Course Outline Format - School of Social Work - University of British ...

The University of British Columbia
School of Social Work
Course Outline – SOWK550(004)
School Vision: Building upon a foundation of social justice and an ethic of care, we are
a community of learners actively engaged in the development of critical, transformative
knowledge for social work practice.
Year/Term 2012-13 Term 1
Course Title
Course Schedule Wed. 1400-1700
Course Location SOWK RM 326
Social Work and Social Justice
(In Social and International Development Settings)
Instructor Office Location Office Phone e-mail address
Frank Tester 241 or 022
2-2100 or 2-3447 frank.tester@ubc.ca
(workroom)
Office Hours By appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This is a graduate course designed to familiarize students with concepts of social justice and their
expression in human rights. The course helps students locate themselves in relation to principles of
social justice. Students will develop a practice framework that considers human rights and the
ethics, values and principles guiding social work and other forms of development practice.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will:
locate themselves politically and philosophically as persons working with an orientation to
social justice in mind;
learn about social justice in historical, theoretical and practice contexts by exploring theories
of human rights and social development;
patterns of power and privilege and the accessibility these deny or afford to those seeking
social justice and socioeconomic opportunities;
reflect upon ways in which cultural assumptions, beliefs, and value systems enhance or
hinder practice with people of diverse backgrounds;
become familiar with key texts that affect human rights internationally and in a variety of
practice settings;
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SOWK550(004) 2012-2013
become familiar with the concept of restorative justice and with the practice of administrative
fairness.
COURSE STRUCTURE:
This course will be delivered in a combination of lectures, seminars, films, workshop and small
group format.
Students are expected to attend regularly and to come prepared to participate. While no grade is
given for participation, the instructor may deduct up to 10% from your final grade if you have not
attended or participated in class.
Students must complete required readings prior to class. Different opinions, analyses and
experiences in relation to the material dealt with in class will be dealt with in a respectful manner.
There is an expectation that students will complete a one page reflective journal entry each week.
REQUIRED COURSE TEXTS:
Ball, Olivia and Paul Gready, 2006, The No-Nonsense Guide to Human Rights. Toronto:
New Internationalist Publications.
Curry-Stevens, Ann, 2003, Methods, Models and Materials for Anti-Oppression and Social
Justice Workshops. Toronto: Centre for Social Justice (on-line. Available at
http://www.socialjustice.org)
Reading Package (available from the UBC Bookstore)
RECOMMENDED TEXT
Ife, Jim, 2008, Human Rights and Social Work: Towards Rights-Based Practice.
Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press. (I strongly recommend this book as
one that will guide you through issues we will deal with in terms of other readings found in
the reading package. We will also deal with some of the content in the last class).
SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS:
Please make extensive use of the very many resources to be found in the UBC library and
the many texts (books, journals and reports) that are on-line.
There are far too many potential supplementary readings and other materials to present a
list here that would, necessarily, make sense. If you are interested in material that might
compliment or supplement your interests, talk to me and I will do my best to point you in a
possible direction.
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COURSE POLICIES [attendance, participation, academic dishonesty]:
SOWK550(004) 2012-2013
Excerpt from the UBC calendar:
Regular attendance is expected of students in all their classes (including lectures, laboratories, tutorials, seminars, etc.).
Students who neglect their academic work and assignments may be excluded from the final examinations. Students who
are unavoidably absent because of illness or disability should report to their instructors on return to classes.
The University accommodates students with disabilities who have registered with the Disability Resource Centre. The
University accommodates students whose religious obligations conflict with attendance, submitting assignments, or
completing scheduled tests and examinations. Please let your instructor know in advance, preferably in the first week of
class, if you will require any accommodation on these grounds. Students who plan to be absent for varsity athletics,
family obligations, or other similar commitments, cannot assume they will be accommodated, and should discuss their
commitments with the instructor before the drop date.
It is recommended that students retain a copy of all submitted assignments (in case of loss) and should also retain all
their marked assignments in case they wish to apply for a Review of Assigned Standing. Students have the right to view
their marked examinations with their instructor, providing they apply to do so within a month of receiving their final
grades. This review is for pedagogic purposes. The examination remains the property of the university.
