SC357 F08: Social Change in Action I Mondays, 4:30-6:50, Carney 306 Professor: Phone: Email: Darcy Leach 617-552-4645 (office) leachd@bc.edu Office: Office Hours: 519b McGuinn Mon. 1-2; Thurs. 1-2 or by appt. Course Description It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the problems of our times. What can ordinary people do to bring about social change? How can they organize themselves effectively without sacrificing the very values for which they are fighting? In this two-part course you’ll learn about various organizing strategies through readings and discussion, and also gain practical skills in participatory decision-making, publicity and outreach, alliance-building, and more, through trainings and a hands-on collective action project. Over the course of the year, the class will choose an issue, set a goal, and design a campaign strategy, then work together to carry out the first steps of that campaign. Students should have either prior coursework in social issues/social movements or activist experience. The Fall semester will be dedicated primarily to choosing an issue, researching it, and developing a campaign strategy, and collectively writing a detailed action plan for the campaign, including a media strategy and a general timetable for various events. We will hopefully progress quickly enough to be able to carry out the first step of the campaign during the Fall semester, but the bulk of the actual organizing work will take place Spring term. Since planning and doing are always interconnected, we will be involved in some of each in both semesters, but generally this term is for planning and next term is for learning the concrete organizing skills and carrying out the plan. While you are not required to take the course both terms, I highly recommend that you do. Taking it only Fall term may leave you frustrated at not having actually done much, and you’ll be leaving just as the project gets going; and those who only take it Spring term will be jumping into a project they had no hand in creating and joining a group that has spent a whole semester working together, getting to know each other, and building a sense of community, which may make it very difficult to really feel a part of things and invested in the project. Nonetheless, if you are only able to take it one term or the other, I will do my best to make it a rewarding experience for everyone. Course Format The course is designed to have a strong experiential component. It is meant to give you practical knowledge of various kinds of organizing skills and hands-on experience using them in a collective project. At the same time, we will be discussing these issues and the various options we look at with an evaluative eye, considering the practical and ethical implications of various options available to organizers in terms of how to mobilize people, how to deal with the media, what strategies for social change work best, what tactics, etc. Also, many of the options that have been tried historically are either not within the scope of this course for us to try ourselves (developing a national coalition, for example) or are ethically/morally inappropriate to be carrying out as a class (e.g. violent tactics), yet it is important from an intellectual standpoint to understand what has been tried in the past and what has or has not SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 1 of 11 worked in different situations. Consequently, the format of the course is designed so that the experiential component and our consideration of historical approaches to social change run parallel to each other over the course of the year - in each class period, we will spend approximately half of the time discussing the readings and the other half of the time working on the group project/campaign. Because of the collective nature of much of what we will be doing this term, and because the goal of the course is to allow you to grow in your capacity to engage in issues of concern to you, I have designed the course to have a somewhat emergent character. While some things are less flexible than others (workshops done by outside trainers, for example), there is room in the syllabus for us to customize the readings and topics as the course unfolds, based on your needs and interests and the requirements of the project we choose. Likewise, in weeks 6 or 7, we will take a look at the suggested topics for the last half of the course, and if the class has developed interests in other questions, we can reorganize things to work them in. Course Requirements (Semester I) 1) Participation and discussion questions. These are