of the structural or institutional conditions through which people of color have been marginalized in public policy. Critical evaluation of social theory in addressing the problem of contemporary communities of color in the United States.

Analytical overview of three major forms of inequalities in the United Sates today: race, class, gender. Focus on these inequalities as relatively autonomous from one another and as deeply connected/intertwined with one another. Intersectionality key to critical understanding of these social forces. Social change possibilities.

In the midst of social unrest, it is important for us to understand social inequality. In this course we will analyze the impact of three major forms of inequality in the United States: race, class, and gender. Through taking an intersectional approach at these topics, we will examine the ways these social forces work institutionally, conceptually, and in terms of our everyday realities. We will focus on these inequalities as intertwined and deeply embedded in the history of the country. Along with race, class, and gender we will focus on other axes of inequality including sexuality, citizenship, and dis/ability. We will analyze the meanings and values attached to these social categories, and the ways in which these social constructions help rationalize, justify, and reproduce social inequality. prereq: Soc majors/minors must register A-F

The course focuses on the close analysis and interpretation of individual works by a range of modern and contemporary artists. Students will analyze, critique, and interpret these works in light of the historical and social contexts in which they were produced, their creation and uses of aesthetic form, and their impact on individuals and communities. Discussion, writing assignments, and oral presentations will focus on different ways of encountering and evaluating artistic work; for instance, students will write critical analyses and production reviews as well as dialogue more informally through weekly journal entries and online discussion forums. We will examine what it means to define artists and their work as being "Asian American" and explore how other categories of identity such as gender, sexuality, or class intersect with race. We will study how art works not only as individual creativity but also as communal and social practice; for instance, we look at the history of theaters, such as East-West Players or Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, that have sustained Asian Americans as actors, playwrights, and designers.

The course focuses on the close analysis and interpretation of individual works by a range of modern and contemporary artists. Students will analyze, critique, and interpret these works in light of the historical and social contexts in which they were produced, their creation and uses of aesthetic form, and their impact on individuals and communities. Discussion, writing assignments, and oral presentations will focus on different ways of encountering and evaluating artistic work; for instance, students will write critical analyses and production reviews as well as dialogue more informally through weekly journal entries and online discussion forums. We will examine what it means to define artists and their work as being "Asian American" and explore how other categories of identity such as gender, sexuality, or class intersect with race. We will study how art works not only as individual creativity but also as communal and social practice; for instance, we look at the history of theaters, such as East-West Players or Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, that have sustained Asian Americans as actors, playwrights, and designers.

Scholarly/creative work of Chicanas or politically defined women of Mexican American community. Interdisciplinary. Historical context, cultural process, and autoethnography.