Social Change Courses @ Northeastern

Course Number: GAME 2755

Department: Game Design (GAME)

Analyzes games from a social justice perspective, encouraging students to consider issues of social stereotyping, normalization, exclusion, and inequity as they apply to games from all sectors of the industry. Discusses and analyzes games using a variety of social theories from a diverse set of fields, including gender studies, critical race theory, and LGBTQ studies. Provides a studio setting in which students have an opportunity to engage in critical making of playable experiences that are based upon and deeply integrate social justice theories in their design.

Course Number: WMNS/HIST/SOCL 2303

Department: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WMNS), History (HIST), and Sociology (SOCL)

Introduces the social, legal, and economic barriers to accessing reproductive healthcare domestically and internationally. Draws on various theoretical and analytic tools including critical race theory, critical legal theory, sociology of science, human rights, feminist theory, and a range of public health methods. Access to reproductive health services, including abortion, is one of the most contested political, social, cultural, and religious issues today. Covers domestic, regional, and international legal and regulatory frameworks on sexual reproductive health. HIST 2303, SOCL 2303, and WMNS 2303 are cross-listed.

Course Number: WMNS/CRIM 3110

Department: Criminology (CRIM) and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WMNS)

Examines the topics of femininities and masculinities and their influence on participants in the criminal justice system. Also explores topics such as gender and criminological theory; the notion of gender and offending; women and men as victims of violence; and women and men as professionals within the criminal justice system.

Course Number:WMNS 1225, AFAM 1225, HIST 1225

Department: Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WMNS), African American Studies (AFAM), and History (HIST)

Examines the basic tenets of “scientific objectivity” and foundational scientific ideas about race, sex, and gender and what these have meant for marginalized groups in society, particularly when they seek medical care. Introduces feminist science theories ranging from linguistic metaphors of the immune system, to the medicalization of race, to critiques of the sexual binary. Emphasizes contemporary as well as historical moments to trace the evolution of “scientific truth” and its impact on the U.S. cultural landscape. Offers students an opportunity to develop the skills to critically question what they “know” about science and the scientific process and revisit their disciplinary training as a site for critical analysis. AFAM 1225, HIST 1225, and WMNS 1225 are cross-listed.

Course Number: COMM 2303

Department: Communication Studies (COMM)

Focuses on theories of and approaches to the study of intercultural communication. Emphasizes the importance of being able to negotiate cultural differences and of understanding intercultural contact in societies and institutions. Stresses the benefits and complexities of cultural diversity in global, local, and organizational contexts.

Course Number: GST 6102

Department: Global Studies – CPS (GST)

Examines the social responsibilities of corporations and individuals in the global 21st century. Topics include outsourcing, offshoring, international labor laws, global environmental responsibility, global human rights, global citizenship, and sustainable development. Today’s global organizations understand that corporate social responsibility (CSR) must become central to their strategies in order to be truly sustainable. Explores the driving forces behind CSR, the ways that companies incorporate CSR into their growth strategies, and the risks of falling behind. Discusses how companies’ views of CSR have shifted from compliance and philanthropy to efficiency and growth opportunities. Focuses on the use of qualitative and quantitative methods in the analysis of current policies and practices of multinational corporations, nation-states, and international nongovernmental organizations.