Class Descriptions

SW680

Power in the Global Context

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Foundation Essentials Required
Pathway Requirement For:
Global Social Work Practice (Host)
Pathway Elective For:
Community Change
Description:
Social problems affecting individuals, families, groups, communities, and nations are globally interconnected. This course is designed to introduce students to an understanding of power in the global context and to help students develop a critical and reflexive understanding of how such power informs social work practice, utilizing decolonizing and social justice-oriented perspectives (e.g., feminist, participatory, liberatory/emancipatory). Students will gain an analytic de-centering framework for critical understanding and assessment of pressing social problems (e.g., human trafficking, climate change, and environmental disasters) and models of social interventions across global contexts. Students will learn to develop research- and policy-related questions and procedures that may address these pressing social problems. In exploring these themes, we will review underpinning theories and practice in global social work, such as: colonization, international aid and development, and democratization.
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SW681

Critical Reflexive Global Practices

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
SW505 (concurrent enrollment in SW505 permitted if necessary)
Pathway Requirement For:
Global Social Work Practice (Host)
Pathway Elective For:
Community Change
Description:
This course is designed to prepare social work students for effective and ethical professional practice in global social work contexts. This course works from a framework that acknowledges that global issues and practice are not bound by physical borders. Global contexts within the USA and abroad will be explored. These contexts will be within and across different cultural, geopolitical, socio-economic, organizational, and interpersonal settings. Ongoing development of critical consciousness is the core of this course. Throughout the course, students will critically and reflexively examine the impact of their positionalities, privilege, values, assumptions, prejudice, and biases. Specific attention will be placed on analyzing types, levels, and sources of power and mechanisms of oppression to assist students in addressing global inequalities. They will use such expanding/increasing critical understanding and insights to more effectively work including advocacy and developing allyship in diverse global contexts.
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SW682

Immigration, Forced Migration, and Transformative Social Work Practice

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Community Change, Global Social Work Practice (Host), Policy & Political Social Work
Description:
This course focuses on immigration - one of the most volatile and hotly debated issues of our time. How we respond to the myriad questions about immigration and immigrants and the problems generated by public policy responses to various kinds of immigration will determine how our society and economy will look and function in the future. Students will gain historical, structural and critical analyses of theories and debates related to immigration and forced migration, such as: political economy perspectives about the supply and demand of migrant labor; identity, culture and intersectionality based on Critical Latinx Theory; the challenges of ‘integration’; and tensions between citizenship rights activism versus No Borders activism. Students will understand policies and systems that both facilitate and delimit social work practice with immigrants and refugees, including the family, child welfare, refugee resettlement, asylum, health and mental health, community and legal systems. This course imparts and aspires for social work practice with immigrants and refugees that is forward-looking, transformative and just.
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SW684

Global Art-Centered Social Justice Practice and Self-Healing

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Global Social Work Practice (Host)
Description:
This course is founded on the idea that all human beings can engage in art practices – music, theater, sculptures, painting, photography, etc. Art practices, which are expressed differently across the globe, can be inspiration, methods, and practices to advance self-healing and social justice. This course will be useful to all students, even those who do not consider themselves to be “artists.” The course will help students to incorporate self-healing and social justice into social work practice. For example, students will authentically connect to global efforts, such as the Campaign Against Racism (23 chapters in 10 countries), to dismantle structural racism by supporting local actions. Students from all pathways and disciplines will learn content on interprofessional (e.g., art therapy), community (e.g., advocacy), and global (e.g., theater of oppressed) practices. Students will learn how to explore artistic creation for self-healing while examining critical theories of race, gender, sexuality, ableism, and cultural identity vis-à-vis social work practices. Students will engage with art practices as a means of self-reflection (self-healing) and to advocate for myriad inequities.
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SW686

An Introduction to Human Rights

Grading Method:
S/U
Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Pathway Elective For:
Community Change, Global Social Work Practice (Host), Policy & Political Social Work
Description:
The course aims to provide a basic introduction to international human rights, their conceptual and historical foundations, as well as the main international legal instruments and institutions aimed at protecting and promoting human rights worldwide. The course has three purposes: to define and explore the terms, histories, and theories of human rights; examine alternative or competing definitions of human rights; and apply human rights thinking to local and international issues using a case-based approach. Throughout the course, concrete case studies will be used to illustrate the range of human rights problems, as well as the utility of the accountability paradigm to current international and national events and problems. More specifically, students will unpack the rights of particularly vulnerable groups, such as women, children, refugees, people with disabilities, and members of LGBTQIA+ communities. The course includes lectures, group discussions, and guest lectures by representatives from local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations.
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SW687

