COURSE NUMBER:
COURSE TITLE:
SEMESTER AND YEAR:
TIMES:
INSTRUCTOR:
PHONE:
EMAIL
OFFICE HOURS:
SOWO 501
Confronting Oppression & Institutional Discrimination
Spring Semester 2013
Tuesdays, 9:00 – 11:50 a.m.
TTK Building, Room 102
Kathleen Rounds, PhD, MPH, MSW
TTK Building, Room 324J
919-962-6429
karounds@email.unc.edu
Tuesdays 12 – 2 pm and by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course examines institutionalized oppression and its implications for
social work practice at all levels, emphasizing the consequences of social inequality and the social worker’s
responsibilities to fight oppression.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: Upon completion of the course, students should be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of prejudice and the impact of discrimination on
individuals and groups, especially with regard to race, gender, disability, sexual identity, and
ethnicity.
2. Demonstrate knowledge of the historical and social forces that have worked for and against the
exclusion of groups of people from opportunities and services at the institutional, community, and
societal levels.
3. Demonstrate knowledge of the roles played by advocacy groups in minimizing barriers to
opportunities and services for populations who experience discrimination.
4. Identify and consider ways of addressing institutional discrimination as it appears in social welfare
policy and in the management and practice of human services.
5. Demonstrate an ability to apply social work values and ethics to practice with diverse populations.
6. Demonstrate knowledge of differential assessment and intervention skills needed to serve diverse
populations.
7. Demonstrate an understanding and appreciation of human diversity and family and community
strengths.
COURSE RATIONALE:
Evidence based practice is defined as the use of the best available evidence to make practice decisions. It
involves integrating the preferences of clients and one’s own accrued practice expertise with current
scientific information. Because “the evidence” is unlikely to ever be so robust as to fully inform practice
1
with the diversity of human kind, the evidence must always be interpreted and, in some cases, extrapolated.
It is in this crucial process that knowledge of the impact of discrimination and inequality on human behavior
becomes paramount.
The Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) stipulates that one of the ethical
principles that must guide social workers is that “Social workers challenge social injustice” (1999, p. 2).
Specifically, the Code directs social workers to “pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of
vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers’ social change efforts are
focused primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice”
(NASW, 1999, p. 2) These activities are anchored to one of the fundamental missions of the social work
profession, which is to “strive to end discrimination, oppression, poverty, and other forms of social
injustice” (NASW, 1999, p. 1). The intent of this course is to prepare students to fulfill their responsibilities
related to fighting injustice and oppression, as prescribed by the Code.
All social workers have a responsibility to meet the needs of diverse client systems in our society. In
addition to understanding clients systems’ rich heritage and contributions to society, social workers need to
understand the structures, systems, and policies that create and maintain oppression. This course serves as a
foundation for the understanding of the nature, character, and consequences of being excluded from many
available opportunities and services. It explores the implications and connections of discrimination for
oppressed groups, including racial and ethnic minorities, women, older persons, people with disabilities and
gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (GLBT) people. Members of these groups have been affected by
social, economic and legal biases and by institutional structures and social policies that maintain and
perpetuate oppression.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W., Castañeda, C. R., Hackman, H. W., Peters, M. L., & Zúñiga, X. (Eds.). (2010).
Readings for diversity and social justice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Carlton-LaNey, I. (2005). African Americans aging in the rural south: Stories of faith, family and
community. Durham, NC: Sourwood Press.
Additional readings will be posted on Sakai or available on the Internet or through UNC Libraries ejournals.
TEACHING METHODS AND EXPECTATIONS:
Teaching methods will include lecture and class discussion, as well as multimedia presentations, guest
speakers, and experiential activities. My perspective is that we all have much to learn from one another.
Full participation is essential to your learning process in the class, and will allow you to successfully apply
the course material in a way that is personally and professionally meaningful.
