The Major

The title of my major is Social Change: Activism and Agency. I have created an individual major and capstone project that studies the interconnected nature of social work, education, non-profit work, and social activism, and how those fields can be combined to promote a more holistic view of social change. In addition, I believe that the subjects of political science and sociology/anthropology are essential to understanding the world we live in today. I have combined those methods of thought to discover what it means to be an effective and ethical activist, as well as what methods of activism (political protest, social work, education efforts) are right for me. I constructed a senior project based around the idea of storytelling through activism, and the ways in which activists at a nonprofit organization in Chicago were inspired to take on the steps of becoming active in their communities.

The main concepts of this major are as follows: 

  1. Learning what a just society looks like and how it can be achieved
  2. Recognizing the needs and privileges of different societies and why inequalities arise 
  3. Exploring the different forms of activism (non-profit work, educational justice, social work, public policy) and their implications

Final Major Document

Four Year Course Grid