OBJECTIVES: The major objectives of the Social Work Program
are to prepare students to function as generalist social work practioners,
to begin a career in social welfare services, to enter a graduate school
of social work at an advanced level or to enter other graduate schools
with a social science major.
The undergraduate Social Work Program focuses on social work philosophy,
knowledge base and practicum field instruction experience. The Program
offers an opportunity for students to major in a generalist practice-oriented
sequence that is directly related to the delivery of social services
in an urban milieu.
Morgan's Social Work Program is accredited by the Council on Social
Work Education.
REQUIREMENTS: An interdisciplinary arrangement of courses that
total sixty (60) hours are required for the Social Work major as follows:
SOWK 200, SOWK 209, SOWK 329, SOWK 331-332, SOWK 333, SOWK 334, SOWK
352, SOWK 424, SOWK 432-433, SOWK 434-435, SOWK 436, SOWK 460 SOWK 460-461;
PSYC 101; SOCI 101, SOCI 251, SOCI 302; ECON 211; and MHTC 354.
**Curriculum under faculty review-2004-2005 Academic Year.
SOWK 200 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK
Three hours; 3 credits. This introductory course is open to
students interested in pursuing social work as a career and is required
for social work majors. The course explores professional social work
in terms of its purpose and goals; its values and ethics; its special
mission to the enhancement of human well-being and to the alleviation
of poverty and oppression; its fields of practice, i.e., child welfare,
mental health and developmental disabilities, health care, criminal
justice, the work place, human diversity, aging, housing, and the homeless,
etc.; and its direct practice methods within a generalist perspective.
Special attention will be paid to the historical and contemporary contributions
of African- Americans to the broad field of social welfare. The Social
Work Admission process will be initiated in this course.
SOWK 209 BLACK FAMILIES
Three hours; 3 credits. One semester. This course is an examination
of the strengths, problems, struggles, strategies and adaptations of
black families in contemporary society. It includes the role and organization
of family members in the urban complex, including kinship clusters,
processes of migration and crises adjustment.
SOWK 221 THE BLACK COMMUNITY AND SOCIAL WELFARE
Three hours; 3 credits. One semester. This course emphasizes
the contributions black people have made to social services in the black
community in relation to the dominant societal institutions.
SOWK 329 SOCIAL WELFARE AS A SOCIAL POLICY
Three hours; 3 credits. One semester. This course is an examination
of social welfare as a broad field consisting of a variety of programs,
policies, laws, institutions and systems. Social welfare will be examined
from an historical perspective that will provide the student with an
understanding of the relationship between societal values, and political
and economic influences.
SOWK 331-332 HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT I AND II
Six hours; 6 credits. This two course sequence is a study of
physical and social environments, including communities and organizations
as the context for life course development. Using the Ecological Systems
Perspective as a framework, the Course focuses on the complex and dynamic
interaction between various environmental systems and the biological,
cognitive, and psychosocial development of the individual. Special emphasis
will be placed on factors that are obstacles to healthy bio-psychosocial
development and functioning, i.e., poverty and socioeconomic disadvantage,
interpersonal and community violence, chemical abuse, oppression, etc.
Special attention will also be given toward helping students develop
their capacity for critical analysis of development theories and the
appropriateness of their use as frameworks for understanding and assessing
human behavior and functioning of people of color, gay and lesbians
and other diverse populations.
SOWK 333 THE POLITICS OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Three hours; 3 credits. The Politics of Economic and Social Justice
course explores the dynamics of class, race, gender, labor and age inequality,
injustice and subordination. The course will present a historical analysis
of the organizational structures, political ideologies, and leadership
styles used by oppressed groups in the struggle for self-determination
and empowerment. Focusing on racism, sexism, labor exploitation, age
discrimination and other forms of social and economic injustice, the
course seeks to raise the political consciousness of students as well
as to familiarize them with tactics, strategies and organizational tools
designed to effectuate social change.
SOWK 334 GENERALIST SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE
Three hours; 3 credits. This course will introduce students
to the complex and unique characteristics of the profession of social
work. Students will explore in depth the knowledge base, values and
ethics, and practice methodology that make up generalist social work
practice. The course will present social work theories and practice
models generic to the profession, the problem-solving model, social
work roles, and beginning skills in relationship building and interviewing.
The goal of the course is to prepare students for entry into Field Education
with a firm grasp of the role and function of generalist social work
practice.
SOWK 352 DIVERSITY IN SOCIAL WORK
Three hours; 3 credits. One semester. The purpose of this course
is to provide students with an understanding and appreciation of the
unique historical and cultural development of diverse racial and ethnic
groups in American society. The course emphasizes how these distinct
groups perceive social issues, define social problems, adopt self-help
and social welfare, and pursue specific social goals based on the historical
and social forces that have shaped them. The course will introduce students
to a framework for cross-cultural comparison as well as to explore the
internal divergence or diversity within each group. The overall objective
is to prepare students for working with diverse populations as well
as to enhance their awareness and tolerance of cultural difference.