The course will ask you to reflect on and discuss difficult and complex issues and material that may not
always be comfortable. We will develop a supportive learning environment, reflecting the values of the
social work profession. This requires listening to the ideas and views of others, attempting to understand and
appreciate a point of view which is different from your own, articulating clearly your point of view, and
2
linking experience to readings and assignments. Most importantly I will ask you to be curious about why
you think the way you do and why others think the way they do, ask genuine questions, explain your
reasoning and intent, and test your assumptions and inferences. During the first class session, we will
generate guidelines that will allow all of us to engage authentically, and to treat each other with respect,
compassion, and honor.
Attendance is critical to your learning, as well as to the atmosphere of inclusiveness and trust in the class. I
ask that you contact me, in advance, if you need to miss a class session due to illness or an emergency.
POLICIES ON THE USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES IN THE CLASSROOM:
I expect that we will all be invested in creating a learning environment of respect and engagement. Students
may use laptops in class for taking notes or completing small group tasks. However, I ask that you use them
only for relevant activities – not for checking email or surfing the Web. During class, cell phones and other
devices should be silenced.
ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
Students with disabilities or medical conditions that may impact their participation in the course and who
may need accommodations should contact the Department of Accessibility Resources and Services (919962-8300 or T-711 NC RELAY). Accessibility Resources and Services will notify the instructor regarding
recommended accommodations. Instructors cannot provide accommodations to a student without
communication from the Department of Accessibility Resources and Services, http://accessibility.unc.edu.
POLICY ON ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
“The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has had a student-led honor system for over 100 years.
Academic integrity is at the heart of Carolina and we all are responsible for upholding the ideals of honor
and integrity. The student-led Honor System is responsible for adjudicating any suspected violations of the
Honor Code and all suspected instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the honor system.
Information, including your responsibilities as a student is outlined in the Instrument of Student Judicial
Governance.” (From http://studentconduct.unc.edu/faculty/honor-syllabus.) The Honor Code can be found
in the Instrument of Student Judicial Governance (“Instrument”). Your full participation and observance of
the Honor Code is expected.
Academic dishonesty is contrary to the ethics of the social work profession, unfair to other students, and will
not be tolerated in any form. All written assignments should include the following signed pledge: “I have
neither given nor received unauthorized aid in preparing this written work.” In keeping with the UNC
Honor Code, if reason exists to believe that academic dishonesty has occurred, a referral will be made to the
Office of the Student Attorney General for investigation and further action as required. Please refer to the
APA Style Guide for information on attribution of quotes, plagiarism, and appropriate citation. The UNC
Writing Center provides clear guidelines regarding what does and does not constitute plagiarism.
3
POLICY ON INCOMPLETES AND LATE ASSIGNMENTS:
Late assignments are strongly discouraged, but may be accepted in some cases. All assignments are due at
the beginning of class on the day noted. You must contact me prior to a due date if you would like to
request an extension, or you will lose 10% of the assignment’s points per day (including weekends and the
date on which the assignment was due, if submitted after the beginning of class). Incompletes may be
granted if (a) there are extreme and unforeseeable circumstances that affect your ability to complete the
semester’s work, and (b) you meet with me in advance to develop a plan and timeline for completing your
work.
ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES:
All written assignments must be typed and follow APA format. Several writing resources are posted on the
SSW website. You can also refer to the APA Publication Manual (6th edition), and to a tutorial on APA
style at http://www.lib.unc.edu/instruct/citations/.
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTIONS:
Descriptions of the course assignments are below. Additional detail (for some) and scoring rubrics will be
posted under Assignments on Sakai.
Assignment 1 and 2: Personal Reflections
2 @ 5 points apiece, 10 points total
Due Feb 5 and Apr 2
These exercises encourage you to think through (in writing) your personal responses to course readings
and/or activities. Focus on any aspect of the readings or activities that strike you on a personal level. The
reflections should be 1-2 pages long (longer if you like, but not necessary), can be written in first person, and
do not need to use APA style.
