Honours B.A. in Social Innovation

Introduction to theoretical approaches in the Humanities and to the methods that are applied to interpret the multiple expressions of human experience, particularly those expressed in important works of art and literature.

Social and ecological challenges facing humanity today, and related issues of social justice. These questions will be examined from a perspective of community building and efforts towards ecological and social transformations for a hopeful future.

Development of abilities to critically read and understand academic works. Focus on formal writing skills: techniques of clear expression and construction of texts, argument development and organization. This course also includes a library laboratory component with focus on research skills, citations, and academic integrity.

Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives on the First Peoples of Canada, cultural diversity, traditional practices and beliefs, relationship with the environment, changing roles and structures influenced by colonization. Contemporary issues faced by First Nations, Métis and Inuit, including cultural genocide and trauma.

Social innovation basics, methodological foundation to study the field and best practices.

Main contemporary theories of social justice (liberal, critical, catholic, etc.) and issues related to redistribution, recognition, capabilities and accessibility.

Analyzing social situations through the lens of concepts developed by the most important schools of critical thinking and the approaches in social movement studies.

Fundamentals of democracy, participation and representative government needed to understand and move beyond the framework in which they are embedded within Western societies.

Students having completed the course DVM4154 Global Studies, Citizenship and Development will be credited for this course.

Overview of social and solidarity economy through a survey of the field’s main texts and its most important initiatives.

Students having completed the course DVM4150 Social Economy and Local Development in Developing Countries will be credited for this course.

Basics of management and administration necessary for the proper functioning of a social organization.

Students having completed the courses ADM1100 Introduction to Business Management will be credited for this course.

Structures, bodies, and modes of operation within democratic organizations.

Basic introduction to action research through getting involved in an organization and/or implementing a project, critically reflecting on the experience.

Theoretical foundations of Marxist analysis, key concepts and contemporary debates, in particular, current economic and technological changes.

Analysis of the trajectory and dynamics of social movements focused on issues of class and socioeconomic inequality.

Theoretical foundations and key concepts of different approaches to feminist and gender studies.

Analysis of the trajectory and dynamics of social movements focused on gender issues.

Major issues and debates concerning ecology and environmental justice, examined through the lens of specific cases.

Financial statements of a social organization and the accounting system that produces them.

Tools and techniques developed by social movements to mobilize communities in support of an innovative project. Discourse, design, and public relations strategies in a social innovation context.

Theoretical foundations and key concepts of anti-racist and anti-colonial theories (decolonial, postcolonial, indigenous).

Analysis of the trajectory and dynamics of social movements focused on issues of colonialism and racism.

Basic notions in project management adapted to the reality of innovative social organizations.

Analysis of new technology issues for social innovation projects and actors.

Study of different strategies to foster the conditions of solidarity needed for organizations to actively include people living with disabilities.

Analysis of different issues related to poverty and study of the social actors and their strategies in the struggle against poverty and social exclusion.

Major components of a sociopolitical framework designed to help understand issues related to the use of a geographic space and its anchoring in communities and ecosystems.

Overview of different art initiatives and projects taking a critical approach.

Study of Paulo Freire’s pedagogical approach and its use in people’s organizations to transmit and create knowledge.

In-depth study of specific topics related to democratic management.

In-depth study of specific topics related to social action.

Tools and techniques in leadership development. Study of power relations in organizations’ practices and discourses.

Key steps to launch an organization: mission, partnerships, team, funding, organizational structure.
Prerequisite: INS3108 Accounting of Social Organizations.

Conducting a complete diagnosis of a specific issue in an organization or participate to the elaboration of a specific project, within or outside an organization. Graded S/NS.

Overview of strategies to secure funding and support for new social projects including social finance.

Study of the interdependencies between the local, the national and global in social innovation.

Internship in a social organization or developing an action research in partnership with a social organization (collaboration agreement, project development and identification of research aims and process, conducting the action research, results presentation and reflective analysis). Graded S/NS.

Marketing in general, social marketing and advertising and related communication tools. Basic concepts; application of the marketing and advertising approaches to the promotion of social ideas, values and causes: product and audience analysis, identification of marketing and communications objectives, campaign evaluation.

History and basic models of public relations. Main approaches, tools, audiences, work environment. Management, marketing, advertising, public affairs. Case studies.

Explores, from the perspective of social justice theories, issues such as social inequalities, poverty, refugees, war, and environmental degradation. Examines criticisms of this perspective.

Examination of the development of critical theories and new ethical models in different feminist currents. How these ethics take into consideration the marginalized voices of oppressed groups.

Ethical issues relating to the public sector. Definitions of the common good and of public service. Study of the role of public policy in the functioning of various states and governments, and the implications of their coherence or conflict in the social, political and economic realms.