Praxis Assignment Paper

Psych 149: Community Psychology

Praxis Assignment: Day of Social Justice

Social-community psychology strives for praxis, or an embodied theory. Partly because of this emphasis, there are many values that are at the forefront of community psychology. As outlined in chapter 3 of your text, these values encompass three broad areas: personal, relational, and collective well-being. One collective value is social justice, or “the fair and equitable allocation of bargaining powers, obligations, and resources in society” (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010, p. 63, labeled “distributive justice” here but “social justice” on p. 70). You will attempt to live one full day embodying social justice to the highest degree possible. It is essential to think about how this value relates to how you behave toward others. Use the question from your book: “Does [this behavior/action] promote “the fair and equitable allocation of bargaining powers, obligations, and resources in society” (Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010, pp. 70)?” Also, social justice is linked to the value of accountability. To minimize social reactivity, please do not tell others about the class assignment until after you have turned in your paper on Jan 31.

Part I: Participate in a Day of Social Justice

Your challenge is to live each minute of a 24 hour period embodying social justice as much as possible. For 24 hours, you should do your best not to use unearned privilege , not participate in oppression, and to enact egalitarian power structures. When participating in this day, examine all your behavior -- from what you wear to getting to class to eating lunch to interacting with other people. As you do this, think carefully about each and every thing you do and ask yourself the following questions: “What are the social justice implications of what I am doing?” Do not limit yourself to “easy” things like giving an elderly person a seat on the bus even though you got there first; think about social injustice in the world, and strive for the greatest impact and deepest level of social justice without being phony or insincere. You are to operationalize social justice, and to decide how best to strive toward it, but in ways consistent with the definition. Be sure to operationalize the construct, or decide on the behaviors that embody social justice, before you begin your 24 hour period (see reverse side for more detail).

Part II: Write About Your Experience

At the beginning of class on Cot 17, turn in a social-community psychology analysis of what the day was like (no less than one and no more than two typewritten pages using 12-point font and 1" margins; you may use double spacing or 1.5 spacing if you need more room). Here are the questions you must address:

· How did you choose to behaviorally operationalize social justice? How does this operationalization relate to the definition of social justice? (8 points) (Note: See reverse side for more detail.)

· Who were the recipients of your efforts and why? (8 points)

· How did others respond to your efforts at enacting social justice? (6 points)

· Was the “Day of Social Justice you” different from the “normal you?” If so, what are the situational/environmental factors that create these differences? If not, what are the situational/environmental factors that facilitate this consistency for you? (10 points) (Note: see reverse side for more detail.)

· What are the psychological costs and benefits of behaving in a socially just way? In your view, do the benefits outweigh the costs? Why or why not? (8 points)

· How does this exercise relate to your own accountability, privilege, or oppression (choose one)? (10 points) (Note: see reverse side for more detail.)

Further explanation

To operationalize your construct, you need to figure out how you might embody it. Make this link explicit. For example, if we were focused on the personal value of caring and compassion, I might operationalize that value by saying that I show care and compassion by engaging in the following behaviors: (1) smiling and saying hello to everyone I pass that day, (2) calling my friends and asking them how they are doing, and listening without interrupting, bringing up my own issues, or offering advice, and (3) eating only vegan foods that had been picked or processed by people who were paid a living wage and who were not exposed to pesticides. These are related to caring and compassion because these behaviors demonstrate care and concern for the physical (#3) and psychological (#1-3) well-being of others. Notice that my three behaviors are specific, concrete, and they provide a blueprint that anyone else could follow. Your operationalization should have the same characteristics. [Note: Do not use any of these examples when you operationalize social justice! They are not appropriate because caring and compassion is an individual-level value, and social justice is collective value. Come up with your own operationalization that is consistent with the text’s definition of social justice and that is collective in nature.]

Situational and environmental factors refer to those things in the context that shape behavior. Think about how people are generally quiet in a library and talkative in a café. There might be the same number of people in both places, sitting at tables, but the environmental factors facilitate different kinds of behavior (being quite and working alone on academic work versus visiting and talking about any number of academic or non-academic things). You might also think about classrooms where desks are clustered together versus classrooms where the desks are all facing forward and bolted down. Here, situational factors might facilitate small group cooperation in the former case and independent working in the latter case. You might also think about social structures and how they position us within Dominator Culture. Refer to readings for 10/3, 10/10, & 10/15.

When thinking about accountability, privilege, or oppression, refer to readings and the discussion for 10/3 & 10/15. You might ask yourself: What was easy to do and why? What was hard to do and why? Who and/or what is affected (think broadly) by what I am doing? What processes had to occur or what did other people do that now enable me to do this? What larger impact will my actions have? If it is true that I do not always behave in ways that are consistent with social justice, why is that? For example, what if I cannot afford, or do not know where to look for, or simply cannot find vegan food that is picked or processed by people who are paid a living wage and are not exposed to pesticides, but what if I can easily smile and say “hi” to people? What if I find it easier to smile and say hi to women versus men, or to younger people versus older people, or to students versus faculty? How do these “facts” relate to my social positioning, which informs my accountability, privilege, or oppression? (See the questions above.)

Tips from TAs

1.) In line with Gina's first suggestion for doing well in this class: Be well read! That means reading the prompt carefully as well.  Readings that may assist you with the Praxis assignment: The sample praxis paper available on Canvas, the assigned reading by Langhout et al. 2013 “The praxis assignment: Experiential learning in a large social-community psychology class” (several examples of assignments provided in this article), “Principles for Action” beginning on Page 65 of the textbook, Chapter 4 Levels of analysis and the ecological metaphor, Pages 26-31 in the textbook “Oppression, Liberation and Well-being: the 'Big Picture' of Community Psychology” & “Issues and Problems”

2) Avoid charity approaches and the “savior syndrome” (i.e. “helping” people or groups or communities, especially ones you have never connected with. Furthermore, simply acknowledging/ speaking with oppressed individuals or groups is NOT part of enacting social justice. That might be social, but that's not justice.)

3.) Get creative, and think outside the box. This assignment is about praxis – embodied theory and reflection. It's important that you strive your best to come up with a theory of change that can translate into action(s) (i.e. your operationalization). Note that once you apply your theory, there may be many unexpected outcomes – and that's ok! Take this as an opportunity to reflect and get critical as you write your paper.

4.) Don't stress the “24-hour” aspect of the assignment – this guideline is to encourage you to immerse yourself in Community Psychology's “social justice” lens of the world. It might seem difficult because it is! That's an important part of the assignment – ask yourself: why is it so difficult?

5.) Simply raising awareness in most cases does not fit with the Community Psychology definition of social justice.

� This assignment is inspired by Scott Plous’s assignment, “Social Psychology Day of Compassion” at Wesleyan University.

� Privilege is structural, and so it cannot be “put on” and “taken off” at will. Nevertheless, people can choose to collude with or work against privilege. For more information, see the now defunct journal, Race Traitor, which can be found on line. The same critique can be applied to oppression within Dominator Culture.