Beyond Boundaries: Empathy First: Solutions With Heart

3 units

Decisions that impact the daily lives of people are often made without consideration of the lived experience of those impacted, resulting in harm and eroded trust. Empathy is a critical tool for understanding the lived experience of others and creating better quality of life for all people. This course will introduce the integration of empathy into decisions through the methods, processes, and approaches used in design and social work. Students will examine how empathy is incorporated into the development and implementation of new solutions to wicked problems through conversations with experts in health, law, and business; community-based team projects; and reflection and discussion. This course is for credit only and offered to first year (non-transfer) students only.