Social Movements - Single View

The rationale underlying the study of social movements is the belief that they are an important source of social change and central to understanding the structure and reproduction of inequality. Social movements are typically conceptualized as non- (or extra-) institutional political activity. In addition to probing a conceptualization of movements and contentious politics as "politics by other means," the course is organized around the central dynamics and questions addressed in the literature on social movements. We will explore theoretical perspectives developed in the field of social movements and apply them to concrete examples of both historical and contemporary movements. We will cover topics such as the emergence and spread of social movements, as well as the reactions to and consequences of social movements. Students will be required to apply course readings to a collective action case of their choosing throughout the semester; this may be a movement they are reading about, or a movement in which they are actively participating.

The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements. 2004. D. A. Snow, S. A. Soule and H. Kriesi. Malden, MA and Oxford, UK, Blackwell Publishing.

Bayat, Asef. 2013. Life as politics: How ordinary people change the Middle East. Stanford University Press.