especially important since so much of the class revolves around group work. I will not be taking roll each week, but your classmates will need you to be there for the project to come together well, so absences will be noticed. If you have to miss a class, please make sure to get notes from a fellow student and keep up with all readings and assignments. My assessment of your overall level of engagement with the class will constitute a significant part of your grade. Things that will count toward your participation grade are: • participation in class discussions • once during each term, you will sign up to bring in discussion questions which we will use to guide discussion that day Other (optional) things you can do to ensure a good participation grade might be: • email correspondence • coming to my office hours • attending relevant lectures or events on campus and talking to me about it in person or writing up a page summarizing the event and giving your reactions. Everyone will get to suggest what grade they should receive for their work on the group project by writing up a one-page report explaining what role you played, what work you did on the project over the course of the semester, and what grade you think you deserve. I will then use these reports to inform my assessment of each person’s contribution. 2) 3-page concerns paper. For the third week of class, everyone will be asked to write a short (3 pages) paper on the social issue or problem you would most like to have the class address for the class project. It should be something you are really concerned about and that you think you would be passionate about working on. This exercise will help us facilitate our selection of an issue and a goal for the class project. 3) Journaling. As a supplement to in-class discussion and as a way of processing the materials we cover, I will ask each student to keep a journal, recording your thoughts and reactions to the readings, our discussions, and your experience in the course. I have set up the journaling tool on the Blackboard site for you to use, or if you prefer, you may buy a separate spiral notebook or journal to use for this purpose. I will periodically read and respond to the journals as a way of entering into a more individualized intellectual dialogue with you. These won’t be graded on content, but on the degree to which you seem to be consistently and thoughtfully engaging with the issues and ideas that come up. SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 2 of 11 4) Activist biography/autobiography report/presentation. Each student will choose an activist they would like to learn more about and read either a biography or autobiography on that person and give an informal report to the class about that person’s life and your impressions/thoughts about the book. This can be done either in pairs, in which case the presentation should be about 10-15 minutes long, or individually, in which case it should be 5-7 minutes. Then you’ll turn in a short write-up of the presentation. We will figure out who will do which activist during the second week of class and sign up for presentation dates. I have compiled a list of as many activists I can think of and biographies and autobiographies written about them from which you can choose, or talk to me if you have another idea of someone else you would like to report about. Presentations will take place throughout the semester. 5) Action plan. Once we have chosen an issue and a goal for the action, the class will work most of the semester to create a detailed action plan, laying out what the issue is we are working on, who the stakeholders are, and what resources the class has, and laying out a campaign strategy, including what exact actions will be carried out, when and how they will happen, etc. The collectively written action plan will be due no later than week 12 and probably earlier, depending on our rate of progress. Everyone will get the same grade for this assignment. 