Skills:
Students will learn the following skills in this course:
Applying the method and mindset of design thinking
Collaborative problem-solving
Critical thinking
Networking and communication
Project-based working
Public speaking (including pitching)
Disciplines: Gender Studies; Educational Science; Psychology; Race Studies; Religious Studies; Ethnic Studies; Social Sciences; Economics; History; Public Administration
Topics: Inequality; Impact; Project-based working; Design thinking; Social-economic Inequality; Race Inequality; Gender Inequality; Education Inequality; Disability and inequality; Inclusion, Equity and Diversity; Intersectionality
Type: Honours Challenge. This course is aimed at gaining practical problem-solving experience in an organisation.
Admission requirements
This course is an (extracurricular) Master Honours Challenge aimed at talented 3rd and on Bachelor's students and 1st and 2nd year and on Master’s students. Admission will be based on academic background, GPA and motivation.
Description
This course engages with a crucial challenge for the 21st century: how do we deal with the growing inequalities within our society? Despite the meritocratic ideal, many inequalities persist. For example, Thomas Piketty (2014) has shown that economic inequality is back at the same high level as on the eve of the First World War. Others have demonstrated that more unequal countries do worse on a host of indicators: life expectancy (Kim & Kim, 2018), social mobility (Bruna, Rungo, & Allo, 2022), education (Blanden, Doepke, & Stuhler, 2022) and mental health, but also obesity and teen pregnancy (Scholz, 2020). In addition, recent research shows that the gender pay gap still exist (Litman, et al., 2020) and in June 2020, the former Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte confirmed the existence of systemic racism in society in the Netherlands.
These different forms of inequality often intersect and can reinforce each other, which is why this course focuses on five different but overlapping inequalities: social-economic, race, gender, education and ability.
The course gives you the theoretical background you need to tackle a societal challenge. You will engage in discussions with invited guest speakers from both academic and professional fields. You will choose a specific challenge from a societal partner (like a ministry, an NGO, or partners within the university) around a certain theme.
This way, you will tackle a global problem on a local scale, with the aim of making a difference in the real world. Challenges might be such as the following: During 2023-2024, the slavery past of the Netherlands is being commemorated. This history is an important but for many also a personal history. What happens when you have to recognize that the values and deeds of those you learned to revere contributed to exploitation and oppression, and robbed people of their freedom? What are the challenges – and opportunities of engaging in an open discussion on this topic? What steps can be taken within the educational environment to increase knowledge and foster a dialogue about this history?
Using the method of Design Thinking, you will analyse the situation, brainstorm about possible improvements and develop them in consultation with the relevant stakeholders. At the final meeting, you will present your solution to the societal partners, your peers and other interested parties.
Course objectives
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Recognise structural inequalities when they encounter them
Discuss inequalities in a constructive manner and through an interdisciplinary lens
Discuss how different forms of inequality interact
Recognise and articulate how various forms of inequality impact their personal lives and projects through reflectional exercises
Apply the methods and mindset of Design Thinking to a societal challenge
Pitch a solution to a societal stakeholder
Apply skills of project-based working and collaborative problem-solving throughout the project
Programme and Timetable
The program will look as follows:
Classes will be held on Tuesdays during 17:30 to 19:30 hours and will cover the following key topics, with different sessions including guest lectures, insights from Design Thinking and reflection moments:
12 November 2024: Introduction to the course and community-building
19 November 2024: Introduction to inequality and intersectionality
26 November 2024: Introduction to Design Thinking
3 December 2024: Challenge fair
10 December 2024: Gender and inequality
17 December 2024: Design Thinking – Empathy
21 January 2024: Design Thinking – Define
28 January 2025: Ability and inequality, & Education and inequality
11 February 2025: Race, ethnicity and inequality & Socio-economic inequality
18 February 2025: Design Thinking – Ideate
4 March 2025: DEI, Intersectionality, & Inequalities in the Workplace
11 March 2025: Design Thinking – Prototype
25 March 2025: Formulating own perspectives
8 April 2025: Pitching Prototypes
15 April 2025: Online check-in meetings
29 April 2025: Final presentations
The final syllabus will be communicated via Brightspace a week prior to the course's start date.
Location
Campus The Hague: Wijnhaven
Course load
This course is worth 10 ECTS, which means the total course load equals 280 hours:
Seminars: 40 hours (participation is mandatory)
Literature reading: 40 hours
Societal Challenge: 80 hours
Self/Group Study (including assignments): 120 hours
Assessment
Participation: attendance is mandatory (two absences allowed if communicated beforehand).
Assessments will be based on:
Reflection assignments: 25%
Group work: 25%
Solution presented to stakeholders: 50%
Students could only pass this course after successful completion of all partial exams.
The assessment methods will be discussed together with the students in class.
Reading list
The reading list will be made available on Brightspace.
Brightspace and uSis
Brightspace will be used in this course. Upon admission students will be enrolled in Brightspace by the teaching administration.
Please note: students are not required to register through uSis for the Master Honours Classes. Your registration will be done centrally.
Registration
Submitting an application for this course is possible from Monday, 23 September until and including Sunday, 13 October 2024 through the link on the Honours Academy student website.
Note: students don’t have to register for the Master Honours Classes in uSis. The registration is done centrally before the start of the class.
Contact
Dr. Niloufar Daneshkhah: n.daneshkhah@llinc.leidenuniv.nl
Ms. Aayushi Shah: a.l.shah@llinc.leidenuniv.nl