Social Problems, Community Conversations

Catalog description

This Praxis course will create space for students and community members to examine social problems in a co-created, diverse setting. We'll ask questions like: What social problems have shaped our lives? How do they connect to the social problems of other generations? Who defines social problems, and how? Who tries to solve social problems, and how? How might sociology help us shed light on these problems? How can we design and participate in productive dialogues across difference around these social problems? The course will examine a variety of social issues chosen by students and community members (e.g. crime, racial/ethnic inequality, gender inequality, educational, environmental, healthcare, and housing crises, AI, changing workplaces). The course emphasizes co-creation and modes of learning that bring together lived experience, library knowledge, and conversation across diverse communities.