Academic Dishonesty:
Please review the UBC Calendar “Academic regulations” for the university policy on cheating, plagiarism, and other forms
of academic dishonesty. Also visit www.arts.ubc.ca and go to the students’ section for useful information on avoiding
plagiarism and on correct documentation.
____________________________________________________________________________________________
ASSIGNMENTS
(1) Journal (30%)
Keep a journal. Each week, make the minimum of a one page entry. Your journal should be a
response to the readings and materials dealt with each week. In some cases, you will be able to do
this before the class. It will be a response to (reflections upon, reactions to, etc.) the readings for
that week. In other cases – especially where we are viewing a film in class or have a guest – you
may choose to do your entry ‘after the fact’.
I am not looking for anything formal. What I would appreciate are candid and ‘off the cuff’ responses
to what you have read. I am quite accepting of things like ‘Yike! Verbage beyond description!! (could
have said that in two sentences!!!)’ or ‘boorrrring! Fell asleep after 2 pages!’, or ‘Humm – that got
me thinking about stuff I’ve never heard before.’ Etc. In other words, make it real. Make reference
to the pages to which you are referring (where appropriate).
Hand in the journal during the last class (which means you won’t have to comment on the last
class). I realize that grading journals is very subjective. I will be looking for (a) ‘genuineness’ of
responses to the material; (b) evidence of critical thinking – things that you appreciated or
didn’t find useful, relevant or expressed very well; (c) evidence that the reading was done
(And I don’t necessarily mean all of it all the time. I just want to evidence that you made a valiant
effort; which means that the context (what came before and after anything you comment on is
usually relevant.)
(2) Presentation on a Human Rights/Social Justice Declaration/Covenant/Bill (45%)
Choose a document from the list on page 93 of Olivia Ball and Paul Gready, The No-
Nonsense Guide to Human Rights. To this list is to be added, the United Nations Declaration on
Human Rights (1948), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (2007),
and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982).
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SOWK550(004) 2012-2013
Your job is (a) to introduce the class to the content of the document in question. You may use power
point or any other means you deem appropriate for doing so. Given time constraints, this is an
exercise in summarizing the main purpose and points of the document. (b) Deal with the text in a
Canadian context. How has it been applied Choose a case or incident in which you are interested,
where the document in question has been used or referred to in dealing with a human rights/social
justice issue in Canada. (c) What are the strengths, weaknesses of the document in question, as
revealed by the case you have chosen (d) In doing this, involve and engage the class in working
with the material chosen for your presentation, using popular education techniques and approaches.
In this regard, the references found in the on-line text, Curry-Stevens, Ann, 2003, Methods, Models
and Materials for Anti-Oppression and Social Justice Workshops. Toronto: Centre for Social Justice
(on-line. Available at http://www.socialjustice.org), will be useful. Think in terms of games, exercises,
challenges, scenarios – a wide range of tools and devices to actively engage other students in
discovering the material with which you are familiar. Think of yourself as an instructor working with
social workers in an agency setting or at an NGO-sponsored workshop where you are introducing
people to the material. Time management is important. You have 1 hour and 20 minutes for your
presentation.
(3) Scholarly Response (25%)
The editors of the Journal of Social Justice and Public Affairs (fictitious) have invited you to respond
to newspaper reports on a matter of social justice/human rights that has been topical (in the
news) for the past three months. [Normally, the editor would invite you to respond to a particular
matter of interest to the journal and its readers, but being the good-hearted soul that he is, he has
decided to let you choose the issue that interests you most.]
Your article will be published in the “Current Affairs” section of the Journal. It need not be long. It is
not to be a full article (those appear in the refereed papers section). It has to fit within the word limit
specified for brief articles in this section of the Journal (not more than 2000 words – although it can
even be less!) Quality is more important than quantity when it comes to these things.
Write your short article, commenting on or reacting to press coverage of a human rights/social
justice issue of your choice. You might choose the way one publication (the Vancouver Sun or the
Manchester Guardian or the New York Times or Georgia Strait or …) has covered something or you
might do your piece on the way a number of publications have handled the topic, or you might chose
to focus on the way a particular columnist has covered things (look out Margaret Wente!). Your call.
But remember, this is a scholarly journal, so your response should be backed up by some
reference to the literature. Proper referencing is required (Chicago style or APA). I say “some
reference” because we don’t want a lengthy bibliography associated with this piece. No more than 6
or 7 references.
