SW 140—Power to the People: Introduction to Organizing & Advocacy Strategies

This course focuses on the nuts and bolts of organizing and the strategies that inform advocacy with an emphasis on the roles social capital has on networking effectively across groups and systems. Because the skills and tasks of organizing and advocacy are predominately to catalyze and agitate for change, students will examine relevant policies and learn how to identify and map the distribution of power they promote particularly as they influence access to services and support in neighborhoods and communities. With an understanding of power and its impact on community capacity building, students will explore and engage in opportunities to apply cross-cultural communication in traditional media and public speaking. Likewise, they will examine and evaluate the impact these engagement activities and strategies have on access to services and support in neighborhoods and communities.