Week 4: Mobilizing Communities for Positive Social Change

To be a jazz freedom fighter is to attempt to galvanize and energize world-weary people into forms of organization with accountable leadership that promote critical exchange and broad reflection. The interplay of individuality and unity is not one of uniformity and unanimity imposed from above but rather of conflict among diverse groupings that reach a dynamic consensus subject to questioning and criticism. As with a soloist in a jazz quartet, quintet or band, individuality is promoted in order to sustain and increase the creative tension with the group—a tension that yields higher levels of performance to achieve the aim of the collective project.
—Cornel West (1993)

You have examined potential solutions to the social issue you are addressing in this course. In looking at these solutions, you also focused on ethical concerns, conflicts, interests, rights, and values of all parties involved, as well as a vision of a future in which this issue might be resolved.

In collecting and analyzing this information, you have established a foundation for initiating new or further personal and collective action on this issue. In other words, you can look at next steps and begin thinking in more concrete terms about how you might mobilize individuals or communities. Ask yourself: “With what I know now, what could I do to further interest in this social issue?” Part of the answer to this question depends on your ability to generate interest and thereby capture public attention.

You are probably familiar with some of the ways groups attempt to gain support for a social issue: heartrending commercials depicting animal abuse or human starvation, concerts and celebrity pleas to raise money for victims of natural disasters, or community volunteers canvassing neighborhoods asking for signatures for petitions. Today, the Internet is a key tool in attracting attention and support for causes, and social media is filled with examples. Regardless of the method employed to gather support, such efforts will influence the life of a cause. Without a community of support, it is much more difficult to make significant progress in addressing an issue.

As reiterated throughout this course, it is through collective effort that sustainable and successful social change is achieved.

This week, you explore various methods of community mobilization and associated campaigns designed to bring social issues to the public attention. You also develop a publicity campaign proposal for your selected social issue.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of publicity campaigns for social issues
• Analyze practices for effective dissemination of information
• Develop publicity campaign proposals

Learning Resources

Required Readings

Loeb, P. R. (2010). Soul of a citizen: Living with conviction in challenging times (rev. ed.). New York, NY: St. Martin’s Griffin.

• Chapter 8, “Village Politics” (pp. 195–227)
• Chapter 9, “Widening the Circle” (pp. 228–256)

Document: Course Project Overview and Guidelines (Word document)

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2015d). Working toward positive social change [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 3 minutes.