You should begin with a brief reference to the reading(s) or activity on which you will be reflecting. For
example “This reflection focuses on my response to the classism activity,” or “This reflection focuses on the
Cycles of Oppression and Liberation described by Harro in the Adams text.” In writing your reflection, the
following questions may be helpful (don’t let these limit you, however; feel free to use them as needed to
jump start the reflection process):
□
□
□
□
In what way did this reading or activity strike a personal chord for you?
What is the nature of your reaction (positive? negative? ambivalent? confused? dissonant?) What
emotions did you experience?
Where or how do you see the content of the reading or activity playing out in your professional or
personal life (for example, field placement, interactions with friends or family, experiences here at
the school)?
How do your personal responses relate to your ongoing development as a social worker? What areas
of strength and/or potential growth can you identify?
Anything that you communicate will be held in confidence, and you will not be required to share anything
that you write with other class members.
4
Assignment 3: Community/Agency/School Meeting or Event Related to Social Justice
25 points
Due March 19
For this assignment, you will attend a community, agency, SSW, or UNC meeting or event related to
addressing oppression and promoting social justice. In 3-4 pages, describe the meeting or event, and using
class readings and discussions, analyze the meeting or event and your reactions. Detailed guidelines will be
posted on Sakai.
Assignment 4: Presentation on Alliance and Just Practice
25 points
Due April 9,16, or 23
This 30-40 minute presentation will be completed in teams of 4 students. You are free to use PowerPoint or
other media to communicate your message to the class. The following is a broad overview of what will be
asked of each team:
Identify a focus population. You are free to focus on a population of persons that we have discussed in class,
or to identify another group of interest to you. Then, using the scholarly literature as your foundation,
address the following questions:
1. How has this group been treated historically in our culture?
2. What assumptions, beliefs, attributions, or cultural dynamics appear to drive the oppression or
discrimination of this group?
3. What intersections of oppression might impact this group? Are there intersections that are
particularly prevalent?
4. What are examples of specific oppressive or discriminatory practices that this group has encountered
as they interact with various institutions? Please identify a minimum of three examples of
institutional oppression, supported by the scholarly literature. You may include social, economic,
educational, faith, social service, and health care institutions in your discussion, as well as any others
of relevance.
5. What advocacy efforts or groups have been developed in response to the oppression of your group?
Please identify a minimum of two examples of advocacy. In what ways have these groups been
effective? In what ways do they struggle to achieve their aims?
6. What are direct practice and macro-level implications for the social worker who works with
individuals from this population? What are 2-3 specific understandings that might impact your
interactions with members of this group? How can you work within what might be oppressive
institutional structures to provide responsive services? How can you work toward system change,
working with existing advocacy efforts or in other ways?
Slides should be formatted using APA style for citations and references. That is, you should provide
citations at the bottom of slides containing information from scholarly sources, and include a complete list of
references on the final slides, or as a handout. You do not need to make copies of your slides for the class,
BUT you should submit a copy to the instructor (either hard copy or electronic). A scoring rubric will be
posted on Sakai.
5
Assignment 5: Alliance and Just Practice Individual Paper
20 points
Due April 30
This 4-6 page paper is to be written on the same group that was the focus of your team’s project, above.
Based on (a) your emergent knowledge of how privilege and oppression have played out for you personally,
and (b) the scholarly research that you completed for the team presentation, you will reflect on your own
strengths, limitations, and areas for evolution in terms of future practice with this particular group.
