Welcome to OfCourse!, a vibrant new way to learn about policy, social justice, and other macro content. OfCourse! utilizes creative video, animation, innovative graphics, music, and expert interviews to inspire and inform students about historical and current subjects that matter.

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Course Curriculum

  • 1

    Highlights of Social Welfare History

    • Opening

    • The Indefatigable Dorothea Dix

    • Explaining the "Exceptional" US Social Welfare System

    • The Bad Old Days: Life in the 19th & 20th Centuries

    • Riding on the Orphan Train

    • Hull House & The Settlement Home Movement

    • Saving Babies: The Early Years of The Children's Bureau

    • The Great Migration

    • Black Groundbreakers in Social Work

    • The Great Depression and the Social Security Act

    • Conclusion: Living in History's Echo

    • References for Highlights in Social Welfare History
  • 2

    Poverty: America's Enduring Disgrace

    • Opening

    • Introduction to Poverty

    • Poverty Measures & Basic Needs

    • Poverty by the Numbers - 2023

    • Poverty Myths: Exposed

    • More Than a Statistic: The Pain of Poverty

    • Updated Budget Numbers

    • Poverty in Comparative Perspective

    • Face to Face: Interview with Anti-Poverty Expert Dr. Mark Rank

    • The Household PULSE Survey & Hardship in the Pandemic

    • The CARES Act and Poverty Early in the Covid-19 Pandemic

    • Official Poverty Measure vs Supplemental Poverty Measure (with quiz)

    • Fighting Poverty: Programs that Work

    • References for Poverty: America's Enduring Disgrace
  • 3

    Pandemic Realities: Past, Present and Future

    • Opening

    • Pandemic Realities: Past, Present & Future

    • Covid Timeline (with interactives)

    • Relief Policies During the Pandemic

    • Deep Dive Podcast: Social Work & Advocacy Practice in the Pandemic

    • The Striking Success of Covid Vaccines

    • Covid: Year 5
  • 4

    The African American Experience in the US: Progress with Durable Inequalities

    • Opening

    • Significant People & Events in African American History: 1600s-2022

    • Disparities in African American Health and Wellbeing

    • Arguing Reparations

    • What is Anti-Racist Practice?

    • African American Life Expectancy in the Covid Pandemic

    • Black Hardship Across the Lifespan

    • Black Progress Over the Last 50 Years

    • The Magnolia Mother's Trust

    • Recommended Books: African American Women in the Freedom Struggle
  • 5

    Workin’ for a Living: The Minimum Wage, Earned Income Tax Credit & Workers Compensation

    • Opening: Workin' for a Living

    • Frances Perkins: Unsung Heroine of the Minimum Wage

    • Minimum Wage Timeline

    • The Best of Times: The Minimum Wage in the 60s

    • Minimum Wage Rates in the U.S. (2025)

    • The EITC: Anti-Poverty Rock Star

    • How the EITC Works

    • The EITC Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic

    • A Tale of Two Popular Programs

    • The Family Medical Leave Act at 30

    • Ten Things You Should Know About the Workers Compensation Program

    • References for The MW & The EITC
  • 6

    Hunger, Snap & WIC

    • Opening: Food for Thought

    • SNAP: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

    • Hunger & Food Insecurity

    • Living on SNAP: The 'Food Stamps' Experiment

    • Something WIC This Way Comes

    • WIC Essentials

    • Strengths and Weaknesses of WIC

    • SNAP for Social Work Practice

    • Closing Thoughts

    • References for Hunger, SNAP & WIC
  • 7

    Health Care History, Policies & Programs

    • Opening

    • Health Care in America: Timeline

    • Medicaid by the Numbers

    • Medicaid During and After the Covid Pandemic

    • Drawing the Line: The Opioid Epidemic in America

    • The Opioid Epidemic in the Coronavirus Epidemic

    • Liar, Liar Meets ACA Repeal

    • What is Anti-Poverty Medicine?

    • 7 Important Health Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (with interactives)

    • Mr. Richarte Goes to the Hospital

    • Health Care Glossary

    • Flashcards: Simple Terms

    • Flashcards: Abbreviations
  • 8

    Living in an Aging Society

    • Opening

    • Aging in America

    • Aging By the Numbers

    • Positive Implications of an Aging Society

    • Social Security Basics

    • Social Security Comics

    • Covid & Social Security

    • Two Marches
  • 9

    Housing in America: Problems, Policies & Programs

    • Opening

    • Affordable Housing Glossary of Terms (with flash cards, quiz and games)

    • Housing & Human Rights

    • Video: A Short History of Public Housing in the US

    • Housing & Eviction During the Pandemic

    • Federal Housing Choice Vouchers

    • Housing & Extreme Weather
  • 10

    Trends in Criminal Justice and Policy

    • Opening

    • Covid & The U.S. Correctional System

    • Incarceration by the Numbers: Women and Girls

    • Impact of Incarceration on Children & Families

    • Importance of Prison Arts & Education Programs

    • Introduction to AN INSURRECTION

    • An Insurrection

    • Prison Profiteering

    • U.S. Prisons & Private Profit
  • 11

    Special Topics in Human Rights and Social and Economic Justice

    • Opening

    • The Convention on the Rights of the Child

    • Policies and Programs in Social Security to Support the Disabled

    • We Want You to Know: Disability Quotes

    • LGBTQ Glossary of Terms

    • America For and Against

    • Race and Ethnicity in U.S. States
  • 12

    Policy Analysis & Policy Practice

    • Opening

    • Policy Analysis Glossary of Terms

    • Introduction to Program Evaluation

    • Essentials of Program Evaluation

    • Interview with a Policy Analyst

    • Native Changemakers

    • The Personal is Political

    • Ten Tips for a Successful Meeting with a Policymaker (with interactives)
  • 13

    Voting & Electoral Politics

    • Opening

    • The Electoral College: Great Idea or Garbage?

    • Female Presidential Candidates in the U.S., 1872-2024

    • The National Popular Vote Compact

    • Pachanga for Trump!

    • References for Voting & Electoral Politics