Courses of Study:
Minor
Program website: http://www.brandeis.edu/programs/interdepartmental/sjsp/

Objectives

Concepts of justice play a profound role in clarifying human needs for health and well-being. Such basic social problems as inequality, poverty, and discrimination pose a constant challenge to policies that serve the health and income needs of children, families, people with disabilities, and the elderly. The public response to such problems, in America and elsewhere, rests on contested definitions of social obligation and social citizenship. The Program in Social Justice and Social Policy examines these essential connections between social values and practical policies. It unites elements in liberal arts study to bridge the analytic gap between ends and means. It also brings together an unusually broad spectrum of faculty and curriculum--combining the academic perspectives of Arts and Sciences departments with professional expertise from The Heller Graduate School. Students are encouraged to explore policy areas in concrete detail, focused variously on particular groups (children, the elderly, people with disabilities) or particular services (health care, income support). Students can also select courses that deal thematically with problems of social equity (poverty, discrimination), as well as courses that approach social justice from historical, philosophical, and comparative perspectives. Key elements of the program include a foundation course, a capstone course, and a research-based internship in a social policy setting.

The concern with social justice speaks to the core educational commitments of Brandeis University. This program does not seek to promote a particular ideological agenda, but rather to spark creative thinking about complex social problems. It carries the search for norms and principles into the wider arena of practical experience. By providing models for critical reflection, it challenges students to articulate their own value commitments in a spirit of constructive debate.

How to Become a Program Member (Minor)

The Program in Social Justice and Social Policy (SJSP) is open to all Brandeis undergraduates. Students may begin the minor at any time, but are encouraged to complete the foundation course within the first two years of study. To enroll in the minor, fill out the declaration forms from the Office of Undergraduate Academic Affairs and meet first with one of the members of the program committee. A minor advisor will then be assigned by the director to help you plan your course of study, including the timing of the internship/independent research, and capstone requirements.

Committee

Robert Reich, Codirector
(Heller School)

George Ross, Codirector
(Politics and Sociology)

Richard Gaskins
(Legal and American Studies)

Marty Wyngaarden Krauss
(Heller School)

Requirements for the Minor

A. The foundation course SOC 123b (Crisis of the Welfare State). Normally this course will be taken within the first two years of study. It is strongly recommended as an introduction to the program, but is not a formal prerequisite for other courses.

B. Students must complete any three elective courses from those listed below. Electives are grouped into topical fields, but students may choose courses from any group. No more than two electives from The Heller School or from any single department may be counted toward program requirements.

C. Either (1) internship, arranged through the program office and the correlative seminar SJSP 92a or 92b; or (2) an independent research course (SJSP 98a or 98b), directed by a member of the program committee, or by another faculty member with the approval of the program director.

D. The capstone seminar POL 159a (Politics of the Modern Welfare State). Normally this course will be taken in the final year of study.

E. No more than two courses may be double-counted for this minor and for a particular major.

Courses of Instruction

SJSP 92a and b Social Justice and Social Policy Internship and Seminar
Prerequisite: SOC 123b, or permission of the instructor. Signature of the program director required.
Biweekly seminar and supervised internship in a public agency or nonprofit organization. Time commitments depend on the site, up to a maximum of two days per week. In cooperation with the Brandeis faculty advisor and the internship site supervisor, students will complete an individual research project. Internships must be arranged through the program administrator. Usually offered every year.
Staff

SJSP 98a and b Social Justice and Social Policy Independent Research
Prerequisite: SOC 123b or permission of the program director. Signature of the program director required.
Guided readings and research on an independent topic that builds upon and integrates the particular course work completed in the SJSP Program. Research may be directed by a member of the program committee, or by another faculty member with the approval of the program director. Usually offered every semester.
Staff

Core Courses

Electives

Aging and Disability Policy

SOC 177b
Aging in Society

SOC 192b
Sociology of Disability

HIST 163a
Socialism and Communism in American History

HS 300a
Theory and Analysis of Social Policy

Dynamics of Discrimination and Inequality

HS 110a
Paradox of Wealth and Poverty

HS 528a
Law and Society: Race and Class

LGLS 120a
Sex Discrimination and the Law

Family and Child Policy

Health Care Policy

LGLS 114a
American Health Care: Law and Policy

SOC 190b
Caring in the Health Care System

SOC 191a
Health, Community, and Society

AMST 188b
Justice Brandeis and Progressive Jurisprudence

HIST 187b
Social Politics in the Progressive Era