Advocacy and Social Justice

As much as any prior generation, today’s students inherit serious local, national, and global challenges and crises (e.g., climate change, war, and poverty). The Advocacy and Social Justice (ASJ) program offers opportunities to “look deeply and see clearly” what’s happening and what’s at stake so that we can responsibly and ethically empower and (en)act. 

Social justice involves deep analysis of social problems and systemic inequalities and the collaborative building of fair, equitable alternatives. In “Theoretical Foundations for Social Justice Education,” Lee Anne Bell (2016, p. 3) explains that “[t]he goal of social justice is full and equitable participation of people from all social identity groups,” with special attention to historically marginalized persons and communities. Bell (2016, p. 3) discusses social justice as not only a goal but also a process, one that is “democratic and participatory, respectful of human diversity and group differences, and inclusive and affirming of human agency and capacity for working collaboratively with others to create change.” Together with students as well as campus and community partners, ASJ faculty serve as co-mentors. We provide a welcoming environment in which students facilitate the research, design, and delivery of social justice initiatives in the classroom, on campus, and in the community. These initiatives seek to analyze and redress social injustice at ALL levels: micro (individual), meso (one’s immediate spheres of influence, such as family, school, and workplace), and macro (public policy).