Course Catalogue

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Students are grappling with many contemporary issues, from justice and economic inequality to discrimination and violence. They are keen to change the world in equitable, ethical and sustainable ways, and are educated to be "world changers." However, students are often unable to effect change in the real world and as a result, feel powerless and even cynical, largely because they are unequipped to do so both theoretically and practically. This course ameliorates this situation by equipping students with tools for engaging with the how, what and when of collective action and its drivers. On the theoretical side, the course interacts across disciplines, educating students in theories of collective action, conflict, mutuality and societal change and applying these interpretive tools to real-world cases. Framed by C4L's IDEA approach, it disrupts conventional learning by employing creative and experiential methods such as drama, deep/active listening circles, and embodied reflection activities to enhance self- and community-awareness, build empathy, strengthen communication skills, and prepare students for the real-world challenges of collective action. On the practical side, the course welcomes students to start turning the wheels of societal change through proposing small, responsible collective action plans for an accessible, small geographic region such as Glasgow's West End, and grow into Change-Makers and Social Innovators.  

4 x 1-hour lectures in teaching weeks 1, 2, 5, and 9

3 x 2-hour seminars in teaching weeks 4, 8, and 10

3 x 2-hour tutorials, 2 in teaching week 7 and 1 in teaching week 10 or 11

2 x 2 hour fieldwork sessions in week 3. This is a reflective walk around Glasgow's West End. 2 slots are offered for the walk to try and cast the attendance net over all students.

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1. Report: The Glasgow West End Change-Maker Project; Group; 2000 words; 50%; ILOs 1-5.

2. Portfolio: reflective portfolio on course activities; Individual; 1750-word equivalent; 50%; ILOs 1-3.

■ This course aims to explore broadly accessible theories of collective action, conflict, and societal transformation in real-world contexts. Through engagement with Glasgow's West End, students will then apply these theories to build skills in identifying local challenges, gathering qualitative and quantitative evidence, and proposing small-scale, actionable solutions to local issues (while realizing the possibility of various setbacks in the latter).

■ The course also aims to foster creative and critical thinking through the extension of learned theories to progress towards building sustainable communities and scale the collective action efforts beyond Glasgow's West End.

■ Finally, the course aims to strengthen the students as future global citizens and change-makers by developing their skills in leadership, collaboration, ethical decision-making, evaluative judgement and empathy through meaningful and iterative assessment, peer- and self-review, dialogic feedback and local community engagement.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Critically analyse what a community is and explore its role in collective action.

2. Identify societal issues in a specific geographic region (i.e. Glasgow West End) through equipped theoretical lenses and small-scale fieldwork.

3. Design context-aware collective action plans that address identified issues and promote change in a specific geographic region.

4. Develop strategies that can have an impact to deliver sustainable communities.