Power & Program Design: Moving From Charity to Innovation

Abstract

Systems of power and inequality permeate nearly all aspects of society. Students of sociology should practice recognizing these systems and considering how power is wielded at different levels. Through this lesson, students will learn how power operates within the food system and government/nonprofit/charity programs. Students will also gain an...

Download this resource to see full details. Download this resource to see full details.

Details

Subject Area(s):

Applied Sociology/Evaluation Research, Development, Organizations, Formal and Complex, Public Policy, Race, Class and Gender, Sociological Practice

Resource Type(s):

Class Activity, PowerPoint

Class Level(s):

College 300, College 400

Class Size(s):

Medium, Small

Usage Notes

This class unit uses an accompanied slide deck and a program development activity to help students engage with frames of power, especially when considering social programs, particularly within food systems work. 

Students will learn about the concept of power, as well as frames to assess programs. These frames fall on a continuum between...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. Students will better understand systems of power as related to program development, particularly in food systems work.
2. Explore how different approaches [frames] to intervening in our current food system can either reproduce systemic racism or move us more towards a just food system.
3. Practice critical thinking that accounts for systems of power and inequality in program development.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Participants will work in small groups to design a program by drawing several cards that determine the program activity and resources available. By recognizing and working within the given constraints, participants will attempt to build a program that moves away from a charity model and toward a model of innovation and justice. This assessment will help...