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Social Justice Diploma Program

Putting social justice at the centre

In today’s global culture, economic disparities concentrate most of the world’s wealth under the control of a tiny fragment of humanity – and leave a billion and a half people destitute. Whether you are a community member or a student interested in concurrent diploma and degree studies, the University of Victoria’s Social Justice Diploma Program can help you understand – and change – the inequities inherent in the system.

This 18.0 unit credit program in social justice studies draws on coursework from the Faculties of Humanities, Social Sciences, Education and Human and Social Development to build your understanding of social justice issues, including:

• Economic disparities that concentrate most of the world’s wealth under the control of a tiny fragment of humanity, leaving a billion and a half people destitute
• Relations of dependency and isolation that keep many battered women in abusive relationships
• The ugliness of racism, not only as a learned pattern of attitude and action but as institutionalized practices that inferiorize those marked as racial minorities
• Media representations that position viewers as passive consumers, whose fulfillment lies in possessing just the right accessories to fit the ideal of affluence
• The lack of control that most working people have over the conditions, process and results of their labour
• The social vulnerability of refugees and migrant workers who are refused basic citizenship rights
• The declining quality of social services and the shrinking space for democratic discussion as corporate agendas come to displace the public good
• The derogation of sexual minorities who do not fit within heterosexist assumptions about "normality"
• The legacy of colonization that has left Indigenous peoples with few organizational means and resources to build sustainable communities and economies
• The ecological degradation and environmental injustice that stem from the priority given to short-term private profits over the health of the earth

In putting social justice at the centre of inquiry, social justice programs such as this:

• Create an interdisciplinary field of study
• Give attention to both the global and the local
• Place emphasis on theory as well as practice – understanding the world but also working to change it for the better
• Show concern with the practices that promote social justice and the conditions that perpetuate social injustice

Objective

The aim of this interdisciplinary Diploma program is to provide you with a thorough understanding of the range of ways in which scholars, researchers, community members and students address and engage with issues surrounding social inequities and injustices in the contemporary world. The program focuses on both theoretical issues and practical concerns in examining the conditions that perpetuate inequity and the approaches that promote social justice.

Completion Requirements

This program involves completion of 12 university credit courses (18 units) including:

• SJS 100 Introduction to Theories of Social Justice, SJS 200 Introduction to the Practice of Social Justice, and SJS 400A Seminar in Social Justice Studies (4.5 units). Normally, students complete SJS 100 first, but SJS 100 and SJS 200 may be taken in either order, or concurrently. SJS 100 and SJS 200 are interdisciplinary team-taught courses.
• Optional Practicum: SJS 400B Practicing Social Justice in the Field (1.5) or 1.5 units from the list of elective courses. The practicum will give you hands-on practical experience in civic and community engagement and involves a 50 hour placement along with weekly attendance in a concurrent on-campus course

Electives: 12 units selected from the list of elective courses:

• a minimum of 3 units must be selected from each of the two designated areas of Social Justice Studies: theory and method; substantive analysis
• no more than 3 units from any one department or school may be counted for credit towards the diploma.

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