Arizona State University Debuts New Degree in Social Justice Activism
Arizona | July 6, 2021
Arizona State University (ASU) debuted a new undergraduate degree geared toward social justice activism, called community development. The course description describes education on the basics of activism, citing concepts like diversity, inclusivity, sustainability, equity, and social and environmental justice. If students enjoy studying community development, they may also earn a graduate degree in it.
“The BA program in community development equips students with tools to collaborate with, empower and educate diverse community constituents by drawing on grassroots and inclusive frameworks such as sustainable development, social and environmental justice, participatory democracy, social and economic equity and social accounting,” reads the course description.
ASU’s School of Community Resources and Development within the Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions offers the degree. In addition to requiring a second language, the degree also calls for basic college-level math.
School of Community Resources and Development Professor Mark Roseland explained in a press release that students would combine knowledge of sustainable development, social and environmental justice, participatory democracy, and communicating impact of various entities’ actions on society to make a “circular economy.” Roseland projected that the circular economy envisioned would be worth $2.7 trillion annually by 2050…
(Excerpts from the Virginia Star)