6) Final reflections paper (10-12 pgs). At the end of the term, each student will write a 10-12 page final paper, reflecting on the action, your experiences in the group project aspect of the course, and what you learned through the readings and discussion. Grading – Semester I Your final grade for the course will be derived according to the following weighting of individual requirements: Participation (including in-class/discussion questions and group project) Concerns paper Journal Activist presentation/report Action plan (collective) Final paper 15% 5% 10% 25% 20% 25% Academic Integrity It is each student’s responsibility to understand and adhere to the accepted norms of intellectual honesty in their academic work. Any form of cheating, plagiarism, dishonesty, or collusion in another’s dishonesty is a fundamental violation of these norms. To see the College's policies in this area go to: http://www.bc.edu/integrity. Two other sources to consult about proper citation rules and exactly what constitutes a breach of policy are: “Plagiarism Examples and Guidelines: A Quiz” at http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/polisci/integrity/quiz/#Example_four and the American Sociological Association’s “Quick Style Guide” at http://www.asanet.org/page.ww?section=Sociology+Depts&name=Quick+Style+Guide). A note about late papers (please read carefully!). Papers are graded down by 5 percentage points for each day they are late. If you must turn a paper in late due to an emergency (i.e. something that is both unavoidable and unforeseen), make sure to contact me by email as soon as possible. If you know about an unavoidable conflict ahead of time, let me know in SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 3 of 11 advance, and we can arrange an extension. If you miss your assigned day to give your presentation or to bring discussion questions, without arranging with me ahead of time, you will get a zero for those assignments, unless it was an emergency. Readings There are 4 required books for Semester I: • Paul Rogat Loeb. 1999. Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin. • Nina Eliasoph. 1998. Avoiding Politics: How Americans Produce Apathy in Everyday Life. New York: Cambridge University Press. • Jason Salzman. 2003. Making the News: A Guide for Activists and Nonprofits. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. • Randy Shaw. 2001. The Activist’s Handbook: A Primer. Berkeley: University of California Press. These books will be available at the Bookstore and on reserve at O’Niell Library. The Salzman and Shaw books till arrive in a couple of weeks. All other assigned readings will be on electronic reserve. From the library home page (http://www.bc.edu/libraries/), click on “course reserves” under “Find Library Materials,” log in, and look up the course. Weekly Schedule of Readings and Assignments 1. Sept. 8 Introductions. 2. Sept. 15 Motivation – Obstacles to Engagement I • Workshop: Consensus Decisionmaking • Sign up for Activist Biography/Autobiography assignment • Sign up for Discussion Questions week. • Avoiding Politics, Chapters 1-3. 3. Sept. 22 Motivation – Obstacles to Engagement II • Concerns papers due. • Decide on topic for Future Workshop. • Avoiding Politics, Chapters 5, 7, 9. • Michael Gould-Wartofsky. “Repress U.” The Nation, January 28, 2008. Online at: http://www.thenation.com/docprint.mhtml?i=20080128&s=gould-wartofsky 4. Sept. 29 • Soul of a Citizen, Chapters 1-3. 5. Oct. 6 • Motivation – Overcoming Cynicism I Motivation – Overcoming Cynicism I Soul of a Citizen, Chapters 4-7. SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 4 of 11 Oct. 13 COLUMBUS DAY – NO CLASS 6. Oct. 20 Educating Ourselves About Our Issue I – Causes & Consequences of the Problem. • Readings to be assigned based on the issue we choose 7. Oct. 27 • Readings to be assigned based on the issue we choose 8. Nov. 3 • Developing Our Campaign Strategy: Who Do We Have to Influence and What Would it Take? Activist’s Handbook, Chapters 1 & 8 9. Nov. 10 • Educating Ourselves About Our Issue II – State of the Movement: What’s Been Tried, and What Can We Do? How the Media Work & What Gets Covered Making the News, Introduction and Chapters 1-2. 10. Nov. 17 Developing a Media Strategy: Framing the Argument • Workshop: Using the Media in Grassroots Campaigns. • Activist’s Handbook, Chapter 5 • Char Ryan. Framing for Activists: Building Movements by Talking Strategy. Excerpt. • Char Ryan and Bill Gamson. 2006. “The Art of Reframing Political Debates.” Contexts 5(1):13-18. 11. Nov. 24 Tactics: Inside the Box (Pushing the Envelope w/out Breaking the Rules) • Albert Einstein Institution. “198 Methods of Nonviolent Action” (1 pg.) at www.aeinstein.org. • Steve D. 2008. “Thinking About Protest Tactics” Posting on London Indymedia. http://londonontario.indymedia.org/?q=node/394 • John Cavanagh & Jerry Mander, eds. Alternatives to Economic Globalization: A Better World is Possible. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Chapter 11. “Global to Local: What You Can Do,” pp. 333-345. 12. Dec. 1 Models of Community Organizing • Action Plan due. • Kristina Smock. 2004. Democracy in Action. New York: Columbia University Press. Introduction and Chapters 1 and 9. • John P. Kretzmann and John L. McKnight. 