Builds on guiding theoretical and practice frameworks (including child rights, child and family welfare, child health, child protection, etc.) used currently, both nationally and by the international community in order to shape interventions to address the challenges that exist for children and youth, with a specific focus on protecting children working with families and communities. Deconstructs colonialist practices, Eurocentric perspectives, using anti-oppression frameworks and Indigenous ways of knowing. Encourages understanding of the community and cultural systems of support for children and families that exist in many ways parallel to the more formal systems of support. Guides students to explore and navigate important tensions (such as the tension between immediate and long-term care; universal and local values; autonomy and safety) through critical reflection and discourse and questions who frames the problem and what impact this has on children, youth, and families.
Category: Social Justice
CPWB502: Practice: Understanding, Assessing, and Promoting Children’s Wellbeing in Context Through Case Studies
Having developed a solid theoretical foundation of child wellbeing (inclusive of child and family welfare and child protection), explores the programmatic implications of guiding theories. Guides students to assess existing systems at the national and community level, with a lens to examine the impact on children’s wellbeing. This situates the child within broader ecological systems. Uses this deconstruction as a way to explore what reforming child protection systems might look like across different levels and contexts. Participates in critical discourse across multiple case studies.
CPWB504: Tools/Approaches for Change – Engaged Changemaking with Children, Youth, Families, Communities and Nations
Provides students the opportunity to understand and explore how to contribute to positive change in support of child wellbeing in a contextually appropriate and sustainable way for children, youth, families, communities, and nations. Facilitates engaged action-oriented change with children, youth, families, communities, and nations by drawing on leadership skills, systems mapping, and identifying levers of change. Considers different methodologies for research, monitoring, evaluation, learning, as well as programming skills (evidence, data, and decision-making); participatory, creative and play based approaches to engaging children and youth in navigating their way to wellbeing; and change and reform promoting approaches (problem-driven iterative adaptation and similar approaches, fostering institutional changes).
HUMS652: Adaptive Management for Complex Humanitarian Problems in the 21st Century
Examines leadership theory, research, and practices that support resilience and adaptive planning, addressing concerns related to ill-structured, complex, and inter-related problems, and working in a range of threat environments and contexts.
HUMS672: Public Images of Justice and Fairness
Evaluates a variety of evocative static and moving images of justice (broadly defined) throughout our social history in photos, videos, literature and other media. Draws on concepts of justice that transect theology, philosophy, sociology, criminal justice, the humanities and even popular culture to deconstruct various societal concepts of justice, fairness, culture, and communication.
JUST502: Foundations in Transdisciplinary Justice
Introduces students to the distinctions between multi and interdisciplinary conceptions of justice and transdisciplinary studies of justice. Traces the origins of transdisciplinary studies and examines the integration of natural and social sciences toward the development of holistic approaches to problems in justice. Provides a critique of current discipline-based approaches to the study of justice-related problems through the development of transdisciplinary models of justice within a democratic context.
JUST503: Current Issues in Justice
Identifies and applies theoretical and practical foundations for the identification of problems in justice studies and their solutions. Emphasizes the collaborative nature of knowledge generation and the growing interdependence among disciplines for the resolution of complex justice-related problems. Introduces individuals’ role as a bricoleur —a person who uses all available material—in the search for justice.
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JUST505: Case Studies in Transdisciplinary Justice
Compares approaches to understanding and addressing injustice through analysis of case studies representing real events. Bridges the theoretical and practical perspectives on justice. Draws on a range of changing topics gathered from current societal issues which may include Aboriginal rights, health, disability, housing, poverty, racism, gender inequality and environmental issues or other topics as appropriate.
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JUST504: Indigeneity and Justice
Examines the concept of justice from non-western, Indigenous perspectives and the development of indigenous perspectives for realizing justice. Includes an historical account of the treatment of Indigenous people, governmental interventions and social movements aimed at improving justice for Indigenous people. Refers to national and international agendas for resolution of long standing issues identified by the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
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JUST506: Transdisciplinary Approaches to Social Justice
Examines the underlying and historic constructs of, and approaches to, social justice. Explores the critical theories and work of key thinkers across a range of disciplines to unpack issues of power, poverty, equity and social injustice based on individual and collective characteristics (e.g. gender, race, power, ethnicity, socioeconomic standing, religion, or sexuality). Highlights social activism and social movements designed to affect social change, and asks students to reflect on their own impact and relationship to issues of social justice.
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