Given the current narrative and framing that belittles both teachers and traditional teacher education programs, it should come as no surprise that the manner in which schools of education prepare their preservice teachers for democratic and empowering education is even more nuanced, complicated, and politically charged than ever. These challenges become apparent when confronted with the reality of social foundations courses, as they are often the first within programs to be questioned and critiqued as irrelevant within the grand scheme of teacher preparation. This paper provides a case study analysis that shows the hopes and goals of a critical social foundations course. The course is taken by elementary and secondary preservice teachers. The article includes an extended description of the course, which incorporates student responses and commentary throughout the analysis.