World-Changing Major

So you want to change the world?

A new major in nongovernmental organizations and social change might be for you, said Nina Eliasoph, professor of sociology.

“It will give you both practical tools, and a broad theoretical, historical and global view,” Eliasoph said. “You will examine not just what organizations have done to try to solve problems, but the problems’ histories, as well. If you want to solve a social problem you have to investigate its root causes. Otherwise, it will just come back to haunt you.”

In the new bachelor’s degree, launching in Spring 2015, undergraduates will study NGOs, a newly significant actor on the world scene. An NGO is an organization that is neither a part of a government nor a conventional, for-profit business (those operating in the United States are usually called nonprofits). They are usually funded by businesses, foundations or private individuals.

The new major focuses on the economic, political and cultural roots of social conflicts, and the varied forms of NGOs that address them. Through interdisciplinary coursework and an internship, students will learn how these organizations aim to diminish human suffering and environmental destruction around the world.

The major’s requirements include a one-semester internship in which students work 8-10 hours per week at a local nonprofit or NGO, while participating in a seminar where they analyze and reflect on their experiences and ultimately produce a research paper.

“The internship is a key part of the major that helps students integrate what they have learned in the classroom about inequality and social change with practical, hands-on experience working in nonprofits or NGOs,” said Katie Hasson, assistant professor of sociology and gender studies. “This experiential learning — real-world internship experience combined with critical reflection and analysis — helps makes this major unique.”

“The internships will give students a chance to see how decisions are actually made, how NGOs and nonprofits can work, and, equally importantly, why they sometimes don’t work,” Eliasoph said. “The goal of the internship is not just to work in an NGO and help it, but also to use the experience as a springboard for thinking about what the possibilities are for these organizations.”

Eliasoph emphasized that successful NGO and nonprofit work is not just about cheerleading and doing tokenistic work with little long-term, systematic impact. For example, it’s not just about helping sick children who lack clean water, but also finding out why they don’t already have it, and helping their societies get it.

Successful NGO work, Eliasoph said, also means listening to and working with the people being helped as equal partners, so that they themselves can make decisions about their societies, rather than allowing strangers or foreigners to come in and make decisions for them.

“Historically, what looked good on paper from a desk sometimes turned out to be a disaster up close,” she said. “Students in the major might figure out how to make NGOs work in a way that actually responds to the will of the people whom they’re trying to help, instead of imposing their ideas of what’s good for people from the top down.”

“Making NGOs responsive is especially important now that democracy is, in many ways, collapsing,” Eliasoph said.

She noted that 85 people around the globe control more wealth than the whole bottom half of the world’s population. This leaves many of our society’s most important decisions exempt from the public scrutiny of ordinary citizens, and off-limits to our input.

More and more, private individuals and organizations are controlling wealth, rather than democratically elected governments. At the same time, the number of nongovernmental organizations has exploded, partly due to this concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer private hands.

“Now, some international NGOs are more powerful than some small governments,” Eliasoph continued. “Within the U.S., there are also many nonprofits that do certain social services that used to be done by governments. So here’s this increasingly powerful type of organization, but it kind of falls through the disciplinary cracks — it’s not really political science because it’s not really government.”

Freshman Sharon Dong has had a growing interest in nonprofits and sociology over the past few years.

“I’m really into social activism, and seeing all the injustice and inequality around me compels me to do something to make a positive impact on people. This led me to the new major,” she said. “I’m hoping it will teach me the skills necessary to successfully help others and affirm my choice in this career.”

Freshman Nicole Smith, double majoring in NGOs and social change at USC Dornsife, and policy, planning and development at USC Price School of Public Policy, is passionate about helping inner-city youth at risk for joining gangs. In her first semester at USC, she took a class called “Adolescent Gang Intervention,” which counts toward the new major.

“It’s been a life-changing experience,” she said. “I was able to hear from all sides of the issue: from law enforcement, to actual gang members to community intervention workers. This allowed me to see all the factors that play a role in solving the issue.”

For her internship, Smith plans to work with at-risk youth in South Los Angeles.

“I hope that this major exposes me to more areas of social change and that I become passionate about other issues around the world.”