SSS 648 International Responses to Social Issues
Unfortunately, trauma is a universal experience that transcends race, gender, class, age, and many other identities, including one's culture and/or country of origin. Yet, how different countries define and respond to traumatic events varies dramatically depending on how the country conceptualizes trauma, recognizes or classifies a traumatic response, and deploys resources to address trauma across various levels of society. Social workers are particularly well-equipped to address social issues across society, including trauma, due to their training in the person and environment perspective and their attention to how social issues impact communities on a micro, mezzo, and macro level.
This course will introduce students to how social workers from different countries address social issues, with a particular focus on trauma using the topics of immigration and refugee status and the criminal justice system as examples of traumatic events within societies. In addition, it will also focus on the ways that larger systems, such as schools can address trauma with some of the most vulnerable within our society, namely children and adolescents. The course will be taught through the International Collaboration for International Social Work, which is a partnership between the National Catholic School of Social Service at Catholic University in Washington, DC in the United States, the Social Work Department at the Charles University in Prague in the Czech Republic, and the Department of Social Work at Roma Three University in Rome, Italy. The course will be a hybrid course, with one portion beginning during the spring semester involving an asynchronous component that will introduce the students to international social work, social work within each of the three countries, and an overview of how these countries define and operationalize traumatic events and traumatic stress. Following this asynchronous section, student will come to the Catholic University's Rome Center (TRC) for a ten day in person learning experience where they will be paired with faculty advisors and work on a project of their choosing. The students will be drawn from all countries to enhance the international learning experience for all of the participants.
Prerequisite
NCSSS Students in BSW, MSW, or PhD programs