Social Justice Program Mission Statement

The Social Justice program at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh represents interested faculty, students, and community members. The Social Justice program will further the university's dedication to the realization of a democratic society that is diverse, inclusive, and equitable and that values the worth of all humans. The purpose of the Social Justice program is to educate students about concepts, theories, and methods related to social justice and to integrate ethical practices for solving social inequities. In the words of the Earth Charter, "Our environmental, economic, political, social, and spiritual challenges are interconnected, and together we can forge inclusive solutions." Students educated in the program will be equipped to recognize unequal and unjust relationships and facilitate building safe, equitable, sustainable, and non-discriminatory communities. They will be able to aid, support, and partner with those who are denied adequate opportunities. Students will conduct responsible and ethical research and seek practical involvement at the local, national, or international levels.

Among the problems that we seek to address are issues such as racism, violence, literacy, human rights, gender equity, poverty, hunger, and the conservation of the environment.

Objectives

Understand relationships among economic, social, political, historical, and environmental circumstances;
Critically examine the values that constitute social justice in theory and practice;
Discern alternative ways of construing social justice from multiple Western and non-Western perspectives;
Connect local action with regional, national, and international conditions;
Take action to preserve and promote human rights, human dignity, and human freedom;
Provide educational opportunities to strengthen local communities;
Involve undergraduate students with social justice practitioners in the community through course work, learning experiences, and regular colloquia;
Offer community members educational opportunities to pursue interests related to the practice of social justice;
Partner with aid and support others who are discriminated against and who lack adequate opportunities;
Engage the creative arts to express diverse points of view and challenge people to think about social issues;
Help students to make lifelong connections to social justice groups;
Provide an exchange of ideas among local and global communities and the university.

Development of Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes

Upon completing degree requirements, students in the Social Justice program will have the following knowledge, skills, and attitudes:

Knowledge

Students will have knowledge of differing intellectual traditions, both Western and non-Western;
Students will have knowledge of political systems that affect economic and social policy;
Students will have knowledge of philosophies associated with different economic systems and their effects on people and environments;
Students will have knowledge of educational philosophies and literate traditions;
Students will have knowledge of the contexts in which mass movements in societies emerge;
Students will have knowledge of the contemporary and historical effects of urban migration, industrialization, land ownership, urbanization and new technologies on specific social groups and societies, both Western and non-Western.

Skills

Students will have the ability to conduct local, regional, and international research using statistical and qualitative methods into social injustice and propose provisional solutions;
Students will have the ability to sensitively and responsively learn from and mediate diverse groups of people;
Students will have the ability to effectively lead and responsibly administer social justice organizations;
Students will have the ability to analyze language, images, and media;
Students will have the ability to communicate informatively and persuasively to diverse audiences in appropriate languages;
Students will have the ability to analyze situations according to different social, historical, political paradigms;
Students will have the ability to share responsibility, authority, information, knowledge, skills, and decision making in order to empower others and promote a sense of personal efficacy.

Attitudes

Students will be able to discern that different paradigms of knowledge lead to different conclusions about social policy;
Students will have a sensitivity to diversities of language and social groupings;
Students will understand that local issues may have global roots or consequences, just as global issues may have roots in local concerns;
Students will be aware of how to work in organizations that advocate for specific disadvantaged groups;
Students will be aware that language has the power to shape reality;
Students will understand that all life has value, even outside of the human context.

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Updated April 23, 2007