Social Justice and Social Change Department

Our work in the Department of Social Justice and Social Change empowers students to become informed, active, and dynamic problem solvers. Students gain the knowledge to analyze current social issues and the practical skills to address them. Through a focused exploration of these issues, students will develop an understanding of how effecting social change can lead to a more just society.

Our curriculum is oriented such that students will connect deeply with both the empirical and the normative; they will engage with scholars and practitioners to understand not just what is– but also to consider what should be.

Opportunities for Nonmajors

Most upper-level courses require completion of SJSC 1100 - Social Justice and Social Change or SJSC 1110 - Society and Social Change. Many courses appeal to nonmajors either because of general interest or because of the way they intersect with other disciplines. For example, many students find our courses on gender, policy, medical sociology, race, and sexualities are a great fit for their majors in Political Science and Public Health.

Honors

Hamline has a chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, the international sociology honor society. The Betty Green Award is given annually to an outstanding social justice and social change major, and majors are eligible to apply for the Amy Russell Award and Carol Young Anderson Scholarship for deserving social science majors. Our program also supports a number of majors each year with a generous scholarship from the Bill and Kay Erickson Scholarship Endowment.

Community Internships

All students complete an internship as part of our Engaging Social Justice Course and are able to do so by working with their advisor to choose from a large variety of community organizations and social agencies operating in the Twin Cities. Students invest 10-12 hours per week at their internship site and study the latest issues in the field. This experience allows students to both further develop and apply their skills and knowledge associated with active citizenship in a just society.

While the internship program is not necessarily designed to find employment for students after graduation, many do find job opportunities with their internship agency or similar agencies. For many students, the internship provides a testing ground to determine their suitability for a particular profession. Recent students have worked in a variety of social service organizations, non-profits, and other social justice organizations and gone on to an impactful career in these fields after graduation from Hamline University.

Postgraduate Opportunities

As with most undergraduate degrees, a major in social justice and social change does not provide automatic access to any specific career. Most graduates from our program do some combination of three basic activities: teaching, research, and managing people or programs. What students can do with a BA in social justice and social change depends upon a combination of factors including the ever-changing job market and the student’s specific qualifications–courses, skills, work experience, and professional contacts. A major in social justice and social change provides good preparation for students going into many areas, including law, social work, and social policy planning.

Faculty

Ryan Jerome LeCount, associate professor, chair. BA 2003, Indiana University; MS 2006, Purdue University; PhD 2014 Purdue University. Racial Attitudes and Ideology; Political Attitudes and Ideology; Race and Policing; Racial Attitudes and Criminal Justice Policy and Practice; Firearm Attitudes and Policy Implication; Sociology of Religion; Inequality and Social Stratification Beliefs; Social Movements; Whiteness Studies.

Sharon E. Preves, professor. BA 1991, Hamline University; PhD 1999, University of Minnesota. Sociology of gender, the body, sexuality, medicine, social psychology. Author of Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self and Classic and Contemporary Perspectives in Social Psychology.

Programs

Social Justice and Social Change Major (BA)