Social Justice Unit 1

Unit Plan: Understanding Social Injustice and Social 
Main Focus: Examining historical and contemporary social injustices in the U.S. through public domain primary sources.

Unit Objectives:
By the end of this unit, students will be able to:
  1. Define and analyze key concepts related to social injustice.
  2. Explore historical and contemporary case studies of social injustice in the U.S.
  3. Understand the role of power, privilege, and oppression in shaping society.
  4. Define social justice and explore its theoretical foundations.
  5. Examine different theories of justice and their implications for society.

Unit Breakdown:
Week 1: Understanding Social Injustice
Key Concepts:
  • Definition of Social Injustice
  • Forms of Social Injustice: Racism, Sexism, Ableism, Economic Inequality
  • The role of power, privilege, and oppression in society
Activities & Primary Sources:
  1. Reading & Discussion:
    • W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903)
      [Public domain link: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/408]
      • Discuss Du Bois’ concept of “double consciousness” and its relation to racial injustice.
  2. Case Study: Jim Crow Laws & Racial Segregation
  3. Women’s Rights & Sexism
  4. Disability Rights & Ableism

Week 2-3: Historical and Contemporary Case Studies of Social Injustice
Key Concepts:
  • How social injustices have shaped the United States
  • Examining systemic oppression and responses over time
Case Studies & Primary Sources:
  1. Slavery & Racial Oppression
    • Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845)
      [Public domain link: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23]
      • Explore firsthand experiences of slavery and resistance.
  2. Economic Inequality & Labor Rights
  3. The Civil Rights Movement
  4. Indigenous Rights & Dispossession

Week 4: Defining Social Justice
Key Concepts:
  • Concepts of justice, equity, and human rights
  • Intersectionality: Understanding overlapping social identities
Activities & Primary Sources:
  1. The Concept of Justice
  2. Intersectionality & Overlapping Social Identities

Week 5-6: Key Theories of Social Justice
Key Concepts:
  • Distributive justice, restorative justice, and reparative justice
  • Theories of John Rawls and Martha Nussbaum
Activities & Primary Sources:
  1. Distributive Justice
    • John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (excerpts, 1971) – Summary due to copyright
      • Discuss Rawls’ concept of the “veil of ignorance” and fairness in society.
  2. Restorative & Reparative Justice
    • Harper’s Weekly (Reconstruction-era discussions on reparations, 1865)
      [Public domain link: https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83045774/]
      • Debate reparations for African Americans post-slavery.
  3. The Capabilities Approach
    • Martha Nussbaum (Summarized discussion on human dignity & justice)
      • Compare Nussbaum’s ideas to earlier justice theories.

Assessment & Final Project Options:
  • Research Paper: Choose a contemporary social injustice and analyze it using historical context and justice theories.
  • Oral History Project: Interview a community member on their experiences with social justice or injustice.
  • Creative Writing Piece: Write a speech, poem, or essay from the perspective of someone affected by a historical or modern injustice.

