Human Rights & Social Justice
The minor in Human Rights & Social Justice is an interdisciplinary plan of study and serves the goal of St. Thomas Aquinas College and the School of Arts and Sciences to nurture in students a spirit of civic engagement and global awareness of issues related to human rights and social justice.
This minor concerns the promotion and protection of human dignity irrespective of race, color, social class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, culture, or nationality, and involves an examination of societal problems of hunger and poverty, education, immigration, discrimination, and ecological issues.
A minor in Human Rights & Social Justice seeks to broaden student’s understanding of human rights and social justice issues and to learn how to use an interdisciplinary approach to identify and examine problems and solutions. Students are encouraged to recognize how human rights and social justice causes are intertwined in different fields of study. Students are prepared for advanced study in an appropriate discipline where scholarship can focus on human rights and social justice, or in careers that incorporate human rights advocacy, including journalism, filmmaking, law, teaching, policy analysis, or service in government or intergovernmental entities.
Internships will be accepted, provided they meet the standard of the minor and get the approval of the advisor.
The following courses are required to complete the minor in Human Rights & Social Justice (18 credits):
A) Foundation - Course (3 Credits):
HRSJ 201: Introduction to Human Rights and Social Justice
B) Religious and Ethical Perspectives - One course from the following (3 Credits):
RELS 213: Religion, Race, and Social Justice
RELS 214: Theology and Social Justice
RELS 215: Religion and Capitalism
RELS 223: Islam and Western Imperialism
REL 301: Religion and Gender
C) Social, Legal, and Cultural Perspectives – One or two courses from the following (3-6 Credits):
CJ 312: Penology*
CJ 315: Prisons in America*
CJ 300: Race, Crime, Gender, and Criminal Justice*
SOC 203: Ethnic Groups in America
SOC 404: Law and Society*
D) Historical Perspectives – Two to three courses from the following (6-9 credits):
HIST 325: Hitler’s Germany
HIST 316 City and Suburb in America
HIST 317: Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity & Human Rights
HIST 324: Immigrants in America
HIST 300: Latin America and the US
HIST 300: Capitalism and Freedom
HIST 300: Native American History and Resistance
HIST 300: Race, Class, and Gender in Oral History
HIST 318: Racism: Global Perspectives
HIST 319: Apartheid: Discrimination and Resolution
HIST 321: The Civil Rights Movement
*Recommended Pre-Req Course(s):
● SOC 101: Introduction to Sociology
Internships are available in this area of study. Internships with 3 credits will be accepted provided they meet the standard of the minor and will need the approval of the major advisor.
