SW 305: Community Action & Social Change

Students will select a historical social justice movement or organization from a selected list. Alternative topics options are also possible but must be approved. A list of topics will be provided in canvas .  The purpose is to explore historical examples of social action and implications for your vision of CASC'ing. 

1. Why did you choose this movement, and why is their work relevant to CASC'ing, today?
2. Provide an overview of the movement, the person or individuals involved, the methods and actions they used to address a social issue

• • Why did the movement occur?
  • What community (or communities) did they organize?
  • What are the social justice issues that it attempted to challenge/change?
    • Provide the background and history needed (i.e. policies, supreme court decisions, pressing inequalities among  certain groups, a critical incident in society, etc.)
  • What were some of the underlying principles/frameworks/core values driving their work?
    • Refer to course concepts, theories, and frames presented in class, share your analysis)?
  • Provide examples of their strategies?
    • How did the movement/organization address social change (i.e. tactics, strategies, tools to enact change)?

3. Provide a critical analysis of the work’s strengths and limitations based on your analysis (think about concepts, ideas, and discussion from class as a part of your critical analysis):

• • What were/are some of the strengths to their efforts?
  • What were their accomplishments?
  • What were/are some the challenges and/or limitations to their approaches/efforts? Why? 

4. Learning from History/Applying Ideas 
   • What can you learn from this movement for your own work?
   • Why and how does this movement matter for CASC?

Resources for background information or an historical overview can be found using Library search. Type your topic in the search box  labeled "What Can We Help you Find?" on the Library home page to retrieve books, databases, videos, Library research guides, and more. For more details on finding electronic books, see our guide, Finding and Using Electronic Books.

Electronic Encyclopedias