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The Behavior of Social Justice

Dr. Natalie Parks,  Assistant Professor of Behavioral Analysis, College of Public Health and Social Justice

Students sit in on folding chairs in a semi circle outdoors during a discussion about social justice

Course Description

About The Behavior of Social Justice

Have you ever wondered why people do and say the things they do? Have you considered how social justice is a set of behaviors? In this Ignite seminar, first-year students will learn the basic principles that explain why people do and say what they do and how to encourage behaviors and actions of social justice in themselves and others.

Professor’s Perspective

I have a passion for social justice. I believe that behavior analysis offers a unique understanding of how and why different behaviors, developed over time, either fight for or detract from a collective goal of social justice. I wanted to share this perspective in a first-year course, to introduce students to the science of behavior analysis as a different way of looking at one another. 

Behavior analysis teaches us that people are a combination of the behaviors they exhibit. The Behavior of Social Justice is a class designed to give students a framework to study their own behaviors, identify what they can change to work towards a more just society, and actually implement a program that will help them develop behaviors aimed at alleviating injustice for all persons."

Natalie Parks, Ph.D.
Students discuss core in group setting
Students discuss core in group setting
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Several students discuss Core in outdoor setting
Several students discuss Core in outdoor setting
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Faculty and sudents discuss Core in outdoor setting
Faculty and sudents discuss Core in outdoor setting
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Four students engage in Core discussion
Four students engage in Core discussion
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Faculty discusses Core
Faculty discusses Core
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Faculty member leads core discussion
Faculty member leads core discussion
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Students listening to Core presentation
Students listening to Core presentation
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Students listening as faculty speaks about Core
Students listening as faculty speaks about Core
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Student’s Perspective

My Ignite Seminar challenged how I thought about college classes. In high school, my classes were more about the big picture. Dr. Parks’s class, The Behavior of Social Justice, zeroed in on one very specific topic, which came from her own interest in social justice, which was pretty interesting to see.  When a teacher is passionate about something, you can tell.

In high school, you don’t see a lot of students drawing on their own experiences, commenting on their world view based on something they’ve gone through or how they see the world. In this class, we were encouraged to bring our whole selves to the classroom. I was able to learn about where the other students in the class were coming from and why they were committed to learning about social justice. 

Looking back, it is challenging to describe my first year at SLU. I’m pre-med, so I was in a bunch of STEM classes. How do you interject your own perspective into Chemistry or Biology? But I was also in an Ignite Seminar, which asked me to interject my own beliefs and views into the class discussions. Because of The Behavior of Social Justice, I am now much more socially conscious. I am observant when I interact with people, and I am more focused on thinking through why people behave the way they do.

My advice to new SLU students: Take a class that sounds interesting to you but doesn’t focus on your major. You’ll learn something new and gain new insights, even if the topic isn’t something you really thought about before. Be open to experience. You might learn something that adds to your field of study or you might change your major entirely. "

Frank
pre-med, Class of 2025