Conclusion & Reflection:
  • Discussion: How can individuals contribute to social justice movements?
  • Final Reflection: Write a personal statement on what justice means in today’s world.
​The following activities include AI tools that enhance student engagement, provide data-driven insights, and facilitate personalized learning. 
Week 1
Understanding Social Injustice Through Memoirs
Theme Personal Narratives of Oppression and Resistance
Public Domain Sources
  • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass 1845
  • Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs 1861
  • The Souls of Black Folk by W E B Du Bois 1903
Group Activity
​AI Assisted Book Club
  • Step 1 Divide students into groups and assign each a memoir excerpt
  • Step 2 Use AI summarization tools such as ChatGPT or Claude to condense key themes
  • Step 3 Each group creates an AI generated Modern Retelling where they rewrite the narrative in a contemporary setting
  • Step 4 Present rewritten versions and discuss how AI helped identify patterns in historical injustices
Individual Activity
AI Powered Monologue Writing
  • Step 1 Select a figure from one of the memoirs and write a monologue from their perspective
  • Step 2 Use AI speech generators such as ElevenLabs to create an audio performance of the monologue
  • Step 3 Reflect in a journal entry about the emotional impact of hearing the AI generated voice deliver their writing
Week 2
Protest Poetry and Resistance Literature
Theme Poetry as a Tool for Social Change
Public Domain Sources
  • I Sing the Body Electric by Walt Whitman
  • Lift Every Voice and Sing by James Weldon Johnson
  • The Cry of the Children by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Group Activity
AI Poetry Remix and Visual Representation
  • Step 1 Each group selects a public domain protest poem
  • Step 2 Use AI poetry generators such as ChatGPT or PoemAI to remix the poem into a spoken word style
  • Step 3 Use AI art tools such as DALLE to create a visual representation of the poem’s theme
  • Step 4 Share both the AI generated poetry and visuals in a Resistance Art Gallery
Individual Activity
AI Powered Ekphrastic Poetry
  • Step 1 Choose an AI generated image from the group gallery
  • Step 2 Use it as inspiration for writing an original poem addressing a modern social issue
  • Step 3 Generate an AI assisted analysis of their own poem to compare personal themes with historical themes
Week 3
Theatre and Film as Tools for Advocacy
Theme Dramatizing Injustice Through Performance
Public Domain Sources
  • A Raisin in the Sun 1959 recently public domain
  • The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1892
  • An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen 1882
Group Activity
AI Assisted Script Adaptation and Performance
  • Step 1 Groups adapt a scene from An Enemy of the People or The Yellow Wallpaper into a modern day social justice setting using AI scriptwriting tools such as Sudowrite
  • Step 2 Use AI generated voiceovers or avatars to perform their scene digitally
  • Step 3 Host a discussion on how AI can assist activism in storytelling
Individual Activity
AI Scene Expansion and Analysis
  • Step 1 Choose a secondary character from the plays and write a missing scene using AI writing assistants
  • Step 2 Use AI text analysis tools such as ChatGPT to break down how the new scene aligns with the original themes
  • Step 3 Reflect on how AI can be used to reclaim lost narratives
Week 4
Journalism and Muckraking in Social Change
Theme Investigative Journalism and Exposing Injustice
Public Domain Sources
  • How the Other Half Lives by Jacob Riis 1890
  • The Jungle by Upton Sinclair 1906
  • Ida B Wells anti lynching articles
Group Activity
AI Assisted Investigative Journalism Simulation
  • Step 1 Groups analyze excerpts from Riis Sinclair or Wells using AI text summarizers
  • Step 2 Use AI generated data visualization such as Tableau with AI integrations to illustrate key issues
  • Step 3 Create a mock AI generated newspaper front page highlighting the injustices found in the texts
Individual Activity
AI Powered Investigative Blogging
  • Step 1 Write a modern investigative blog post inspired by the public domain texts
  • Step 2 Use AI fact checking tools to verify claims and sources
  • Step 3 Publish the blog post on a class forum and engage in peer discussion
Week 5
Solutions and Modern Activism
Theme Using AI and Historical Lessons to Address Current Social Injustice
Public Domain Sources
  • The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen by Olympe de Gouges 1791
  • The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels 1848
  • A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft 1792
Group Activity
AI Generated Social Justice Campaigns
  • Step 1 Groups select a historical movement and an AI powered social media tool such as Canva AI or ChatGPT for slogans
  • Step 2 Use AI to design a digital activism campaign including social media posts posters and chatbot advocacy
  • Step 3 Present AI generated materials and discuss ethical considerations in AI activism
Individual Activity
AI Policy Proposal and Reflection
  • Step 1 Use AI powered policy drafting tools such as ChatGPT to draft a modern law based on the readings
  • Step 2 Use AI debate simulators to argue for or against their policy in a mock government session
  • Step 3 Reflect in a journal entry on the role of AI in policymaking and activism
Final Showcase AI Generated Social Injustice Anthology
  • Students collaborate to compile their AI enhanced writings poetry scripts and investigative reports into a class anthology
  • AI tools assist in design formatting and summarization to create a polished final product
  • The anthology is published online and shared with the community
This unit plan integrates AI in research creative production analysis and activism offering distinct group and individual experiences each week while grounding discussions in public domain texts 
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