This course constitutes the foundation course in the human behavior department and is the underpinning of all courses in the HBSE sequence. HB 720 is designed to help you chart a knowledgeable course through the complexity of human experience. We explore a select set of theories that help us understand how individuals and communities develop and interact. Because empathic and skillful interventions with individuals, groups, and communities require understanding ourselves as well as others, the course provides an opportunity for increased self-awareness. At the beginning of the course, we focus on the key theories that help us understand the dimensions and expression of human behavior in the social environment. This discussion is followed by an examination of how dimensions of culture and cultural contexts can shape individual values, beliefs, worldviews, and identities, all of which play a role in the helping process. Through discussion and analysis, we explore areas of universality and difference in the context of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, spiritual beliefs, and socioeconomic class, as well as the realities and influence of multiple forms of oppression. Finally, we examine human development throughout the lifespan, considering the developmental scientific knowledge base regarding opportunities and vulnerabilities present during the different stages of the lifecycle, and the biopsychosocial and cultural factors that can influence individual development. The ability to analyze human behavior in the social environment is essential for all methods of social work practice, whether the primary focus is clinical or macro. The goal of the course is to enable students to develop a culturally competent framework for analyzing human behavior in order to create empathic, empowering relationships with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Social work theory and practice has a unique perspective that articulates the interconnection between an individual and his or her environment. The framework draws from other disciplines, including anthropology, economics, psychology, biology, and sociology. The course builds on your undergraduate knowledge of basic human behavior theories, adding theoretical breadth, critical contextualization, and professional application.