Social Movement and Protest

Course Number: PLSC 380

Semester: Fall 2022

Level: Undergraduate

An introduction to the fundamental concepts of social movements and protest, examining how movements mobilize under different regime types, the impact of state repression, and when protests lead to political change.

Course Description

Welcome to our study of social movement and protest. This class will help to explore scholarship from comparative politics, international relations, and political sociology that focuses on the development of social movements and the outcomes that they produce. As we connect history, theory, and scholarship to contemporary politics, key questions will include: How do social movements mobilize under different regime types? Does state repression deter contentious collective action? When do protests lead to political change?

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you should have a good understanding of the major theoretical debates about social movements and protests and cursory knowledge of several different social movements and protests in several countries such as the United States, China, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, etc. While this is not a course in current events, I expect you to be familiar with contemporary issues in world politics. Even a minimal effort to familiarize yourself with current happenings – in light of the material covered in class – is likely to greatly increase your returns from this course.By the end of this course, you should have a good understanding of the major theoretical debates about social movements and protests and cursory knowledge of several different social movements and protests in several countries such as the United States, China, Russia, Ukraine, Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, etc. While this is not a course in current events, I expect you to be familiar with contemporary issues in world politics. Even a minimal effort to familiarize yourself with current happenings – in light of the material covered in class – is likely to greatly increase your returns from this course.

Course Structure

Lectures: Thursday 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Office Hours: Friday 1:30-3:00 PM, and by appointment

Required Materials

Readings and Course Materials: There are no required books for this course. Our reading list includes scholarly articles and book chapters, as well as some news articles, op-eds, or other popular media. In most cases you will be able to access them online. Occasionally I may distribute notes and/or reading guides to aid your comprehension. You should come to class prepared to discuss the items listed under each day. On days without a class meeting, the items listed are for you to engage in lieu of a seminar meeting. Some of the material will be technically and theoretically challenging (e.g., some of the scholarly articles utilize formal mathematical modeling and/or advanced statistics). I do not expect any of you to have any background in advanced political research methods and, in most cases, my main concern is not in the technical details. Rather, my goal is for you to develop an intuitive understanding of the central arguments and conclusions and for you to be able to explain them.

Assessment

Component	Percentage	Due Dates
Attendance and Participation	15%	Ongoing
Midterm Exam	20%	October 13
Movie Review	15%	October 6
Case Study Presentation	15%	Week 11
Final Paper	35%	Finals Week

Course Content

Theoretical foundations: collective action theories
Resource mobilization theory
Political process and opportunity structures
Framing processes and movement narratives
Transnational movements and globalization
Digital activism and social media mobilization
Movement organizations and networks

Part II: State Repression and Movement Outcomes (Weeks 8-10)

State responses to contention: repression and concessions
Tactical innovation and adaptation
Movement impacts on policy and politics
Cultural and social outcomes of movements
Activist biographies and movement participation
Emotions and identity in movement dynamics
Movement decline and demobilization

Part III: Protests Around the World (Weeks 11-14)

Arab Spring and Middle East movements
Protest in authoritarian regimes
Democracy movements in East Asia
Economic justice and anti-austerity protests
Environmental and climate movements
Racial justice and civil rights movements
Gender, sexuality, and protest politics

Assignment Details

Attendance & Participation (15%)

Please, make all reasonable attempts to let me know of circumstances that may impact your ability to fulfill your course obligations as soon as possible. It is your responsibility to read carefully the assigned readings, to attend and participate in all class meetings/activities, and to write and turn in written assignments on time and in the appropriate format. I trust you will respect all in the class by avoiding excessively late arrivals, repeated early exits, or otherwise disruptive behavior. I am just going to assume that a) none of us would be so unscrupulous as to take unfair advantage of my – and others’ – willingness to be generous and flexible with each other and b) all of us will abide by the principle that honesty, integrity, and care for others in our communications and our scholarship is of paramount importance.

Midterm Exam (20%)

The midterm exam is designed to demonstrate how well you understand the foundational social movement theories. They will be multiple choice/short answer in format. Midterm exam will be held on October 13.

Case Study Presentation (15%)

Each student will select a case study from the list in the Course Schedule and make an in-class presentation (15-20 minutes) based on the article and own research about the case. The presentation slides should be sent as an email to me no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday (the class day).

Movie Reviews (15%)

You will write a critical review (4-5 pages each, standard formatting) of one of the films on our syllabus. These papers are not to be film summaries. Rather, they are meant to engage your ability to synthesize and critique the material in the film in light of our course materials. For example, you might discuss how the film delves further into a key definition or dynamic that we discussed in class (or not), addresses unanswered questions, or highlights something new that you hadn’t yet considered. You should run your off-syllabus film choice past me no later than October 6. The papers are due by December 8.

