This class explores the issue of modern-day slavery across several fields: history, social movement theory, law, public health, and business. We will answer questions such as "Did slavery end in the United States after the Civil War? How do you define slavery? How can the fields of law, medicine, and business support the modern abolitionist movement?" In addition to listening to lectures and reading slave narratives and legal case studies in class, we will also be watching clips of documentaries, listening to expressive music, and writing creative pieces from the perspective of a slave.

Some scholars estimate that there are 27,000,000 slaves in the world today, including in the US. These slaves are of all different races and backgrounds and are kept in slavery by means of mental and physical violence. This course will illustrate and discuss the elements of slavery, the diverse circumstances that allow slavery to continue, review current efforts to end slavery, and challenge students to consider ways that they can fight slavery. Enslavement deprives victims of their human dignity. Portions of this class will include discussions of the circumstances and actions that assault and strip away that dignity from the victims. Some of these topics include modes of violence such as forced drug addiction, sexual violence, psychological and physical torture as well as depression and suicide. These topics represent only a portion of the class and will not be individually inspected in a detailed manner. Other sometimes controversial topics will also be discussed including gender roles in society, public corruption, and the role of faith based efforts in abolition. Further topics will include differentiation between advocacy, practitioner, and academia based abolition; how abolition works to provide victim services, reduce slavery demand, and reduce victim supply; also for discussion will be the many different forms of slavery and victim health. Prospective students are asked to discuss the subject and their class attendance with their parents or guardians before enrolling. Students enrolling in the course will be required to have a permission slip signed by a parent or guardian. Prospective students are welcome and encouraged to contact the teacher through the email on his bio page, or the program administrators, with any questions or concerns.