Our editorial panel will review your submission and get back to you (with a grade!). Due the last
class.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1: Sept. 5
Graduate student orientation to the School’s organizing theme: social justice. All students must
attend the two-day orientation, Sept. 4 and 5.
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SOWK550(004) 2012-2013
Week 2: Sept. 12
Introduction(s)
Warm-up exercise (Who are we Getting in touch with your potato!)
Film: The Bottom Line: Privatizing the World. What are the social justice issues raised by the
film
Resource: Curry-Stevens, Ann, 2003, Methods, Models and Materials for Anti-Oppression and
Social Justice Workshops. Toronto: Centre for Social Justice (on-line. Available at
http://www.socialjustice.org
Week 3: Sept. 19
What is Social Justice Readings (Available on-line through UBC Library)
Solas, John. 2008. Social Work and Social Justice: What Are We Fighting For Australian
Social Work. Vol. 61:2, 124–136.
Ife, Jim. 2008. Comment on John Solas What are We Fighting For Australian Social Work. Vol.
61:2, 137–140.
Hugman, Richard. 2008. Social Work Values: Equity or Equality A Response to Solas.
Australian Social Work. Vol. 61:2, 141-145.
Solas, John. 2008. Is Equity Just Enough for Social Work A Response to Those Who Think it
is! Vol. 61. # 2, 146-149.
Solas, John. 2008. What kind of social justice does social work seek International Social Work,
Nov. 2008; vol. 51: pp. 813 - 822. `
Ife, Jim, 2008, Human Rights and Social Work: Towards Rights-based Practice (2 nd edition),
Cambridge, New York, Cambridge University Press, (Chapter 1, Human Rights in a Globalized
World, and Chapter 2, Human Rights: Beyond Traditional Formulations).
Gregory, Derek, et al, 2009. ‘Social Justice’ Dictionary of Human Geography, London: Wiley-
Blackwell (p.713). Available at:
http://walk2geographies.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/gregory-etal_dictionary_human_geography_2009.pdfber 14, 2011.
Fraser, Nancy, 2011. Reflection: Interview by Amrita Chhachhi. Development and Change, Vol.
42:1, 297-314. (Available from UBC Library on-line).
In reading these articles, compare and contrast the definition provided by Gregory and the intense
discussion Chhachhi has with Fraser (a Marxist and a feminist) with the concerns of Solas, Ife and
Hugman, focused on the image of the profession in relation to the question of social justice. Who
has the most compelling structural analysis and why
Week 4: Sept. 26
A Little History: (or what have we (not) learned) Readings
Ball, Olivia and Paul Gready, 2006, The Non-Nonsense Guide to Human Rights, Toronto, New
Internationalist Publications. Chapters 1 (A Powerful Idea) & 2 (Different Rights Make a Whole).
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SOWK550(004) 2012-2013
Ishay, Micheline R., 2004. The History of Human Rights: From Ancient Times to the Globalization
Era. Berkeley, University of California Press. Chapters 1 (Early Ethical Contributions to Human
Rights) & 3 (Human Rights and the Industrial Age: The development of a socialist perspective on
human rights). (reading package)
Gavigan, Shelly A. M., More Than Just Mens Rea: Indian Policy in Two Aboriginal Capital Cases
from Regina, NWT, in Margaret E. Beare, 2008, Honouring Social Justice, Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 108-127. (reading package)
Burstein, Paul, Sentencing Acts of Disobedience: Separating Villains and Heroes, in Margaret E.
Beare, 2008, Honouring Social Justice, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 374-393 (reading
package).
The history of social justice and human rights is long, complicated and fascinating. There are no end
of historical legal cases that illustrate the application (or non-application) of human rights principles
to outcomes and the history of developments of initiatives at the level of the United Nations (and
especially the work of Eleanor Roosevelt) is a course in itself. These reading can only `wet your
appetite.
Week 4: Oct. 3
Human Rights in Practice Readings
Ball, Olivia and Paul Gready, 2006, The Non-Nonsense Guide to Human Rights, Toronto, New
Internationalist Publications. Chapter 3 (Rights in war and armed conflict) and Chapter 4 (Law and
what it`s good for).
