Social Justice and Community is the College Ten "core course" that all first-year students take in the fall quarter. Every college at UCSC has its own distinct core course. One of the goals underlying the course is to provide incoming students with a shared learning community. Because all first-year students take the seminar, we hope it becomes a catalyst for exploring ideas together as well as making new friends. When meeting another student from College Ten that you do not know, you can always get things started by sharing your thoughts about the core course!

Social Justice and Community

The core course reflects the intellectual theme of the college. At College Ten, our focus is on social justice issues such as human rights, discrimination, poverty, immigration, and the environment. Some possible topics include the following:

• What Is Social Justice?
• Prejudice and Discrimination
• Unequal Access to Opportunity
• Economic Class and Poverty
• Racism and Ethnic Discrimination
• Sexism and Homophobia
• Community Involvement
• Promoting Social Justice

Emphasis on Developing Your Writing, Reading, and Oral Presentation Skills

In addition to introducing students to social justice and community, the class is also designed as a writing workshop. Students write and revise several papers during the quarter.

Writing is an important component in most professions. Therefore, developing your writing skills will contribute not only to your success in college, but also afterwards in your career. We will also devote class time to strengthening your overall academic skills including time management, studying, reading, note taking, and using the library. Although the core course is only one class, we hope it will become the foundation for your future success here at UCSC.

In addition to writing, effective reading and oral presentation are two other skills that we try to develop in the course. Some class meetings are devoted to discussing how to assess the most important points that an author makes. Also, students are required to make several presentations and participate in class discussions. Our goal is to develop your ability to articulate your ideas in speech as well as writing.