Special Seminars in Practice, Intervention, and Policy

Students with less than doctoral standing are expected to seek permission of the course instructor prior to enrolling. Students with less than doctoral standing may be dropped if appropriate approval was not sought.

This seminar focuses on the experiences of social work policy, practice, and interventions in supporting marginalized populations, with a special emphasis on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, non-binary, intersex, two-spirit, and asexual individuals and communities. Students will use an intersectional approach to explore how multiple types of marginalization may further affect the members of these communities at both the interpersonal and community levels. This course will include discussion of language and identities, examining theoretical and empirical underpinnings, current and past policies, key research questions and gaps in knowledge, ethical and value issues, and the role of social work practice and social work research in better supporting those frequently marginalized by society due to their gender and/or sexuality. Students will be encouraged to connect their own research or practice areas to the topics discussed around these communities in order to begin to shift their own work around inclusivity and deconstructing transphobia and homophobia in practice, policy, and/or research. Individuals of all identities are welcome; no prior work with these communities is needed to fully participate in this class.