BUILDING A SOCIAL IMPACT CONSCIOUSNESS

Guides

Below are the corresponding materials and teaching guides that other educators can use to make this class their own and share this with others for broader benefit.

This page will be regularly updated as materials become ready for distribution.

Assignments

Each assessment is connected to skills expected within a work context.

Social Consciousness Manifesto (25%)

The synthetic cornerstone of learning in the seminar, is where you will step back and bring together learning across the entire experience toward a personal social consciousness manifesto.

This is where doing your Individual Reflections individual reflections will become useful along the way to capture your learnings along the way. Your Individual Reflections should be done before and during each class. The length should be around two paragraphs (150-200 words) and will be helpful to come back to when writing this manifesto.


I am looking for narrative, illustrative examples in which you will analyze your personal understanding of social impact and how they intersect with your understanding of how social impact plays out in the world. Feel free to use illustrative examples from your selected organization to highlight your understanding and nuances. This is similar to annual self-assessment in a workplace.


Your paper should also address how this semester has affected (or not affected) your larger goals and broader integration of social impact into your life and career. These goals encompass your professional, academic, and personal components of your life as well. Things to consider: What drives your motivation to do social impact? How does your identity play a role in how you show up? How might you integrate a social impact consciousness into your life - your profession, your daily decisions, etc.? Where might you have to make trade-offs? How are you taking care of yourself intellectually, physically, emotionally, and professionally? What steps are you taking today to live into this new consciousness?

Paper length should be 1500 words. The final paper is due the day before grades are due. I recommend sharing a first and final draft with your Peer Share for both accountability as well as getting to a better end product. You should also include your preferred email address and date/time when you'd like to get back your manifesto as a "virtual time capsule."

Play Analysis (25%)

Halfway through the course, we will view a play at a local theater (the Mosaic Theater Company). You will convey a holistic analysis of the play that reflects on the themes we discussed in class.

Halfway through the course, we will view a play at a local theater (the Mosaic Theater Company). The play will showcase different roles that historical figures have played in affecting social change. Use the discussion guide to reflect on the different roles you saw depicted, how they differ, and more importantly how you think your awareness (through the play) may have affected your own ideas of the unique role you might play in achieving positive social change. A nuanced and critical analysis should also dissect the trade-offs that may be at play with these roles, including limits to a single role and how different roles may support one another. This should convey a holistic analysis and points rather than regurgitating information or scenes. The class will have an after-show debrief that will start to unpack some of these topics. Contribute to the Class Discussion and submit a 1,000 word paper or video with your Peer Share answering the discussion questions posed in the guide.

The Till Trilogy | Play Analysis Guide - UNXD 256.docx

Weekly Peer Share Assignments (20%)

You will discuss Pair Share questions with your assigned peer each week.

You will discuss Peer Share questions with your assigned peer each week. These Peer Share assignments are meant to serve as signposts to think about the progression of your seminar. Each week, you should record your collective learnings for your own benefit. The length should be around two paragraphs (150-200 words) and will be helpful to codify our collective learning as a class and your personal manifesto. Mid-way through the course, I will ask each pair to grade each other based on your partner’s contributions, thoughtfulness, and analysis; and to also give that feedback directly to your partner.

Reflection on Studio Assignments (15%)

Overall reflections on practical studio assignments during class.

Throughout the seminar you will have studio assignments that will help you build out practical elements that you will be able to use in other contexts. Please prepare and use class time to do these assignments. I recommend doing these Studio Assignments as you go through the seminar. The aggregate of these assignments will be helpful to anchor concepts discussed in class from a practical standpoint, bringing in other class learnings within the CALL experience. The following are the studio assignments:

  • Organization’s mission statement and where it fits into the social change movement

  • Roles you might play within social change

  • End game strategy for your organization

  • Social Identity Wheel

  • Gut check

Open Source Contributions (15%)

You will be asked to provide concrete, constructive feedback to “pay it forward” and ultimately co-create the course in real-time.

In an effort to refine this course and make it truly inclusive and useful for more students and learners inside and outside of Georgetown, you will be asked to provide concrete, constructive feedback to “pay it forward” and ultimately co-create the course in real-time. At the end of each module, students will be asked to submit Open-Source 1-2 constructive aspects that you’d contribute to this module (e.g., what are additional resources you’d add, what could be clearer, what was a highlight “must-do-again”?). This will contribute to a broader curriculum in real-time. Groups of Peer Shares will be assigned modules to aggregate and collect feedback to recommend key constructive recommendations. Instructions can be found here.

Georgetown UNXD 256 | Open Sourced Website Instructions

OPTIONAL Class Presentation

Each student will deliver a 5-minute Class Presentation around what the drivers and impediments are of your organization to achieve positive social impact.

