Strategies for Engaging Social Justice for the Developing World

• In Event: 3423 - Teaching and Learning Symposium Roundtable
  In Informal Discussion Roundtable: Table 11: Teaching Social Justice

Abstract

Understanding the systemic forces at work in distant countries can be challenging for undergraduates. This presentation will highlight three strategies for engaging with social justice issues in the class, Sociology of Developing Societies. First, students are required to apply theories and engage with the development debate. Specifically, students must engage with the question of which aspects socioeconomic development should be led by top-down or bottom-up processes. Students must grapple with the question of whether top-down development creates or solidifies systemic inequalities and how to rectify those inequalities. Causing students to take sides and support their argument with evidence allows them to hone their writing skills and gives them better awareness of how to use data. Second, the presentation will highlight two case studies being used to deepen students’ understanding of how women might emphasize their femininity to better their position with respect to hegemonic masculinity. Attendees of the presentation will have the opportunity to discuss other case studies they have used to engage with social justice in the developing world. Finally, the presentation will highlight the final research paper as a means of examining a development topic more in-depth, through comparative-historical sociological. This method allows students to better understand the development trajectory of an individual country and to reflect on its place in the global system. In the conclusion of their papers students are asked to propose solutions to inequality and other development questions. Having students look more in-depth at one country aims to create more informed global citizens, with awareness of how their actions and those of government and nongovernmental actors are affected by and affect larger social forces.

Author

• Rachel Sarah Core, Stetson University