1993. Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets. Evanston, IL: Institute for Policy Research. “Introduction” pp.1-11. Online at: http://www.northwestern.edu/ipr/publications/community/introd-building.html • Tom Hayden. 1988. Reunion: A Memoir. New York: Collier Books. Chs. 6-7. SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 5 of 11 13. Dec. 8 Wrap-up Discussion • Participation Reports due. Final Reflections Papers due: Thursday, December 11, by 5pm Overview of Discussion Topics for Social Change in Action II, Spring ‘09 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Intro Fundraising Media: Nuts & Bolts of Campaign PR Mobilizing Turn-out: Getting to “Yes” Issues of privilege: w/in the group Issues of privilege: w/in the movement Strategies for Social Change: Historical Dilemmas (revolution vs. reform, parliamentary vs. extraparliamentary…) Movement democracy (autonomy vs. oligarchy) Strategies for Social Change (new conditions, new ideas?) Organizing Ourselves: Organizational Structure Organizing Ourselves: Decision-Making Models & Challenges Tactical Issues: the Master’s Tools? (Inside vs. Outside) Tactical Issues (Nonviolent Outside vs. Militant Outside) Staying Involved: How to Maintain Hope and Avoid Burnout Semester II Requirements and Grading Participation: In-class/discussion questions Group Action Project Strategies for Social Change paper Journal Presentation/report on a current movement Final paper 10% 25% 10% 10% 20% 25% Books for Semester II (tentative): • John Anner. 1996. Beyond Identity Politics: Emerging Social Justice Movements in Communities of Color. South End Press. • Michael Albert. 2002. The Trajectory of Change: Activist Strategies for Social Transformation. Cambridge, MA: South End Press. • Ward Churchill with Mike Ryan. 1998. Pacifism as Pathology. Winnepeg, Manitoba: Arbeiter Ring Publishing. • Barbara Epstein. 1991. Political Protest and Cultural Revolution. Berkeley: University of California Press. • Amory Starr. 2005. Global Revolt: A Guide to the Movements Against Globalization. New York: Zed Books. • (And we’ll continue to use the Salzman and Shaw books from first semester) SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 6 of 11 Bibliography for Activist Lives Assignment 19th and early 20th Century US Frederick Douglass. Born a slave and escaped to freedom in the North to become a famous orator, author, and one of the most influential leaders of the abolitionist movement. • McFeely, William S. 1991. Frederick Douglass. Simon & Schuster. Paul Robeson. World famous African-American singer, actor, professional football player, graduate of Columbia Law School, and communist activist. • Duberman, Martin Bauml. 1989. Paul Robeson: A Biography. Ballantine Books. Carlos Bulosan. Filipino-American novelist and labor activist with the ILWU (longshoremen’s union) on the West coast before World War II. • Bulosan, Carlos. 1990 [1943]. America is in the Heart. University of Washington Press. Eugene V. Debs. Labor and political leader, co-founded the International Labor Union and the anarcho-syndicalist Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). Also ran for president five times – once from jail – on the Socialist Party ticket. • Salvatore, Nick. 1982. Eugene V. Debs: Citizen and Socialist. University of Illinois Press. John Reed. Turn of the century American journalist, Harvard graduate, poet, communist activist, and husband of feminist activist, Louise Bryant. Went to Russia to document and support the Bolshevik revolution with Emma Goldman, where he died of the flu and was buried near Lenin. • Rosenstone, Robert A. 1990. Romantic Revolutionary: A Biography of John Reed. Harvard University Press. Emma Goldman. Turn of the century Lithuanian-born anarchist, feminist, essayist, orator. Imprisoned several times for her activism and deported to Russia in 1919, where she was an outspoken critic of Lenin’s brutal suppression of dissent. Lived in several countries and participated in Spanish Civil War with the anarchists against Franco. • Goldman, Emma. 2006. Living My Life. Penguin Classics. • Chalberg, John C. 2007. Emma Goldman: American Individualist. Longman Press. Alice Paul. Early 20th century Quaker leader of the suffragist movement, founder of the National Women’s Party, jailed for picketing the White House during World War I. • Adams, Katherine H. and Michael L Keene. 