Social Change Courses @ Northeastern

Course Number: CLTR 3720

Department: Culture (CLTR)

Focuses on the construction, characteristics, and representation of poverty/the poor in Latin American texts from the thirties and sixties and in the works of contemporary Latin American writers and film directors. Discusses the relation of these works to a “realist tradition” by studying social, political, and cultural aspects of Latin America from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Considers whether we are facing a new kind of realism. Also engages the problem of representation, the “role of literature” (ethics and literature), and its relation with politics and the global economy (literature and the market) in the Latin American context. Taught in Spanish.

Course Number: INSH2101

Department: Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Sciences and Humanities (INSH)

Studies materials that define and describe love and hate from the fields of literature and literary criticism, social psychology, and criminology and criminal justice. “Love” and “hate” are small words describing powerful emotions with profound effects on individuals and on social groups. Focusing largely on contemporary examples, offers students an opportunity to analyze the differences and areas of overlap in the above fields’ approaches to love and hate, to discuss societal responses to these emotions, and to apply the methodologies of each field to research questions of their own. INSH 2101 and PSYC 2101 are cross-listed.

Course Number: NPM 6230

Department: Nonprofit Management – CPS (NPM)

Introduces students to global standards and practical tools for measuring the social impact of a nonprofit organization. Offers students an opportunity to learn how to plan and control for short-term outcomes and long-term goals and to understand how to connect the goals to quantifiable metrics that support a sustainable decision-making system. Students experience data analysis as a way to support the organization’s operations and mission and ultimately create social impact.

Course Number: MSCR 4602

Department: Media and Screen Studies (MSCR)

Introduces the role of the media in democratic societies. Explores a number of important questions, including what is democracy? What types of information do citizens of a democracy need in order to participate in the governance of their lives? In our increasingly digital world, where do political discussions happen? Are the media responsible for keeping the public informed? Who constitutes the “public”? Are we citizens? Consumers? Producers? Who decides? In order to address these questions, students have the opportunity to become conversant in a variety of modern and contemporary theoretical and critical perspectives on the relationship between the media, democracy, and what has come to be known as the public sphere. Prereq. (a) MSCR 3423, MSCR 3435, MSCR 3437, or permission of instructor and (b) junior or senior standing or permission of instructor.

Course Number: MSCR 1320

Department: Media and Screen Studies (MSCR)

Explores media’s role in movements for social, economic, and cultural change. Specifically examines how people use media technologies to organize themselves and communicate their message to wider audiences in order to achieve social change. As a way to develop and improve ethical reasoning, students are asked to think about the accountability of media institutions and actions of groups and individuals who use media technologies and tactics in the name of social change.

Course Number: POLS 4915

Department: Political Science (POLS)

Offers students an opportunity to participate in teams that research assigned nations and represent those nations in a model Arab League role-playing exercise. Students may be selected to represent Northeastern University at the regional or national Model Arab League conferences in Washington, D.C., and different states. May be repeated without limit.