The University of California, Santa Barbara history department has introduced a new minor in  “Poverty, Inequality, and Social Justice,” with the stated goal of providing students with “the tools to understand the structural and political roots, dynamics and consequences of poverty and intersectional inequality; conduct original research; and engage meaningfully in efforts to address poverty through policy, practice and social action.”

(Article by Fiona Moriarty-McLaughlin republished from CampusReform.org)

The minor is a function of the UCSB Blum Center on Poverty, Inequality, and Democracy, which “promotes democratic responses” to “poverty and inequality.” The center is part of the larger Blum Network, which spans the entire University of California system. The network features several online courses available across the system, including one titled “Cultures of Sustainability and Social Justice.”

Professor Alice O’Connor, director of the Blum Center and a history professor at UCSB, has been working on creating this minor since 2016. “I really feel that there’s a lot of energy on this campus for dealing with a whole range of issues that deal with inequality and social justice, not just from the lens of economic need and poverty, but other standpoints as well,” O’Connor said.

UCSB History already offers a multitude of social justice-themed courses including History 74: Poverty, Inequality, and Social Justice in Historical and Global Context, which now serves as a prerequisite for the minor.

Students are required to complete an internship “working in organizations or initiatives engaged in addressing poverty and inequality through policy analysis, advocacy, direct social provision, community action, and/or political organizing” in “anti-poverty and social justice fields.”

Read more at: CampusReform.org and CampusInsanity.com.