If you seek to join a dynamic community of innovative students who have successfully driven change through community organising, addressing issues such as fair wages, safe and affordable housing, street lighting making communities safer, and the challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers, you're in the right place. Democracy and Citizenship For All delves into the art of driving social change, advocating truth to power, and taking tangible action on real-life, critical issues.
Democracy and Citizenship For All equips you to drive societal change by addressing crucial social justice issues collaboratively with external organisations. Through training in community organising, you engage in real-life campaigns, fostering a supportive environment for personal and community development. Democracy and Citizenship For All emphasizes collaboration with local civil society communities, enhancing the university's civic role and building alliances for impactful community action.
Study level - All Undergraduate (including foundation year), Postgraduate and Research students.
Campus - All campuses. (Colchester, Southend and Loughton)
Study mode - Online course only
This Essex for all Moodle course explores how to make social change, speak truth to power and take action on real life, important issues. You'll engage with practice and theory based training and then develop or contribute to a real-life campaign that will make social change and also contribute to your personal development, making a difference with your time at university. You'll develop confidence, public speaking skills, leadership, professional communication, team working, among other transferable skills.
Once you've undertaken the training you will gain a certificate, which will be connected to your chart my path and Big Essex award. Further, if you take part beyond completing the online course in real life training you will receive further points for the Big Essex award and another certificate depending on the amount of hours you commit to your campaign work..
All undergraduate university degrees are made up of multiple modules. Each year these modules will change and your focus of study will be in different areas. Some of these modules are compulsory to your course and others are optional, meaning you can choose the areas of study you want to concentrate on. The modules below are optional modules available to students in specific departments of the university.
Study level - All final year undergraduate students in the Faculty of Social Science and Arts and Humanities.
Campus - Colchester and Southend
Study mode - On Campus only
If you are an undergraduate student in the faculty of Social Sciences or Arts and Humanities and are going in to your final year of study, you can choose to take module CS316: Democracy in Action. It is a full year module allowing you to do your final year project in an innovative and interdisciplinary way. The module seeks to give you the possibility to better understand your community, the issues it confronts and how to address them. This module engages you in how to make change through community organising and supports you in developing and running your own community organising campaign and holding power holders to account.
There is an application process for this module and if accepted, you will then be able to select the module on eNROL.
For further information and how to apply, please contact democracyinaction@essex.ac.uk.
Study level -
Essex Business School students only
Undergraduate students in final year (Module BE944-6-FY-CO)
Postgraduate students (Module BE970-7-PS-CO)
Campus - Colchester and Southend
Study mode - On Campus only
In collaboration with external community-focused organisations this module gives you the opportunity to work with community organisations on research briefs which will support those organisations in their work. The organisations will develop an idea of what they require you to do and you will work on that research brief in your final year project instead of a dissertation. Through this process you will meet with the organisations and develop a full understanding of what is required by the organisation and undergo research methods training. This may involve undertaking a literature review for the organisation, conducting analysis of the organisations financial and funding position, developing a marketing plan for the organisation, conducting a social return on investment, interviews with staff or volunteers and analysis of ways to improve the organisation, or campaigning with an organisation for social change (these are just some examples and the project could include many other dimensions beyond this depending on what the organisations wants to look at).
This will help you to understand how to fulfil the requirements of an organisation, develop work experience by developing a project for an organisation, and engage with the diverse economy as the research placement will be with a community-based organisation, opening up options for employment in the future. This will help you in developing confidence in working with external organisations and develop an understanding of communities and relevant social, political and economic issues that impact communities. You will develop knowledge, skills and experience which can boost employability prospects and help you become an active citizen and learner outside of the classroom.