Specialized Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Social Work Practice: Foundations and Applications

Grading Method:
S/U
Credits:
1-2 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This course is part of the Detroit Scholars and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Training Programs, both of which focus on centering the needs of historically marginalized populations. This course will support trainees in advancing their understanding, practice, and application of best and promising principles and practices. In this course, students will explore the principles and practices essential for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in various settings, including at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. The curriculum emphasizes the importance of engaging in organizational and structural advancements to foster social justice and equity. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks and practical applications, students will develop the skills needed to navigate complex social dynamics, challenge systemic inequalities, and implement inclusive practices effectively. Note: Students that register for two credits will also complete training to be eligible to be a Qualified Mental Health Professional in a community mental health setting.
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SW690

Adulthood and Aging

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
Foundation Essentials Required
Pathway Requirement For:
Social Work Practice with Older Adults and Families from a Lifespan Perspective (Host)
Pathway Elective For:
Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse
Description:
This course focuses on bio-psycho-social development and changes in mid- and late-adulthood. It will cover six major areas. (a) Demographic trends globally and in the United States, (b) Major theoretical perspectives including the life course and life-span perspectives. (c) Biological and cognitive changes in the second half of life. (d) Common chronic conditions and their treatment in older adults. (e) Psychological and social development in mid- and late-adulthood. (f) Definitions and determinants of positive and healthy aging. Special attention will be paid to diversity and social justice issues, including similarities and differences in the experience of aging related to an individual's position in society (e.g., class, race/ethnicity, immigration status, religion, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity), and institutional and social factors that marginalize some segments of the older population.
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SW691

Advanced Field Education

Grading Method:
S/M/U
Credits:
1-12 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
SW515
Description:
This advanced Field education course will build on the pre-requisite SW 515 foundation field placement education. Students will engage in tasks and assignments that reflect a higher level of immersion, independence, and competence than at the foundation level. Acquisition of such development occurs through a field placement involving integration of classroom learning and experiential learning opportunities. Students will receive regular field supervision with a field instructor and learning that may be supplemented by other educational resources.
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SW694

Interpersonal Practice Methods in Aging

Grading Method:
Graded
Credits:
3 Credit Hours
Prerequisites:
SW506
Pathway Requirement For:
Social Work Practice with Older Adults and Families from a Lifespan Perspective (Host)
Pathway Elective For:
Global Social Work Practice, Interpersonal Practice in Integrated Health, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse
Description:
This course focuses on intervention with older people at the micro level. This content will be integrated with intervention strategies directed toward aging adults, including evidence-based interventions and practices. Major areas to be discussed are: coping with age related changes, caregiving demands, legal and financial planning, elder abuse, sexuality and intimacy, and loss and grief. This course will also address the diverse dimensions including: ability, age, class, color, culture, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion or spirituality, and sexual orientation. The IP intervention will focus on intake, screening, initial evaluation, treatment and termination issues involved in working with older clients and their families. Such skills as reaching out, engaging reluctant or impaired elders, and successful termination of intervention will be covered. Various psychiatric disorders more typically diagnosed among the elderly will be discussed and intervention strategies identified.
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SW699

Social Work Capstone

Grading Method:
S/U
Credits:
1 Credit Hour
Prerequisites:
None
Description:
This Capstone course will provide students an opportunity to reflect on their social work education, as well as look forward to their future social work career. Students will explore concepts of professional resilience and social work identity, as well as gain an understanding of lifelong learning as a core value of the social work profession. The course will provide an opportunity for students to integrate and apply learning from their academic career in a comprehensive manner. The course will assess the students’ overall mastery of social work competencies, as demonstrated through products produced over the course of their study and collected in a professional portfolio. Students will be given the opportunity to develop a cover letter and resume, as well as explore interviewing and negotiating skills necessary to secure a social work position upon graduation.
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