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Motivation to Teach Social Action:
As a sociologist of gender, immigration, family, and inequality, I want students not only to analyze how institutions reproduce unequal outcomes but also to learn how ordinary people can work collectively to change institutional rules, practices, and norms. My courses already emphasize public sociology, ethical community engagement, and the relationship between personal experiences and social structures. The Institute would help me build the practical architecture needed to move from analysis to action: guiding students as they identify a winnable issue, research decision-making structures, formulate concrete demands, build coalitions, select ethical strategies, and evaluate a campaign. I am especially drawn to a model in which students learn democracy by practicing it. I would use the Institute to develop a new course that devotes substantial time to student-led campaigns and that can be offered within the following 18 months. I also value the opportunity to join a community of faculty committed to experiential, justice-oriented teaching and to learn how to support student leadership while maintaining clear ethical boundaries and inclusive participation.
Course Description:
This course combines sociological analysis with experiential learning to examine how people create institutional change. Students will study power, inequality, social movements, community organizing, and the ethics of public engagement, with particular attention to gender, migration, family, work, and belonging. Working in small teams, students will identify a campus or community issue, listen to affected stakeholders, research the institution and its decision-making structure, select a specific and achievable demand, map allies and decision makers, and design and launch an ethical social action campaign. Approximately half of the course readings, assignments, and class meetings will support the campaigns. Students will document their decisions, assess the consequences of their strategies, and evaluate both outcomes and learning. The goal is not to prescribe a political position but to help students develop the democratic skills needed to investigate problems, work across differences, act collectively, and reflect responsibly on power and accountability.
Taught By:
Serra Kocak
Visiting Assistant Professor
Anthropology & Sociology
Lafayette College
Read profile here.