SOWK 422 ADULT PSYCHOPATHOLOGY: A SOCIAL WORK PERSPECTIVE
Three hours; 3 credits. This course introduces students to current
developments in theory and practice in the treatment of adult psychopathological
disorders, such as child abuse, substance abuse, etc.
SOWK 423 CLINICAL SOCIAL WORK
Three hours; 3 credits. Clinical Social Work/ Case Management
links working with the individual in a therapeutic relationship to manipulating
the environment on behalf of the individual. The course presents theoretical
perspectives of clinical social work and demonstrates the application
of clinical techniques to emotional and psychological problems of individuals.
It highlights case management as a technique for resource mobilization
and matching client need to appropriate services.
SOWK 424 SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND CHEMICAL DEPENDENCY
Three hours; 3 credits.This course prepares Students for the
variety of prevention, early intervention, treatment and rehabilitation
roles, which the generalist practitioner addresses in ameliorating and
reducing problems associated with alcohol and other drug use or abuse.
Special emphasis will be given throughout the course to social work
values and ethics and issues of cultural competency and diversity.
SOWK 432-433 FIELD INSTRUCTION I & II
Thirty-two hours; 8 credits. Two semesters. This course is designed
to place students in a social welfare setting where they have the opportunity
under trained, experienced supervisors to practice social work methods,
techniques, and skills, and to integrate the theoretical knowledge they
have gained in the classroom sequence.
SOWK 434-435 SOCIAL WORK METHODS I & II
Six hours; 6 credits. Two semesters. This course focuses on
the basic knowledge, values and skills of a systems process which forms
the basis for the social work generalist. Integration with the practical
experience obtained in SOWK 432-433 is emphasized. Open only to junior
and senior majors.
SOWK 436 SENIOR SEMINAR
One hour; 1 credit. This course is to be taken concurrently
with SOWK 433. The course is designed to provide students with a forum
to discuss and analyze cases that have been assigned by field instructor
supervisors. It also introduces students to professional forms of behavior.
SOWK 460 SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH
Three hours; 3 credits. One semester. This course provides students
with the knowledge necessary to understand the different phases of research
in the human services. Students will apply theory and research methods
of social science to practical social service situations.
MHTC 103 INTRODUCTION TO GROUP DYNAMICS
Three hours; 3 credits. Introduction to theory and practice
of group functioning and interaction among and between group members
are discussed. Interpersonal relationships among group members as they
develop through the processes of discussion and communication patterns,
both verbal and non-verbal, will be reviewed and studied. The emergence
of leadership and followship will be examined as they happen; the simulation
of role playing, psychodrama and other learning techniques will be examined
by the students. The class, as a group, will study itself in different
group situations to begin the development of sensitivity skills and
to understand the various ways through which people communicate their
feelings and attitudes in different group settings. Stages of group
development and roles in the group will be explored.
MHTC 308 GROUP DYNAMICS: SMALL/ LARGE GROUP PROCESS
Three hours; 3 credits. The focus of the course will be on the
dynamics of the small group as an instrument for change. Factors which
facilitate change and growth in the context of the group and the facilitator
as instrument and object of group dynamics will be examined in simulated
exercises. The facilitator techniques in each stage of the group's development
will be examined. Additionally, the individual will be viewed as a member
of multiple groups and the impact of this on his/her interpersonal relationships
in any one group will be studied. Special attention will be given to
demonstrating the application of group dynamics to problems of families,
communities and organizations.
MHTC 354 URBAN FAMILIES
Three hours; 3 credits. This is a survey course designed to
familiarize the student with the dynamics of the impact of the urban
experience in this society on the growth of children in their family
systems. Many of the cultural, societal and political factors involved
in the urban experience in the American society will be identified.
The interrelationships of these factors as they impact families in this
society will be developed and analyzed to determine possible effects
and consequences on the psycho-socio-biological development of the family.
Through group and independent experiences, various programs, proposals,
and policies designed to address particular needs identified as consequences
of the urban experience will be examined.
MHTC 455 SEMINAR: CRISIS INTERVENTION
Two-hour seminar, fifteen hours practicum; 7 credits. The focus
of the course is to examine the experiences and behaviors accompanying
short periods of life-space disequilibrium in people who confront hazardous
circumstances that constitute for them problems which cannot be avoided
or solved with indigenous problem-solving resources. Principles undergirding
intervention techniques responsive to crises will be studied and practiced
to enhance skill development.
GERO 300 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL GERONTOLOGY
Three hours; 3 credits. This course will examine the basic concepts
of aging and will pro- vide students with knowledge necessary to make
a decision regarding a career in the field of Gerontology. It will also
focus on establishing attitudes toward the process of aging that will
enable individuals to accept the changes that occur throughout the life
span in themselves and in others. This course is a requirement of all
students taking Gerontology as a minor.
