This study-abroad course will look at social entrepreneurship in the United States and China. In particular, this course will look at how racial minorities in the United States since 1945 and migrants within China since the 1980s have developed strategies and approaches to approve the quality of life in their respective communities. Social entrepreneurship is an emerging field in which passionate people driven by a desire to change the world lead, design, and launch businesses that solve social problems. Because the field of social entrepreneurship is interdisciplinary and in its infancy, the course will be introductory in nature and will draw heavily from case studies, student inquiry, speaker experience, and the students’ own volunteer experiences in Beijing. This course specifically looks at how innovative people in the U.S. and China historically have used business approaches to address some of society’s greatest problems such as poverty, environmental concerns, migrant education, caring for an aging population, urban unemployment, health care, orphan child welfare, women’s rights, fatherless homes, and other issues.
Considerable attention will be given to the 1960s, when African and Mexican Americans launched a ton of non-profit businesses in hopes of solving problems in their communities. We will look at these initiatives from the 1960s, and compare and contrast that with solutions offered from China’s migrant population. This course will explore the United States and China’s social entrepreneurial landscapes, examine challenges in their current systems, and look at the similarities and differences between the U.S. and China’s approaches to social entrepreneurship as viable ways of solving social problems. Further study and examination will address any common problems experienced globally.
Social Entrepreneurship is a rapidly expanding and growing phenomenon as engaged citizens realize that government is unable to solve some of society’s greatest problems. China represents arguably the best place to study this emerging field since its declining welfare state has struggled to provide sufficient and innovative solutions to growing social problems. Placing China’s social enterprise efforts into a broader context of similarities to and differences from the U.S. will give students a unique comparative perspective.
The course will be structured around four interconnected yet distinct elements:
- The field of social entrepreneurship/enterprise
- Types of challenges in the U.S. and China
- The realities of starting and managing a social enterprise venture
- How social entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China are addressing these challenges and to what extent this impacts U.S. and China relations
Students who enroll in the course will learn and explore:
- Chinese traditions and culture, as well as contemporary history and current socio-political systems.
- A good working definition of social entrepreneurship/enterprise
- The most pressing social issues facing the U.S. and China
- How the U.S. and China are attempting to deal with these issues
- What is a non-profit, an “agency” or NGO and how do these differ from social enterprises?
- Problems facing social entrepreneurs in the U.S. and China
- Similarities and differences in the approaches to social entrepreneurship in the United States than in China
- Whether or not current social entrepreneurship models from the United States will work in China
- The impact of Chinese culture and politics on social entrepreneurship
10. The advantages and/or disadvantages of being an American social entrepreneur in China
11. It is possible to measure social impact, and if so, how do we effectively measure it?
12. How social enterprise firms sustain themselves
13. How to write a proposal for a social enterprise venture
Partnership with the Dandelion School
One critical component of the course is the 10-hour per week internship at the Dandelion School in Beijing. Founded in 2005 as the only middle-school in Beijing catering to the needs of the city’s large and expanding migrant population, the Dandelion School is an innovative model of education whose goal is to increase educational attainment within this population. Students will serve as teaching assistants, English instructors, staff support members, and in other capacities. By working at the Dandelion School students will gain first-hand knowledge of how one venture is attempting to solve one of China’s greatest social problems, migrant education.
Chinese Language and Culture Component
To help our students understand the culture, history, and politics of China, Dr. Ge Chen, Assistant Vice President and Director of federally-funded TRiO Programs at UT, will teach a 1-hour class on Chinese Language and Culture in the spring of 2013. Born and raised in China and fluent in Mandarin, Dr. Chen adds essential cultural and historical knowledge to this program. She will also teach the daily Chinese Language and Culture class while we are in China for the Maymester.
