Social Justice Living Learning Community
Are you interested in majors like criminal justice, liberal studies, sociology, and psychology? Want to take a closer look at how power, oppression, and privilege operate in our society? If yes, the Social Justice community could be a great fit for you to explore these issues.
Residents of this community discover ethnic studies alongside a diverse group of students who value identity, knowledge, and empowerment. You will take classes with your roommates and neighbors and receive support from a faculty mentor, professional staff, and peer mentors.
The purpose of the Social Justice Living Learning Community (SJLLC) is to expose students to the field of Ethnic Studies and provide students the opportunity to engage with each other, faculty, and regional community.
Specific goals for Social Justice residents include:
- Learning about race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and nationality in the United States
- Understanding how power, oppression, and privilege operate in our society
- Getting involved with campus community to make a difference
- Becoming an agent of change
This is achieved through community benefits, such as:
- Engaging in community events that the Ethnic Studies program organizes. Previous events include: Indigenous Peoples Day, Day of the Dead, Black Power Matters, and Asian/Pacific Islander Month. The Ethnic Studies program also hosts events with a variety of activist, artists, and scholars that speak about social change in their lives and in society
- Participating in outings or experiences exclusively for SJLLC members, such as visiting San Francisco State University and UC Berkeley to learn about the activist movements that created Ethnic Studies there
- Support from a Peer Academic Leader (PAL) to help you navigate your overall college experience
- Living amidst a connected community of peers who value having an impact on society
As a Social Justice community member, you'll be enrolled in two Ethnic Studies courses: one in the fall and one in the spring. Your roommates and neighbors will be your classmates and you'll even have a faculty mentor to help you throughout the year.
Fall Semester
Ethnic Studies 2050: Intro to Ethnic Studies (3 units)
Satisfies General Education Requirement D2 and the Multicultural Requirement
Course introduces students to the origins, history, and contemporary themes of Ethnic Studies. The course highlights the struggles of historically underrepresented groups and the importance of student and community activism in creating social change.
Spring Semester
Ethnic Studies 2400: Contemporary Race & Ethnic Studies (3 units)
Satisfies General Education Requirement D2 and the Multicultural Requirement
The interdisciplinary lower division course focuses on contemporary contours of the field of Ethnic Studies in relation to oppression and power of underrepresented groups in contemporary US society. The class begins by exploring the socio-political context since the 1980s in California, the US, and beyond. This includes neoliberalism, culture/educational wars, mass incarceration, the defunding of public education, institutional/political racism, white supremacy, intersectionality, and controversial legislation. The course also examines contemporary dimensions of student activism and community protest movements of underrepresented populations through regional, national, and global perspectives. We conclude the class by studying contemporary developments, challenges, and opportunities that the field of Ethnic Studies encounters in current times.
To learn more about Ethnic Studies at Stan State, visit the Ethnic Studies department website.
For more information about the Social Justice Living Learning Community or to reserve your spot,
please contact Dr. Jessica Bettencourt Wojciechowski.
Updated: August 13, 2023