Spring 2023 Undergraduate School of Social Work Courses

Posted by Tim on October 28, 2022 in Academics, General Education Requirements, Online Courses

Community Organizing and Development Minor & Electives available to ALL MAJORS

For questions about whether these courses will count toward your university requirements, please speak to your academic advisor.

SW130LEC Black Lives Matter: Building Racial Justice and Solidarity
T/R 3:00-4:20PM | Seated
Instructor: C. Brockington
This foundational course examines historic and contemporary anti-Black racism and white supremacy in the United States. Students will analyze policies and strategies to identify, challenge, and transform the values, structures, and behaviors that perpetuate systemic racism, white supremacy and anti-blackness. Students will also engage in self-reflection, develop self-awareness, and participate in critical analysis of systems of privilege and oppression, as well develop personal strategies for becoming antiracist and facilitating change in communities and society. *Course with a racial justice focus.*

SW140LEC Power to the People: Intro to Organizing & Advocacy Strategies 
T/R 10:00-11:20AM | Hybrid
Instructor: L. Merriman
This course focuses on the nuts and bolts of organizing and the strategies that inform advocacy with an emphasis on the roles social capital has on networking effectively across groups and systems. Because the skills and tasks of organizing and advocacy are predominately to catalyze and agitate for change, students will examine relevant policies and learn how to identify and map the distribution of power they promote particularly as they influence access to service and support in neighborhoods and communities.

SW150LEC Social Media in Social Change
T/R 6:00-7:20PM | Remote
Instructor: M. Schwartz
This course will familiarize students with social media and social networking as they influence community change. Specifically, students will be introduced to the fundamental terms and concepts of social media and networking, including various interfaces, tools, and platforms that may be leveraged to promote community change and development. Students will also explore existing scholarship and best practices, as well as issues of social justice, trauma and adversity, social disadvantage, and human rights as they apply to the democratization of technology.

SW230LEC Theories & Policies of Community Organizing
M/W 10:00-11:20AM | Seated
Instructor: L. Lewis
This course will build upon the Introduction to Community Organizing and Development course to provide students with an understanding of the ways in which the history of community organizing and development informs community theory and policy across urban and rural settings. With an emphasis on group development theory, students will be introduced to the major theories and policies that impact neighborhood/community capacity, including theories of poverty and development, inequality, human rights, urban and rural community development, neighborhood organizing, restorative practice, social movements, community transformation, social capital. A particular focus is the intersection of these theories and policies within this framework that can create social capital, and foster entrepreneurship, social innovation, and cross-sector collaboration.

SW309LEC Developing Leadership in Communities
M/W 6:00-7:20PM | Hybrid
Instructor: J. Bieron
This course focuses on development of leadership skills and strategies that foster community engagement and strengthen the natural leadership of residents within communities. Students will examine theories of leadership and the ways in which they influence organizational structures that promote community well-being. This course will explore the mechanisms that support opportunities for collaboration across social, political, legal, and financial systems and the communication patterns that influence success.

SW401LEC Black Men: A Historical and Contemporary Discourse 1619-Present
W 9:00-11:50AM | Seated
Instructor: C. St. Vil