Minor in Social Work

This course develops the person-in-environment framework used in social work practice. Using the theoretical lens of systems theory, the course focuses on a comprehensive examination of human behavior across time using a multidimensional framework. Students will explore both the predictable and unpredictable changes that can affect human behavior through all the major developmental stages of the life course, from conception to very late adulthood. Students will learn about the multiple factors that comprise diverse experiences throughout life, and how those factors influence the formation of identity. Factors that will be examined include age, class, color, culture, disability and ability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, marital status, political ideology, race, religion/spirituality, sexual orientation, and tribal sovereign status.

This course helps students develop a framework for understanding social problems and social welfare policies so they may function as informed and competent practitioners in providing social services, and as committed participants in efforts to achieve change in social policies and programs. The course examines the current structure of social welfare programs in the United States, their historical evolution, and the role ideological, political, economic, and social forces have played in the development of the social welfare system and its present character. In particular, the course examines the ways in which discrimination and oppression have affected the structure of social welfare policies and the impact of those policies on the poor, minorities, women, the disabled, and other populations-at-risk. To facilitate understanding of the social welfare system, students will learn approaches to social policy analysis. The course explores the political process in the United States and how involvement in this process can advance the goals of the profession of social work. The historical development of the profession of social work and its role within the social welfare system is another focus of study. Students will examine the values and ethics of the profession, such as self-determination and respect for individuals and human diversity, in the context of the development and implementation of social policy. The course looks at how social policy and the institutions that implement that policy can be made more responsive to the needs of people.

This course is designed to provide an introduction to the prevalence and impact of trauma on both our clients (individuals, families and communities) and on the helping professionals who are serving those coping with trauma. The coursework presented will enhance the skills and knowledge base of all students of health and mental health professions and will be particularly useful to students interested in working directly with survivors of trauma. The impact of trauma is surrounded by a complex set of issues and topics that will be addressed such as survivors of domestic violence, veterans, individuals struggling with addictions, individuals with life-threatening illness/injury, survivors of abuse and neglect, and other vulnerable populations. There will be a particular emphasis on strengths, resiliency, coping, multicultural issues, and systems factors. This course also introduces beginning skills of helping individuals, families and groups within a trauma-informed framework. Grounded in the values and ethics of the profession, students learn the application and evaluation of direct practice skills used in the initial phase of helping. Finally, students will evaluate the secondary stresses connected with a helping profession.

This course examines the role of family, church and other social institutions in our experiences with death and dying. The student will study current theories and practices related to death and dying from the standpoint of developmental and learning theory, and social and cultural attitudes and practices. Theories regarding grief and loss are included. The student will learn social work intervention skills and methods for working with the dying and survivors.