Overview
Welcome to Human Services 311: Social Justice in Action, a three-credit, senior-level course that examines social justice in theory and practice.
Using Mi’kmaw Nation Elder, Dr. Albert Marshall’s framework of Etuaptmumk: Two-Eyed Seeing, this course integrates both empirically supported and self-reflective content related to social justice theory, the meaning of social justice, and contextualizes social justice as a response to the long history of colonization, cultural appropriation, systemic oppression, discrimination, and marginalization.
The course examines concepts, theories, and models related to social justice, as well as how, through using a social justice lens, social justice practices may be implemented by human services practitioners at an individual, kinship or other group, community, and policy level.
The course provides an overview of social justice as well as an opportunity for students to develop, propose, implement, and evaluate a social justice initiative.
There are no prerequisites for this course, although students are expected to have university level analytical and APA writing skills.
The intention of HSRV 311 is to prepare you to:
- Differentiate social justice, justice, equality, and equity.
- Describe social justice movements aimed at decolonization, anti-racism, Indigenous rights, and human rights.
- Apply the theories, concepts, and models, related to social justice, including intersectionality, social location, and allyship.
- Identify, critically evaluate, and respond to how social justice may be implemented at an individual, kinship or other group, community, and policy level.
- Develop skills in reading, writing, and critically evaluating empirical research, with an emphasis on the development of a community-based social justice project proposal.
Outline
HSRV 311 is divided into seven units:
- Unit 1: Etuaptmumk, Two-Eyed Seeing: Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Mainstream Knowledge
- Unit 2: Social Injustice, Human Rights, and Indigenous Rights
- Unit 3: Social Justice Movements
- Unit 4: Social Justice and Inclusive Policy
- Unit 5: Anti-Oppression and Justice-Doing
- Unit 6: Two-Eyed Seeing and Ethical Care
- Unit 7: Self-Reflection and Putting Social Justice into Action
Evaluation
Evaluation of students in HSRV 311 is based on four assignments. There are no exams. You must achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on each assignment, and D (50 percent) for the overall course mark.
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Social Justice History and Reflection | 25% |
| Assignment 2: Two-Eyed Seeing and Social Justice | 25% |
| Assignment 3: Proposed Social Justice Project | 25% |
| Assignment 4: Social Justice in Action: Self-Evaluation | 25% |
| Total | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Collins, S. (2018). Embracing cultural responsivity and social justice. Counselling Concepts.
Other Materials
All other materials are available online.