Social Welfare - Anti-racism, and DEI in SW

Catalog description

This course provides students with a foundational knowledge of anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion within multi-level social work. Students will examine theoretical, conceptual, and policy-based knowledge of systems of oppression, both historical and contemporary, and the ways in which power and privilege are embedded in them. Through ongoing and critical self-reflection, students will examine their own social identities (e.g. race/ethnicity, gender, sexual identity, age, social class, ability status, religion, national origin, etc.), as well as their beliefs, values, and ethics through a justice and equity framework. Critical self-reflection is an essential skill to develop for ethical and effective social work. This course will help prepare social work students to: (1) understand and resist systematic and interpersonal dynamics leading to oppression and (2) advocate for justice within myriad contexts and across a range of institutions and policies that contextualize social work in the contemporary US. In keeping with social work values, this course takes an explicitly anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-colonialist, and anti-oppressive stance. Prerequisite: Student must be admitted to MSW Program.