GRADING SYSTEM:
Points will be assigned as follows:
Online course completion
Meaningful participation
Personal reflections (2 @ 5 points each)
10
10
10
Community/agency/school meeting paper
Alliance and just practice presentation
Alliance and just practice individual paper
25
25
20
100
Grades will be assigned as follows:
94 - 100
80 - 93
70 - 79
<70
H
P
L
F
6
COURSE OUTLINE
Date
Jan 15
Session 1
Jan 22
Session 2
Jan 29
Session 3
Feb 5
Session 4
Focus, Activities, Readings
Focus:
Introduction to Course and Each Other
Activity:
Small groups on “asking genuine questions” and “the invisible
knapsack”
Readings:
McIntosh, P. (1990). White privilege: Unpacking the invisible
knapsack. Independent School, 49(2), 31-35.
(Will be distributed and read in class)
Focus:
Guiding Concepts
Social construction of difference; intersections of oppression;
systems of oppression; cycles of oppression and liberation
Activity:
View Race: The Power of an Illusion Part 2
Readings:
Adams:
Section 1: Conceptual Framework (pp. 1-58)
National Association of Social Workers (2008). Code of Ethics.
Washington, DC: Author.
Focus:
Heritage Gallery and Reflection on Identity
Activity:
Please bring an expression of your heritage for display and
discussion. This can be an artifact, food, art form, clothing—
anything that expresses your identification with a particular aspect of
your heritage. (5 minutes max to present.)
Readings:
Tatum, B. D. (1997). The complexity of identity: “Who am I?” In
Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? (pp.
18-28). New York, NY: Basic Books.
Focus:
Classism and the Construction of Poverty and Privilege
Activity:
Intergroup dialogue on class and classism (led by Selz-Campbell)
Readings:
Adams:
Section 3: Classism (Introduction; Articles 26,31, 33, 35, 36, 37)
Optional: Article 136 on intergroup dialogue
Mantsios, G. (2009). Media magic: Making class invisible. In T. E.
Ore (Ed.), The social construction of difference & inequality (5th
ed., pp. 93-101). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
7
Due
Heritage
Gallery
object or
expression
1st
Reflection
Paper
Date
Feb 12
Session 5
Focus, Activities, Readings
Focus:
Implicit and Explicit Bias
Activity:
Guest speaker Professor Mimi Chapman; then meet at Ackland Art
Museum with Chris Currie.
Readings:
Project Implicit. Go to Project Implicit website, explore the website,
and take one of the IATs. ProjectImplicit.org
Blair, I.V., Steiner, J. F., & Havranek, E. P. (2011). Unconscious
(implicit) bias and health disparities: Where do we go
from here? The Permanente Journal, 15(2), 71–78.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3140753/
Dovidio, J., & Fiske, S. T. (2012). Under the radar: How
unexamined biases in decision-making processes in clinical
interactions can contribute to health care disparities.
American Journal of Public Health, 102(5), 945-952.
doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300601
Optional:
Nosek, B. A., & Riskind, R. G. (2012). Policy implications of
implicit social cognition. Social Issues and Policy Review,
6(1), 113-147. doi:10.1111/j.1751-2409.2011.01037.x
Feb 19
Session 6
Focus:
Racism and Institutional Oppression
Activity:
View Race: The Power of an Illusion Part 3
Readings:
Adams:
Section 2: Racism (Introduction; Articles 10, 11, 14, 15)
Jost, M., Whitfield, E., & Jost, M. (2005). When the rules are fair,
but the game isn’t. Multicultural Education, 13(1), 14-21.
North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs. (2008). North
Carolina’s First People. Raleigh, NC: Author.
School of Government, UNC-CH (2009). Immigration impacts on
North Carolina.
http://sogpubs.unc.edu/electronicversions/pg/pgsps
m09/article2.pdf
8
Due
Date
Feb 26
Session 7
Focus, Activities, Readings
Focus:
Activity:
March 5
Session 8
Due
Racism and Institutional Oppression:
Focus on the Criminal Justice System
View and discuss Murder on a Sunday Morning (Jean-Xavier de
Lestrade)
Readings:
Lawrence, K. O. (Ed.). (2011). Race, crime, and punishment:
Breaking the connection in America. Washington, DC: The
Aspen Institute. (We will read sections of this.) Retrieved at
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/docs/pub
s/Race-Crime-Punishment.pdf
Focus:
Sexism
Activity:
TBD
Readings:
Adams:
Section 5: Sexism (Introduction; Articles 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 68,
75, 76)
Fiske, S. T., & Krieger, L. (2013). Policy implications of
unexamined discrimination: Gender bias in employment as a
case study. In E. Shafir (Ed.), The behavioral foundations of
public policy (pp. 52-76). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press.
