This course will explore the dynamics and interplay between social entrepreneurship, social change, and policy. Students will explore this specific moment in our democracy, and contextualize erosion happening in international and domestic contexts. The course will examine the intersection between social change and policy change, examining how the two concepts intersect while focusing on the end goal of systems change and furthering democracy. Students will examine different case studies of social transformation (or proposed social transformation) from across the United States and world. Guest speakers will include diverse practitioners of social entrepreneurship who think about long-term pathways to transformative social change, and dynamic policymakers. While the course will include case studies on broader domestic and international challenges and models of democratic erosion, a larger focus will be on specific local social problems and solutions. This will manifest through class discussions and a final project based on the surrounding community.