Refugee health reforms assailed, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Vol. 184:10, E511-E512,
July 10, 2012. (reading package)
Walker, Julian, 2011, Government of Canada Responsibilities for Domestic and International Human
Rights, Ottawa, Library of Parliament, Publication No. 2011-78-E, 15 Sept., 2011. (reading
package)
http://www.amnesty.ca For the last two hours of the class, we will be joined by Toshio Rahman of
Amnesty International, Vancouver office. Toshio will, after a brief introduction to Amnesty, talk to us
about human rights in Canada and refugees. Please wander around the site for Amnesty
International and pay some attention to current activities in Canada.
Week 5: Oct. 10
Structural Violence, Post-Modernism, Diversity and Human Rights
One of the most important issues in the future of modern human rights is the debate between the
idea of universal human rights (which gets one into debates about essentialism) and cultural, etc.,
diversity (respect for diversity). The latter is a post-modern response to what some theorists would
call “the tyranny of grand theory”.
Social work has, in general, been quick to embrace ‘respect for diversity’, informed by a
questionable logic (and embrace of post-modern assumptions) that, I argue, run through social
work’s articulation of ‘anti-oppressive practice’. How does this logic stand up to the idea of universal
human rights Have social workers (many of them) overlooked something What theoretical
assumptions underlie an unbridled ‘respect for diversity’ and what might be the implications. Are
there limits to ‘respect for diversity’ and if so, what are they Who determines this in a world where
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SOWK550(004) 2012-2013
different truths are supposed to get equal respect (or is it only some truths – determined by who –
that apply). We will use two chapters from a book written by David Harvey, a well-known Marxist
geographer as the basis for discussion.
Readings
Harvey, David, 1996. Justice, Nature and the Geography of Difference, London, Blackwell
Publishing. (Chapter 12, Class Relations, Social Justice and the Political Geography of Difference,
and Chapter 13, The Environment of Justice) (reading package)
Tester, Frank J. 2007, Structural Violence, Social Suffering and Human Rights, Keynote address to
the ‘Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Health Disparities, Structural Violence and Social Suffering
Workshop’, Peter Wall Centre for Advanced Studies, University of British Columbia, May 4&5, 2007.
(reading package)
Week 6: Oct. 17
Restorative Justice Readings
Law Commission of Canada, 2003, Transforming Relationships Through Participatory Justice,
Ottawa: Government of Canada. Chapter 2, Participatory Justice in Criminal Law: Restorative
Justice. Available on-line at the UBC Library
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ubc/docDetail.actiondocID=10213355
National Film Board of Canada, Community Mediation: Two Real-Life Experiences, NFB
153C03303106
Green, Ross Gordon and Kearney, F. Healy, 2003, Tough on Kids: Rethinking Approaches to Youth
Justice, Saskatoon, Purich Publishing. Chapters 4 (Aboriginal Youth and the Justice System) and 7
(A Different Response: Restorative Justice). reading package.
In the first half of the class we will watch Community Mediation: Two Real-Life Experiences. In the
second half of the class, we will be joined by Professor Brenda Morrison of SFU’s Department of
Criminology and Centre for Restorative Justice.
Week 7: Oct. 24
Administrative Fairness
I am away this week. The class will be led by Bergen Amren. Bergen, a former employee of the
Provincial Ombudsperson’s Office, is a mediator, facilitator and consultant. The reading ‘Reflections
on Theory in Action’ contains suggestions for introducing students to issues of social class in
relation to administrative fairness. While you are currently students, the assumption is that you may
find yourselves, in the course of your careers, in the position of having to introduce employees or
others to the concepts of class in relation to administrative fairness. The paper deals with class
inequality, administrative fairness and ideas for teaching the importance of class considerations in
relation to the concept.
The second paper shows how these considerations play themselves out across both culture and
class. The focus is on money in Inuit youth culture and different understandings about what it is and
how it might be earned and used.
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SOWK550(004) 2012-2013
Readings
Oldfield, Kenneth, 2010, Reflections on Theory in Action: Using Critical Theory to Teach Public
Administration Students About Social Class Inequalities, Administrative Theory & Praxis, Vol. 32:3,
450-472. (available at UBC on-line)
Dutheil, April, Jordan Konek & Frank Tester, 2012, Unequal Exchange: Western economic logic and
Inuit/Qablunaat research relationships, paper presented at the International Polar Year Conference,
Montreal, PQ, April 22-27, 2012 (in press). (reading package)
BC Provincial Ombudsperson’s Annual Report, 2010-2011. Go to the Ombudsperson’s website (online).
