What to Study to Save the World: Social Justice

You don’t have to watch the news daily or be a political analyst to know that in the past 15 years or so, the entire world has been crying out for change. There seems to be a global shift toward more liberal, egalitarian social norms as communities throughout Europe, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East reject rigid, traditional structures that no longer serve the majority of people.

It doesn’t look like these trends are slowing down any time soon, either. Mexico just elected its first female president, and the United States seems to be trying to follow suit. Millennials and Generation Z are passionately speaking out against increasingly unsustainable inflation, and the topic of women’s rights in places like Afghanistan and Iran is always part of the conversation.

We at Scholar Launch even offer a research program that invites students to explore the sociological factors that underlie social injustice in America. There is so much to unpack regarding inequity. However, for students who are interested in elevating the quality of life for world citizens by finding solutions for it, there are many paths forward. 

Here are some fields of study to explore if you want to change the world via social justice.

Anthropology: Understand Humanity

Anthropology is the interdisciplinary study of human cultures, society, and development throughout history. Top universities like Princeton have well-rounded anthropology departments that invite students to challenge the social and cultural biases they were raised with by studying the many different contexts in which anthropological perspectives can exist. 

By studying medical, biological, sociocultural, legal, political, and economic anthropology, you can gain a multicultural worldview that debunks bigoted theories that lead to racism, sexism, nationalism, classism, and more. Students of this discipline can then transmute this expertise into political and educational initiatives, like critical race theory, to help design a more humanistic and inclusive future for all.

To be an anthropologist is to explore social and political organization and influences, economics, religion, language, and art across a wide variety of people groups. The nature of the work creates an inherent understanding of and appreciation for diversity and the many ways it adds value to society.

According to this recently published paper on the role of anthropology in society and culture, “[Anthropology] is a crucial field in addressing issues of social justice and inequality, as it helps us to recognize the value of cultural differences and to challenge assumptions about race, gender, and other forms of social inequality.”

Law: Change the System from Within

Oppression and injustice are societal ailments that extend far beyond individual attitudes about superiority and inferiority. Key issues like wealth distribution and poverty, gerrymandering, and domestic violence are inextricably linked with the laws and customs that either uphold traditional power imbalances or protect victims from abuse. 

The power lawyers have to unravel unjust systemic problems from within and advocate for persistent inequalities as they relate to fair housing, immigration rights, wage discrimination, and more cannot be overstated. In fact, universities from around the world feature programs for human rights law.

Columbia Law School’s Social Justice and Human Rights concentration stands out due to the central roles the college’s faculty and alumni have played in key human rights organizations like the United Nations, Amnesty International, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Numerous international legal organizations prioritize fighting for social justice, meaning opportunities for young lawyers abound.

It’s safe to say the sky is the limit for young people hoping to wield legal powers in the fight against systemic oppression.

Public Health: Advocate for Healing and Prevention

In many ways, social justice is the foundation of public health because the discipline's goal is to improve and increase access to health services, education, and other resources that communities, particularly disenfranchised communities, need to survive and thrive. 

This interdisciplinary field is the science (and, arguably, art) of promoting health, prolonging life, and preventing disease via organized efforts that take into account the socioeconomic, psychological, mental, and social well-being of the communities in question. Due to the field's public nature, those who work in public health are prepared to serve and support a wide variety of initiative types and community sizes, from small local factions to global health crises. 

Public health is relevant to social justice simply because so many of the ills we face in society–poverty, sexism in medicine, poor education, racial inequality–manifest themselves as widespread health issues. In his article “Building a Social Justice Narrative for Public Health”, Dr. Lawrence Wallack asserts that our “individualistic, market-dominated society” makes it difficult for healthcare professionals to commit to community-centric compassion and social justice values. 

In making the case for how public health is the intersection of policy, activism, science, and politics, he states: “A public health perspective characterized by social justice argues that public health problems are primarily socially generated and can be predicted based on the level of injustice and inequality in a society. Thus, the solutions to such problems must be through progressive social and public health policies and are best understood as a collective responsibility shared across the various levels of society.” 

The popular UK drama series Call the Midwife is a great example of how these intersectionalities of socioeconomic status may affect an individual or community’s access to resources that could improve their quality of life.

The sub-fields of public health, which impact every single aspect of life and are woven into a country or region’s broader healthcare system, run the gamut from epidemiology and environmental health to public policy and sexual and reproductive health. Common public health initiatives include suicide prevention, anti-smoking campaigns, maternal and child health, and obesity education and prevention.

Health inequities, which are systematic differences in the health status of different population groups, plague communities around the world and present ongoing crises that doctors, nurses, and policymakers have fought for decades. One of the most rewarding ways for eager and ambitious students to step to the frontlines of social justice work is by stepping into the healthcare field and healing disenfranchised communities from the inside out.

Education: Teach and Lead

Another way to combat social inequality is to focus on improving children's educational well-being. Education is a powerful tool for socioeconomic improvement, and teachers and administrators can have a lasting impact on the students they serve by wielding it responsibly. However, like all tools, education can be mishandled.

The United States’s infamous “school-to-prison pipeline” is an excellent example of the disastrous effects a failing public education system can have on the very children it aims to serve. The pipeline is also a tangible representation of how systemic racism and classism infect the education system from the top down.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defines the school-to-prison pipeline as a pervasive and disturbing national trend wherein disenfranchised youth–who are often victimized by disabilities, poverty, abuse, or neglect–are funneled out of failing public schools and into the criminal justice system. Students interested in preventing trends like this from continuing and improving the quality of resources afforded to historically disenfranchised schools can pursue degrees in education, law, political science, or sociology. 

These academic backgrounds would prime the next generation of leaders with the skills and knowledge needed to dismantle widespread educational inequality at local, regional, national, and even international levels.

Social justice is likely a struggle that will exist as long as humanity does, but there are multiple ways for students like you to join the fight and dismantle these systems from the inside out. Through the pursuit of higher education, anything is possible.