Halfway through the course, each student will deliver a 5-minute Class Presentation around what the drivers and impediments are of your organization to achieve positive social impact. This should include a critical analysis of your selected organization delivered in a compelling manner. This should convey a holistic analysis and points rather than regurgitating information.

Teaching Guides

Below are the teaching guides per each module and session.

ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS

KEY MATERIALS FOR REFERENCE

Ensuring a Brave Space and Inclusive Communications

These are critical documents that help anchor the course

📌 Key Documents

Georgetown UNXD 256 | Social Impact as Consciousness Syllabus

KEY EVALUATION CHECKPOINTS

Feedback Channels

These are critical documents that help gauge learning and feedback

📌 Key Documents

  • Peer Reflection Evaluation - This is completed by each peer share partner as a way to gauge and assess the sharing and learning within the peer share (and encourage open feedback)

  • Personal and Course Reflections Primer - This is completed at the end of the course to assess feedback, learnings, and ways to improve the course (ideally administered before the completion of the Manifesto)

Personal and Course Reflections Primer - Generic

MODULE 1: LEVERS FOR CHANGE

SESSION 1 - INTRODUCTION, NORMS, AND GOAL SETTING

Should Social Impact be a Field or Consciousness?

We will explore the question of what is social impact. Should it be a field or rather a consciousness that pervades everything we do?

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 1 - Introductions

SESSION 2 - PROBLEM OF INEQUALITY & ENVIRONMENTAL DEGREDATION

How Did We Get Here?

We will dissect some of reasons we may even come into social impact and why it’s important to look at the past to better understand the future

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 2 - Problems of Inequity and Environmental Degredation

SESSION 3 - ART OF SOCIAL CHANGE

How Does Social Change Happen?

We will explore the question of how social change happens through the lens of social movements, as well as what actors are involved to make it happen

UNXD 256 - Session 3 - Art of Social Change
UNXD 256 - Session 3 - Social Change Roles Handout

MODULE 2: PROBLEMS BY DESIGN

SESSION 4 - POWER + IMPACT

How Is Power Connected to Social Impact?

We will explore the role of power in shaping how social change happens, both as causes of social ills as well as solutions to them, and new constructs to think about power

📌 Facilitation Guides

  • Session 4 - Reference Presentation

  • Note: Depending on the student's interest, Session 4 and 5 could be swapped to allow for more vulnerable conversation early on in this module (this may depend on level of engagement)

UNXD 256 - Session 4 - Power + Impact

SESSION 5 - IDENTITY + POWER

What Right Do I Have to Do This Work?

We will explore the question of our own identities and how that shapes the role we play in social impact, ultimately discussing what right we have to do this work

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 5 - Identity + Power

MODULE 3: SECTORAL DISTINCTIONS

SESSION 6 - SOCIAL SECTOR

What Drives and Impedes Civic Organizations To Be Impactful?

We will explore the role of the non-profit and civic sector to a thriving social impact ecosystem, as well as the incentives that may work in their favor or against the very social impact they are seeking including funding structures, accountability, and competition

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 6 - Social Sector

SESSION 7 - PUBLIC SECTOR

What Is the Role of Government In Scaling or Impeding Impact?

We will explore the role of government to a thriving social impact ecosystem and its role in creating sustained impact or exacerbating inequity. We will explore the incentives that may work in their favor or against the public impact they are seeking including constituency and terms, regulation, and lobbying

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 7 - Public Sector

SESSION 8 - PRIVATE SECTOR

What Role Does Business Have in Contributing to Social Impact?

We will explore the role of business and social change. We will explore its evolving role including shareholder primacy and the shift to stakeholder capitalism. We will explore the incentives that work in their favor or against the impact that business may have including corporate governance, business models, and the financial system.

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 8 - Private Sector

SESSION 9 - INCENTIVES + FUNDING

How Does Philanthropy Dictate Social Change?

We will explore the role of philanthropy and how it has played a central role in social change, as well as the insidious side of “impact-washing” profit.

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 9 - Incentives and Funding

MODULE 4: OUR CHOICES

SESSION 10 - WELLBEING

How Does My Individual Wellbeing Affect My Ability To Achieve Impact?

We will explore how our individual wellbeing may affect our ability to achieve impact, including how the well-being of the body, brain, and mind can lead to broader healing and social change.

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 10 - Wellbeing

SESSION 11 - GUT CHECK

How Can I Say No When I Need to _______?

We will explore what it takes to create a gut check that guides you making your own decisions about what you take on or not.

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 11 - Gut Check

MODULE 5: CLOSEOUT

SESSION 12 - REFLECTION AND SHARE-OUTS

What is My Social Impact Consciousness?

We will reflect on our broader learnings over the semester and share actions that you can take to make that consciousness a life’s ever calibrating “compass.”

📌 Facilitation Guides

UNXD 256 - Session 12 - Wrap-up