Social Justice Advocacy for Social Work and Allied Professions

SW724, Section 001

This course will draw on how social justice and social work values call us to action to challenge injustice – poverty, unemployment, discrimination, racism, etc. We will learn how commutative and distributive justice require redistribution of benefits, goods, burdens and pleasures. This course will build on and integrate knowledge and skills from Interpersonal, Community and Management classes to address macro policy and the legislative process, setting the stage for advocacy within organizational, community and political systems. We will examine the intersection of empirical research and advocacy strategies from a community-based approach, including participatory research and community-based advocacy strategies. This participatory lens lends itself to the involvement of community stakeholders in defining community problems and solutions. Ultimately, the course seeks to deepen our understanding of social justice, human and civil rights, and the need to engage in advocacy in order to address oppression, social and economic justice.