Mar 12
Mar 19
Session 9
** Happy Spring Break!! **
Focus:
Oppression of Persons with Disabilities
Activity:
TBD
Readings:
Adams:
Section 8: Ableism (Introduction; Articles 96, 99, 100, 110,
114)
Saporito, J., Ryan, C., & Teachman, B. A. (2011). Reducing stigma
toward seeking mental health treatment among adolescents.
Stigma Research and Action, 2(1), 9-21.
doi:10.5463/SRA.v1i1.2 (Go to www.stigmaj.org for this
article.)
Mar 26
Session 10
Focus:
Religious Oppression
Activity:
TBD
Readings:
Adams:
Section 4: Religious Oppression (Introduction; Articles 44, 45,
46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58)
9
Community/
Agency
Meeting Paper
Date
April 2
Session 11
Focus, Activities, Readings
Due
2rd Personal
Reflection
Focus:
Heterosexism
Activity:
View Daddy and Papa
Readings:
Adams:
Section 6: Heterosexism (Introduction; Articles 78, 79, 81, 83,
84, 86)
Section 7: Transgender Oppression (Introduction; Articles 87,
91, 93)
Readings to be assigned regarding the Supreme Court hearings on
same-sex marriage
April 9
Session 12
Group 1
presents
Focus:
Ageism
Activity:
TBD
Readings:
Adams:
Section 9: Ageism and Adultism (Introduction; Articles 116,
117, 118, 120, 122, 124, 125, 127)
Carlton-LaNey, I. (2005). African Americans aging in the rural
south: Stories of faith, family, and community. Durham, NC:
Sourwood Press.
(Read Chapter 1. Remaining chapters will be divided
among class members.)
North, M. S., & Fiske, S. T. (2013). Subtyping ageism:
Policy issues in succession and consumption. Social
Issues and Policy Review, 7, 36–57. doi:10.1111/j.17512409.2012.01042.x
Apr 16
Session 13
Focus:
Alliance and Just Practice
Activity:
Alliance and Just Practice Presentations
Readings:
Adams:
Section 10: Working for Social Justice (Articles 129, 130, 131,
135)
Goodman, L. A., Litwin, A., Bohlig, A., Walker, J., White, L., &
Ryan, N. (2007). Feminist theory to community practice: A
multilevel empowerment intervention for low- income women
with depression. In E. Aldarondo (Ed.), Advancing social justice
through clinical practice (pp. 265-290). Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
10
Groups 2 and
3 present
Date
Apr 23
Session 14
Focus, Activities, Readings
Focus:
Alliance and Just Practice
Activity:
Alliance and Just Practice Presentations
Summative Discussion and Course Evaluation
Due
Groups 4 and
5 present
Alliance and
Just Practice
Paper
April 29
Websites of interest:
Aspen Institute Roundtable on Community Change Structural Racism and Community Building:
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/community-change
Center for Assessment and Policy Development:
www.racialequitytools.org,
www.evaluationtoolsforracialequity.org
Center for Social Inclusion:
http://www.centerforsocialinclusion.org/
Everyday Democracy:
http://www.everyday-democracy.org/
The Frameworks Institute:
http://frameworksinstitute.org/
Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society:
http://diversity.berkeley.edu/haas-institute
National Association of City and County Health Organizations (NACCHO):
http://www.Rootsofhealthinequity.org
Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity:
http://racialequity.org/index.html
11