Module Sample

Foundations of Social Justice

Week 1 | Online, Asynchronous

Module Overview

This module introduces students to foundational concepts of social justice and establishes a shared analytical language for understanding power, inequality, and structural oppression in the United States. Students will examine how social justice frameworks emerge from lived experience, and social movement. This module lays the groundwork for applying frameworks throughout the course.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, students will be able to:

Define social justice and distinguish it from equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Identify key U.S.-based systems of power, including race, class, gender, and state institutions.

Explain why social justice frameworks are necessary for analyzing structural inequality.

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Required Materials

Readings (Uploaded on Sakai)

Audre Lorde. “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference.” In Sister Outsider, 114–123. Berkeley, CA: Crossing Press, 1984.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor. “Introduction.” In From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, 1–18. Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2016.

Media

Instructor video lecture: What Is Social Justice? (12 minutes)

Short explainer video: Power, Institutions, and Inequality in the U.S. (8 minutes)

Module Content

Topic 1: Defining Social Justice in the U.S. Context

Social justice vs. charity and reform

Justice as collective and structural change

Topic 2: Why Frameworks Matter

Frameworks as tools for analysis and accountability

Movement-based knowledge and theory

Assignments

Knowledge Check (Ungraded)

10-question quiz on key concepts and vocabulary

Discussion Board (Required)

Prompt:

How do Audre Lorde and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor define and challenge power differently? Identify one concept from each author and explain how it helps us understand social justice as a structural issue rather than an individual one.

Requirements:

Initial post: 250–300 words

One peer response: 150 words

Reflection Journal #1 (5%)

Length: 300 words

Task: Using Lorde and Taylor, explain why social justice requires structural analysis rather than individual intention alone.

Due: Sunday at 11:59 PM

Accessibility & Support

Students may request accommodations or deadline flexibility as needed.

Looking Ahead

Module 2 will introduce Intersectionality and Identity, building from these U.S.-based foundations to explore overlapping systems of power.