Movies are: I am not Your Negro, The Square, There is No Evil, 13th, Passing, The Trial of Chicago 7, Beats of No Nation, Suffragette, Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom, The Help (2011).

Final Paper (35%)

You will write a final (research) paper on any social movement of your choosing. You can choose a social movement by considering the syllabus but your arguments and analysis should be different from the articles that we read in the class. The main purpose of the final paper will be to incorporate theories and concepts from the readings and the course into an analysis of the social movement that you choose. All written assignments should be double-spaced and use a 12-point font Times New Roman. Final paper should be around 10-15 pages. The final paper is due on December 15.

Weekly Schedule

Week	Topics	Readings
1	Introduction to Social Movement Theory	McAdam, D., McCarthy, J. D., & Zald, M. N. (1996). “Introduction” in Comparative Perspectives on Social MovementsTilly, C. (1978). “Social Movements and National Politics” in From Mobilization to RevolutionDella Porta, D. & Diani, M. (2006). “The Study of Social Movements: Recurring Questions” in Social Movements: An Introduction
2	Resource Mobilization	McCarthy, J. D. & Zald, M. N. (1977). “Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory” Jenkins, J. C. (1983). “Resource Mobilization Theory and the Study of Social Movements”Edwards, B. & McCarthy, J. D. (2004). “Resources and Social Movement Mobilization”
3	Political Process Theory	Tarrow, S. (2011). “Power in Movement,” Chapters 1-3McAdam, D. (1982). “The Political Process Model” in Political Process and the Development of Black InsurgencyMeyer, D. S. (2004). “Protest and Political Opportunities”
4	Framing Processes	Snow, D. A. & Benford, R. D. (1988). “Ideology, Frame Resonance, and Participant Mobilization”Benford, R. D. & Snow, D. A. (2000). “Framing Processes and Social Movements: An Overview”Gamson, W. A. (1992). “The Social Psychology of Collective Action”
5	Collective Identity	Polletta, F. & Jasper, J. M. (2001). “Collective Identity and Social Movements”Melucci, A. (1989). “Nomads of the Present: Social Movements and Individual Needs”Taylor, V. & Whittier, N. (1992). “Collective Identity in Social Movement Communities”
6	Midterm Exam; State Repression	Davenport, C. (2007). “State Repression and Political Order”Earl, J. (2003). “Tanks, Tear Gas, and Taxes: Toward a Theory of Movement Repression”Tilly, C. (2003). “Repression, Mobilization, and Explanation”
7	Social Media and Movements	Bennett, W. L. & Segerberg, A. (2012). “The Logic of Connective Action”Tufekci, Z. (2017). “Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest”Gerbaudo, P. (2012). “Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism”
8	Protest Tactics and Consequences	Chenoweth, E. & Stephan, M. J. (2011). “Why Civil Resistance Works”Gamson, W. A. (1990). “The Strategy of Social Protest”McAdam, D. (1983). “Tactical Innovation and the Pace of Insurgency”
9	Transnational Activism	Keck, M. E. & Sikkink, K. (1998). “Activists Beyond Borders,” Chapters 1-2Smith, J. (2008). “Social Movements for Global Democracy”Tarrow, S. (2005). “The New Transnational Activism”
10	Emotions and Movements	Jasper, J. M. (1998). “The Emotions of Protest”Goodwin, J., Jasper, J. M., & Polletta, F. (2001). “Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements”Summers Effler, E. (2010). “Laughing Saints and Righteous Heroes: Emotional Rhythms in Social Movement Groups”
11	Case Studies: Arab Spring	Beinin, J. & Vairel, F. (2013). “Social Movements in the Middle East”Lynch, M. (2012). “The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East”Bayat, A. (2013). “Life as Politics: How Ordinary People Change the Middle East”
12	Case Studies: Occupy Movement	Graeber, D. (2013). “The Democracy Project,” selectionsGitlin, T. (2012). “Occupy Nation: The Roots, the Spirit, and the Promise of Occupy Wall Street”Castells, M. (2012). “Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age”
13	Case Studies: Black Lives Matter	Taylor, K-Y. (2016). “From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation”Ransby, B. (2018). “Making All Black Lives Matter”Lebron, C. J. (2017). “The Making of Black Lives Matter: A Brief History of an Idea”
14	Case Studies: Global Climate Movements	Thunberg, G. (2019). “No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference”de Moor, J. et al. (2020). “New Climate Activism: Global Protests for Climate Justice”O’Brien, K., Selboe, E., & Hayward, B. (2018). “Exploring Youth Activism on Climate Change”
15	Conclusion: Future of Social Movements	Course Review and Final Paper DiscussionMeyer, D. S. & Tarrow, S. (2018). “The Resistance: The Dawn of the Anti-Trump Opposition Movement”Pleyers, G. (2020). “The Pandemic is a Battlefield: Social Movements During the COVID-19 Lockdown”