Justice, Community and Leadership: Leadership Concentration, BA
How do we make the world a better, more equitable place?
This rigorous program of interdisciplinary study is designed for students passionate about addressing interconnected systems of injustice and oppression. Guided by our renowned, approachable faculty, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of social justice research and practice.
You’ll have numerous opportunities to work alongside communities and organizations, at home and abroad, to tackle real-world injustices. Along the way, you’ll hone your critical inquiry, adaptive and systems thinking, and collaborative problem-solving, all valuable skills in the new economy.
CURRICULUM
Earn an JCL: Leadership, BA and a Single-Subject Teaching Credential at Saint Mary's in just four years through our Single Subject Teaching Credential Integrated Pathway!
Upon successfully completing the JCL Program, students will be able to...
1. [Knowledge] Demonstrate knowledge of the ways systemic inequities (e.g. economic, racial, gender, environmental) are reproduced and interconnected historically and in our contemporary world.
2. [Research] Using appropriate library and information literacy skills, evaluate and apply research methodologies in ways that challenge dominant assumptions about knowledge production to articulate, interpret and contribute to social justice.
3. [Community Application] Collaborate with diverse community formations to imagine, co-construct, organize for and sustain strategies that contribute to a more just social order.
4. [Communication] Utilize oral, written, artistic, expressive and new media formats to advocate for transformative social change with attention to audience and power relations.
5. [Reflection] Demonstrate cultural humility and an understanding of one’s positionality within historical and intersecting systems of power.
6. [Analysis] Utilize critical transdisciplinary lenses to analyze unjust power relations and systemic oppression, centering the experiences, histories, and visions of oppressed communities.
Saint Mary's Testimonials
"The Justice, Community, and Leadership (JCL) major is truly unique and impactful. It has assisted me in seeing our society, both past and present, from the perspectives of the oppressed, the marginalized, and the disadvantaged. which in turn, afforded me the opportunity to revitalize my own thoughts on many societal issues/contexts.”
Brandon Dela Cruz, Class of 2022