Skip to main content

BerkeleyX: Writing for Social Justice

Learn to harness the power of writing to bring about about personal, social, and political changes that matter.

Writing for Social Justice
4 weeks
4–5 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Enrollment closed
Future dates to be announced

About this course

Skip About this course

Can writing change your world? Writing with power about personal, social, and political issues can change minds, introduce solutions to old problems, and help you become a more engaged participant in public life.

Everyone has issues that matter deeply to them, whether they are:

  • Personal--such as defining the goals and ideas that are important you,
  • Local--such as the governance of the public library or enactment of local laws and propositions,
  • National--including critical political and social issues being decided on a larger scale, or
  • Global--challenges facing the planet from perspectives of social and ecological change.

In Writing for Social Justice, you will learn the importance of word choices in writing for different genres in order to reach your audience. Specifically, you will learn to:

  • keep a personal journal to help you identify issues and ideas that matter in your world
  • write letters to public officials that will capture attention without being dogmatic or offensive
  • craft opinion articles that take opposing positions into account, while using critical thinking and effective strategies for successfully arguing logically for your own ideas
  • optionally, develop and maintain a blog or podcast of your writing in order to reach a wider audience

There will be short example readings included in the course, which will serve as models of different persuasive genres.

You will also share your writing with other students in the course, getting and offering feedback on assignments.

At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated skills:Critical Thinking, Social Justice, Governance, Writing, Persuasive Communication

What you'll learn

Skip What you'll learn

What you'll learn:

  • Effective and powerful vocabulary
  • Persuasive writing
  • How to use evidence instead of emotion in persuasive arguments
  • Where and how to publish your work

Interested in this course for your business or team?

Train your employees in the most in-demand topics, with edX For Business.