The annual report provides summaries of cases dealt with by the ombudsperson’s office.
Using the table of contents, identify a case that interests you from the Ministry of Children and
Family Development, Health, Social Development, etc. Come to class prepared to present the case
for discussion.
Week 8, Oct. 31
Human Rights, Social Justice and Disability
Resource
Bonnie Sherr Klein, 2006, Shameless: The Art of Disability. The National Film Board of Canada.
This film raises many issues related to disability. Come prepared to be a movie critic. Take notes as
to what is positive about the film and what you find to be its weaknesses. Keep a list of the issues
that the film deals with.
Following the film we will have a discussion led by Daryl Rock. Daryl is a good friend of mine and
Chair of the Global Accessibility Initiative. He has worked with the Rick Hansen Foundation. Daryl
retired from the Federal Public Service in 2008 after working for the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council and other Departments concerned with research, development and Canadian
social policy.
Week 9, Nov. 7
Week 10, Nov. 14
Week 11, Nov. 21
These three weeks are set aside for student presentations (see assignments). Each student will
have half of the class (approximately 1 hour 20 minutes) to present on the human rights covenant,
charter, declaration, etc. of her or his choice. This schedule assumes that we have a maximum of 6
students and 6 presentations. If there are sufficient numbers in the class, we will go to group
presentations and/or use the last class (Nov. 28) for this purpose.
Week 12, Nov. 28
Putting Social Justice/Human Rights Into Practice (Readings)
Ife, Jim, 2008, Human Rights and Social Work: Towards Rights-Based Practice, Cambridge & New
York, Cambridge University Press. (Chapter 9, Constructing Human Rights for Social Work Practice,
Chapter 10, Achieving Human Rights Through Social Work Practice, and Chapter 11, Respecting
Human Rights in Social Work Practice).
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SOWK550(004) 2012-2013
Ball, Olivia and Paule Gready, 2006, The No-Nonsense Guide to Human Rights, Toronto, New
Internationalist Publications. Chapter 5, Other Ways of Securing Human Rights.
How realistic – plausible, feasible, do-able – are the ideas advanced in these chapters What are
the barriers to practicing this way, and what do we do when we encounter them
SUBMISSION AND GRADING OF ASSIGNMENTS
Submitting Assignments-
Students can use the drop box located next to office 116 to submit their assignments or any correspondence to
faculty, sessionals or staff. Items will be date-stamped and distributed to the appropriate mailbox throughout the
day.
Return of marked student assignments -
Instructors coordinate the return of marked assignments. The options are as follows: a) the instructor returns the
paper to students in class; b) if the paper has been submitted electronically, the instructor will mark it on-line (with
track changes) and return to the student on-line; c) the instructor returns the paper to the student by regular mail (the
student provides a self-stamped, addressed envelope to the instructor). Marked papers not returned by any of the
options above will be held by the instructor. Marked papers will no longer be put in a box outside the instructor’s
office or at the main office counter.
GRADING CRITERIA:
Letter
Grade
A+
A
A-
B+
B
B-
C+
C
C-
Percent
Range
90-100
85-89
80-84
76-79
72-75
68-71
64-67
60-63
55-59
Mid-
Point
95
87
82
77.5
83.5
69.5
65.5
62.5
57
Represents work of exceptional quality. Content, organization and style are all
at a high level. Student demonstrates excellent research and reference to
literature where appropriate. Also, student uses sound critical thinking, has
innovative ideas on the subject and shows personal engagement with the topic.
Represents work of good quality with no major weaknesses. Writing is clear
and explicit and topic coverage and comprehension is more than adequate.
Shows some degree of critical thinking and personal involvement in the work.
Good use of existing knowledge on the subject.
Adequate and average work. Shows fair comprehension of the subject, but has
some weaknesses in content, style and/or organization of the paper. Minimal
critical awareness or personal involvement in the work. Adequate use of
literature.
D 50-54 52 Minimally adequate work, barely at a passing level. Serious flaws in content,
organization and/or style. Poor comprehension of the subject, and minimal
involvement in the paper. Poor use of research and existing literature.
F 0-49 Failing work. Inadequate for successful completion of the course or submitted
beyond final date of acceptance for paper.
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