ENACT Course Updates
LGLS121a: Legislation for Change: Research, Policy, and Social Determinants of Health
ENACT and the Women’s Studies Research Center welcomed the Bad Old Days Posse to Brandeis on September 18th, 2024. In the wake of numerous political and ideological battles over the right to reproductive justice and health, the Bad Old Days Posse formed in partnership with Reproductive Equity Now to allow individuals to share their experiences of pregnancy in a pre-Roe v. Wade era. On the 18th, a group of five panelists convened at the Liberman-Miller Lecture Hall to courageously share their personal stories with students from LGLS121a.
On October 2nd, the former Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Sumbul Siddiqui guest spoke in Legislation for Change: Research, Policy, and Social Determinants of Health. Students were able to ask Mayor Siddiqui about her pioneering work on guaranteed basic income policies in Cambridge, MA. She also shared about her journey to becoming mayor. One student shared, “Mayor Siddiqui openly shared her personal story, detailing the struggles she faced during her childhood and within her family. These experiences not only shaped her character but also fueled her passion for public service. She also emphasized that her success in accomplishing projects as the Mayor of Cambridge is largely due to her unwavering dedication to following up on her ideas and initiatives.” Mayor Siddiqui’s efforts are detailed in the documentary “It’s Basic.” For more information, please visit: https://www.itsbasicdocumentary.com/
On November 11th and 13th, Legislation for Change: Research, Policy, and Social Determinants of Health hosted a Mock Policy Forum. Throughout the semester, students researched policy areas in an effort to come up with new and/or revised legislative ideas to address pressing issues related to the social determinants of health. In this tabling style event, students had a chance to chat with peers and other members of the Brandeis community about their proposed policies and engage in civil discourse about their ideas. Students were given a chance to reflect on the forum and one student shared that “The policy forum was an invaluable experience, not only for receiving feedback on my own proposal but also for observing the passion and knowledge my peers had for their policies.”
Graham Wright, an Associate Research Professor at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and an Associate Research Scientist at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, served as a guest speaker in Legislation for Change: Research, Policy, and Social Determinants of Health on November 20th, as the class concluded their unit on Civil Discourse. Graham recently published his new book, “Persuasion, Integration, and Deliberative Democracy: The Will of the Whole” [routledge.com]. Graham’s guest lecture proposed that “It is easy to be in favor of a government that reflects the will of people you like. It is more difficult to be in favor of a government that reflects the will of people you hate. But this is precisely what democracy requires of us.”
In their culminating event of the fall 2024 semester, Legislation for Change: Research, Policy, and Social Determinants of Health hosted a panel event featuring Massachusetts State Representative Sam Montaño, Michael Doonan, the Associate Professor at the Heller School, Cameron Samuels, the Executive Director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT) and Brandeis undergraduate student, and Afnan Nehela, a Heller MPP Candidate and the Communications Director and Policy Adviser in the Office of Massachusetts State Senator Jamie Eldridge. Students were given an opportunity to hear from this diverse and distinguished group of panelists and then workshop their own policy ideas in small groups with the panelists.