Course Syllabus

Instructor: Dr. Jenny Whitcher, MASC Director & Director of Service Learning

E-mail: jwhitcher@iliff.edu

Office Hours: By appointment, please email your availability.

Course Synopsis: An interdisciplinary critical review of social change strategies and their historical and contemporary contexts. Students will identify and share their own motivations for social change as part of a critical attempt to identify and understand the meaning systems behind social change strategies such as: social movements, legislative and political systems, violence-based conflict, market systems and economics, education and multimedia, direct service, and alternative communities.

Reading & Media: All required reading/media are available on Canvas for download or through public access weblink. However, previous students in this course said they would have preferred to purchase two books we will read from in this course. As such, these books will be available at the University of Denver Bookstore for purchase:

1. Goodwin, Jeff and Jasper, James M. Social Movements Reader: Cases and Concepts. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2009. As such, this book will be available at the University of Denver Bookstore for purchase.

2. Rogers, Mary Beth. Cold Anger: A Story of Faith and Power Politics. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 1990. (MASC students and other Iliff students who register for Community Organizing will be reading from this book again in that course)

Required readings/media are listed within their respective dated assignment at the bottom of this webpage. A list of additional course-related resources is also available for personal reference, and students are invited to contribute to this list.

Overview and Objectives

Evaluation

Policies And Services

MASC Degree Learning Goals

Course Negotiations:

• Spiritual Centering for Social Change (5-10 minutes at the start of each class): Each student will have a turn to lead this part of class, sharing a spiritual practice, media/reading, or activity that influences, motivates, or centers their social change work, commitment, and/or values. Each spiritual centering should be personally relevant to the facilitator, and accessible (not exclusive) to the diverse classroom community. If for any reason you do not want to participate in a spiritual centering practice/activity facilitated by another student, you may politely opt out, either remaining in your seat or leaving the classroom if you choose. Please both frame your spiritual centering activity by explaining its relevance to your motivations for social change and provide an experiential centering for the class to participate in.
• Social Movements Theory Charts:

1. Full chart
2. Empty chart except for headings