Coastal Community Empowerment

Course ID:  B76044LH

Credits: 3

Objective:

This course will introduce coastal community empowerment from the perspective of social economy and social innovation. Different from capitalist economy, social economy emphasizes on ethical decision in consideration of other people, engaged communities, and environment. Therefore, social economy can be an alternative way in responding challenges out of global capitalism and bring new insights of sustaninable development in Taiwan. 

1. Students will understand the theories and practices of social economy from the global perspective and current Taiwan. 

2. This course will provide students with cases and methods to do field work and turn their investigation into workable projects in responding to common needs or problems. 

3. This course encourages students to design and run the project by teamwork in order to facilitate the capability of cooperation and communication.

Course Prerequisites: None

Outline:

This course will introduce coastal community empowerment from the perspective of social economy. Confronted by challenges out of capitalist market economy, more and more people around the world initiate a movement to pursue alternative economies that are community-based, cooperative, democratic and sustainable, namely social economy. There are two main parts in this course. The first part introduces relevant theories and concepts, including civil society, community development, social economy and solidarity economy and so on. The second part discusses case studies of social economy around the world and in Taiwan in order to provide students an overview of social economy and encourage them to become practitioners and active citizens to solve social needs and problems by collective creativity and efforts.

Teaching Method: 

Lecture, group discussion, and presentation

Reference: 

1. Arnstein, Sherry R. “A Ladder of Citizen Participation,” Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 35, No. 4, July 1969, pp. 216-224. 

2. Bouchard, Marie. J. 2013. “Introduction: The Social Economy in Quebec: A Laboratory of Social Innovation.” In Innovation and the Social Economy: The Quebec Experience, ed. Marie J. Bouchard. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 3-24. 

3. Bouchard, Marie. J. ed. 2013. Innovation and the Social Economy: The Quebec Experience. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 

4. Borzaga, Carlo, and Ermanno Tortia. 2007. “Social Economy Organizations in the Theory of the Firm.” In The Social Economy: Building Inclusive Economies, eds. Antonella Noya and Emma Clarence. Paris: OECD publishing. pp. 23-60. 

5. Edwards, Michael. 2004. Civil Society. Oxford: Polity Press. 

6. Gibson-Graham, J.K., Jenny Cameron, and Stephen Healy. 2013. Take Back the Economy: An Ethical Guide for Transforming our Communities. Minneapolis; London: University of Minnesota Press

 Evaluation: 

Attendance and practices 20％

Midterm essay and presentation 40％

Final essay and presentation 40％