Did you know?
For many students, the commitment to justice in public life shapes their career path and their lives after Brandeis.
The Crossroads of Societal Needs and Individual Rights
At Brandeis, students learn not only to think critically about what justice is, they also learn how to bring justice to public life. They take advantage of opportunities outside the classroom to learn about and pursue a more just society.
The study of justice and public life at Brandeis means asking hard questions. What is justice? What does it mean to be unjust? How might different groups conceive of justice differently? It means asking these fundamental questions in the context of a variety of disciplines.
Studying justice and public life at Brandeis also means understanding how to bring justice into public life. How do democracies balance individual rights and liberties with concern for the general welfare? What makes a good citizen? How can we promote justice while respecting cultural differences? How do the ideals of justice weigh against the very real, and sometimes invisible, barriers that groups face in their quest for fairness, equality and political voice?
Students at Brandeis engage these issues through coursework in the history and contemporary politics of struggles for ethnic, racial and gender equality in the United States and abroad, and through their own research and research assistantships, sponsored by the senior honors programs of the departments and programs, the university’s interdisciplinary Research Circle on Democracy and Cultural Pluralism, and the many faculty members who make individual research assistantships available to undergraduates.
The focus on justice and public life at Brandeis is not limited to study and learning. It also opens opportunities for action. Taking knowledge from the classroom into the real world is a rich Brandeis tradition. Numerous Brandeis classes have actively partnered with community organizations, especially those representing historically excluding communities, including new immigrants, at risk youth, minorities, the elderly and the developmentally disabled.
Students at Brandeis engage in internships, volunteer opportunities and experiential learning programs. These real-world experiences allow our students to grapple with the very real challenges of bringing about a more just world and allow them to experience the great rewards of their efforts.