Assignment Sheet

Week 4

Social Change

1. Several key individuals and ideas that have shaped the philosophy of social change.
The first of these is Mahatma Gandhi. According to Kapadia, Gandhi believed that
ideas and ideals had no value if they were not translated into action. Gandhi talked
frequently about social change and service to others: The best way to find yourself is
to lose yourself in the service of others. Implementing positive social change can be
a difficult process. Gandhi was asked why people should not just achieve their goals
by any means necessary. He believed that the means are connected to the end.
Gandhi wrote: every problem lends itself to solution if we are determined to make
the law of truth and nonviolence the law of life. According to Pal, Gandhi influenced
many important social change movements and leaders. Some leaders who have
acknowledged his influence are: Dr. Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai
Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi and Rigoberta Menchu. According to Gandhi’s grandson,
Arun Gandhi, his grandfather would say: be the change you wish to see.

2. Another world leader who spent most of his life fighting for social change was
Nelson Mandela. As described in information related to a Public Broadcasting
Service (PBS) Frontline special on Mandela, not everyone is able to see the results
of their hard-fought efforts in their lifetimes. Sometimes, they can only lay the
groundwork for the next generation. Mandela was able to lead and experience this
transformation in South Africa which brought an end to apartheid and now has a
constitution that guarantees the rights of all people. According to Mendoza Mandela
believed in the importance of changing yourself first and said, one of the most
difficult things is not to change society -- but to change yourself. In a message to
American youth, Mandela wrote that ending racism in the U.S. means ridding
ourselves of hatred toward others.

3. In our country, Dr. King embraced the tenets of non-violence in his leadership within
the civil rights movement and enduring philosophy for bringing about social change.
He wrote about his those who inspired his philosophy of nonviolent social change
and Gandhi was a significant influence. According to Pal, King took a month-long trip
to India in 1959 in order to visit the country of his inspiration. The King Center is
dedicated to preserving his legacy and provide ongoing support for social change.
Based on Dr. King's teachings, The King Center published, Six Steps of Nonviolent
Social Change. These six steps are: information gathering, education, personal
commitment, negotiation, direct action, and reconciliation. In the more than 50 years
since Dr. King wrote about his vison for diversity in the U.S. through integration, we
are still not close to a truly integrated society.

4. Social change is a founding value and educational goal at Walden University as

expressed in the Mission and Vision statements, and incorporated in every course
curriculum. The Walden Vision statement reads as follows: Walden University

© 2022 Walden University, LLC Page 1 of 3

 envisions a distinctively different 21st-century learning community where knowledge
is judged worthy to the degree that it can be applied by its graduates to the
immediate solutions of critical societal challenges, thereby advancing the greater
global good. While bringing about social change on either a micro or macro level can
be daunting, Mandela was quoted as saying: It always seems impossible until it's
done. The teachings of Gandhi, Mandela, King and many others continue to
influence new generations of scholars and social change practitioners.

References for Paragraph 1

Author: A. Pal Date: Jan 24, 2008. Title of article: 60 years after death, Gandhi is
Making world a better Place. Published in: The Progressive.
Website:http://www.progressive.org/mag_wxap012408

B’Hahn, Carmella, 2001. Title of article: Be the Change You Wish to See: An Interview
with Arun Gandhi. Journal: Reclaiming Children and Youth, volume 10, issue 1, pp 6-9
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=eric&AN=EJ632211&site=eds-
live&scope=site&custid=s6527200

Mahatma Gandhi. 1961. Book title: Non-violent Resistance. City: New York Publisher:
Schocken Books.

S. Kapadia, (n.d.). Article title: A Tribute to Mahatma Gandhi: His Views on Women and
Social Change. Website: https://www.mkgandhi.org/articles/kapadia.htm

Goodreads. No date. Mahatma Gandhi quotes. Website:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/11416-the-best-way-to-find-yourself-is-to-lose-
yourself

References for Paragraph 2

Frontline. Date: May 25, 1999). Title: The Long walk of Nelson Mandela: Viewers' and
Teachers' Guide. Website:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/mandela/teach/

Author: Dorris Mendoza Date: December 16, 2013. Article Title: 9 simple ways to keep
Nelson Mandela's Legacy alive. Website:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/16/living/keeping-mandelas-legacy-alive/

Author: Mandela, Nelson. Date: February, 1995. Title: A Message from Nelson
Mandela to the Youth of America. Journal: Social Education. Volume 59. Issue
2. P. 91.

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References for Paragraph 3

Author: A. Pal Date: Jan 24, 2008. Title of article: 60 years after death, Gandhi is
Making world a better Place. Published in: The Progressive.
Website:http://www.progressive.org/mag_wxap012408

The King Center. No date. Title: Six steps of nonviolent Social Change. website:
http://www.thekingcenter.org/king-philosophy

Authors: Andrew Stewart, Joseph Sweetman, & Tiffany Brannon. Date: 2018. Article
Title: Reaffirming King’s Vision: The Power of Participation in Inclusive Diversity Efforts
to Benefit Intergroup Outcomes. Journal Title: Journal of Social Issues. Volume: 74,
Issue: 2, PP. 355-376. Doi Number: 10.1111/josi.12273

References for Paragraph 4

Goodreads. No date. Nelson Mandela Quotes. Website:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/36606-it-always-seems-impossible-until-it-s-done

Walden University (2013). Mission and Vision.

http://www.waldenu.edu/about/social-change/mission-and-vision

© 2022 Walden University, LLC Page 3 of 3