Required Books
- Paul Tough, Whatever it Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Change Harlem and America
- Jacqueline Novogratz, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World
- Wilford Welch, Tactics of Hope: How Social Entrepreneurs are Changing Our World
- Muhammad Yunus, Banker to the Poor: Microlending and the Battle Against World Poverty
- Mykoskie, Blake, Start Something That Matters
Grades
Grades will be based upon the following:
- 30% Two take-home essay exams
- 10% A daily journal
- 25% Group project: a social enterprise venture proposal for a new venture or a new innovation within an existing venture to address a social problem in the U.S. and/or China which consists of (1) a five-page proposal; (2) two-minute video; (3) 90-second podcast
- 25% Research Paper
- 10% Volunteering at a local social enterprise organization
Research Paper
Each student will be required to write a 12-15 page paper on a particular social issue within the United States in the 1960s and how innovative firms attacked the problem. For instance, in Cleveland, Ohio, the Hough Area Development Corporation was founded in 1967 to combat the issue of urban poverty and unemployment. Further, in postwar Pittsburgh, William Strickland launched the Manchester-Bidwell Corporation in an effort to meet the needs of inner-city kids who were passionate about the arts. Additionally, the Black Panther Party created a host of “Community Survival Programs” in the 1960s designed to attack problems. Last, in 1965 Jim Brown and other African American professional athletes created the Negro Industrial and Economic Union in an effort to trigger black entrepreneurship in America’s inner-cities.
Topics must be approved by the Instructor and the research must include primary sources such as newspapers, personal papers, archives, magazine articles, TV commercials, radio programs, etc.
Social Enterprise Venture Proposal (Passion and Purpose)
The bulk of the grade comes from the social enterprise venture proposal that students will collaborate on with 3-4 other team members. These high-performance, inter-disciplinary teams will focus on a particular challenge in the U.S. and/or China that they are passionate about. Ideally, teams will include students from different academic backgrounds. For example, students in the liberal arts and humanities are often motivated by passion, contribution, and impact, whereas students in the college of business often think in terms of expertise, metrics, and capital. Research suggests that effective social enterprise firms have a mixture of people with different skill sets. Students will work on a compelling business plan that addresses a well-defined social challenge. The project will consist of a business plan, a two-minute video, and a 90-second podcast. At the end of the Maymester, each team will pitch their social enterprise idea to a group of American and Chinese professionals.
At the beginning of every class, each team will choose a representative to give an update to the class. This includes a 40-second elevator pitch, and updates, changes, interventions, and next steps, as it relates to the venture proposal.
This project will help students strengthen their teamwork, problem solving, and presentation skills, and it will also deepen their understanding of social innovation and entrepreneurial leadership. Specific attention will focus on delivering a compelling message on what matters most to the student and how he/she can blend passion with an innovative professional career devoted to making a change in the world in which they live.
Volunteering
A major component of the course is the 10-hour per week volunteering assignment at a local social enterprise organization. Students will volunteer in groups with various community partners and we will collaborate with that partner to identify needs and solutions through innovative problem solving.
Daily Class Schedule
Chinese Language and Culture 8:30-9:30
Social Entrepreneurship in the U.S. and China 9:30-11:30
Volunteering afternoons
Maymester Schedule*
Saturday May 25 Arrive in Beijing
Sunday May 26 Welcome/Orientation and Group Dinner
Monday May 27 China’s Challenges, Part 1
Tuesday May 28 China’s Challenges, Part 2
Wednesday May 29 Field Trip/Excursion
Thursday May 30 Introduction to the Entrepreneurial Mindset
Friday May 31 Entrepreneurship and Social Value
Saturday June 1 Open
Sunday June 2 Open
Monday June 3 Passion and Purpose
Tuesday June 4 Profit and Metrics
Wednesday June 5 Field Trip/Excursion
Thursday June 6 Identifying Social Problems
Friday June 7 Providing Innovative Solutions
Saturday June 8 Open
Sunday June 9 Open
Monday June 10 Sustainability
Tuesday June 11 How to Measure Social Impact
Wednesday June 12 Field Trip/Excursion
Thursday June 13 Scaling for Impact
Friday June 14 Research Day
Saturday June 15 Open
Sunday June 16 Open
Monday June 17 The Elevator Pitch
Tuesday June 18 Leadership and Challenges of Social Entrepreneurs
Wednesday June 19 Venture Proposal Presentations
Thursday June 20 Venture Proposal Presentations
Friday June 21 Farewell Dinner
Saturday June 22 Depart to U.S.
*Class schedule and field trips/excursions subject to change.