2007. Alice Paul and the American Suffrage Campaign. University of Illinois Press. The Interwar Years Joe Hill. Swedish-born labor organizer and songwriter, active with the International Workers of the World, convicted of murder in a controversial trial and executed. His arrest was widely believed to be politically motivated, with many well-known people, including Helen Keller, SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 7 of 11 pleading for clemency on his behalf. The story is captured in several well-known protest songs. • Rosemont, Franklin. 2003. Joe Hill: The IWW & The Making Of A Revolutionary Working Class Counterculture. Charles H. Kerr Publishers. Dorothy Day. Pacifist, anarchist, Catholic journalist, anti-poverty activist, and advocate for the homeless during the Great Depression. Founded the Catholic Workers movement and started a string of “houses of hospitality” and communal farms for the poor. • Coles, Robert. 1989. Dorothy Day: A Radical Devotion. Da Capo Press. • Day, Dorothy. 2004. The Long Loneliness. HarperOne Press. Myles Horton. Theologian, educator, socialist, and founder in the late 1930s of the Highlander Folk School, an organizer training center where many leaders of the civil rights and southern farm-workers movements were trained, including Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. • Horton, Myles, Judith Kohl, and Herbert Kohl. 1997. The Long Haul: An Autobiography. Teachers’ College Press. Dorothy Healey. Well-known labor organizer in California with a 40-year career. Eventually a national leader of the American Communist Party. Strong advocate for the rights of Black and Chicano farm and factory workers. • Healey, Dorothy and Maurice Isserman. 1990. Dorothy Healey Remembers: A Life in the American Communist Party. Oxford University Press. The 1960s: New Left & Civil Rights Activists Tom Hayden. Student, civil rights, anti-war, and anti-poverty activist. Founder of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the largest student activist organization in US history. Defendent in the Chicago 8 conspiracy trial, who later became a California State Congressman. • Hayden, Tom. 2003. Rebel: A Personal History of the 1960s. Red Hen Press. Abbie Hoffman. Colorful co-founder of the countercultural anarchist group, the “Yippies.” Anti-war activist and one of the Chicago 8 defendents. • Hoffman, Abbie. 2000. Autobiography of Abbie Hoffman 2 Ed. Perseus Books. Bill Ayers. Member of SDS turned co-founder of the Weather Underground Organization. • Ayers, Bill. 2003. Fugitive Days: A Memoir. Penguin Books. Carl Oglesby. Copywriter for a military defense contractor turned anti-war activist and early leader of SDS. Great speaker and writer. • Oglesby, Carl. 2008. Ravens in the Storm: A Personal History of the 1960s Antiwar Movement. New York: Scribner. SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 8 of 11 Cathy Wilkerson. SDS member turned member of the Weather Underground Organization. • Wilkerson, Cathy. 2007. Flying Too Close to the Sun: My Life and Times as a Weatherman. New York: Seven Stories Press. Malcolm X. Fiery orator and iconic muslim leader of the Black Power movement, assassinated in 1965. • Shabazz, Attallah.1987. The Autobiography of Malcolm X : As Told to Alex Haley. Ballantine Books. Martin Luther King, Jr. Does he need an introduction? • King, Jr., Martin Luther. 2001. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Grand Central Publishing. Stokely Carmichael. Early civil rights activist in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) turned militant leader who sparked the Black Power movement. • Carmichael, Stokely. 2005. Ready for Revolution: The Life and Struggles of Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture). Scribner. • Johnson, Jacqueline. 1990. Stokely Carmichael: The Story of Black Power. Silver Burdett Press. Daniel and Phillip Berrigan. Civil rights and anti-war activists from the 1960s-1990s, Christian anarchists, co-founders of the Ploughshares movement. Phillip Berrigan was a Josephite Priest and Daniel Berrigan is a Jesuit Priest. Both served time in prison for repeated acts of civil disobedience, Phillip served a total of 11 years at different times. • Polner, Murray and Jim O’Grady. 1998. Disarmed and Dangerous: The Radical Life and Times of Daniel and Philip Berrigan, Brothers in Religious Faith and Civil Disobedience. Westview Press. • Berrigan, Daniel. 2007. To Dwell in Peace: An Autobiography. Wipf & Stock Publishers. Black Panthers Huey P. Newton. Co-founder of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. • Jeffries, Judson L. 2002. Huey P. Newton: The Radical Theorist. University Press of Mississippi. Assata Shakur. Charismatic speaker, East Coast leader of BPP, jailed for armed robbery, escaped to exile in Cuba, mother of Tupac Shakur. • Shakur, Assata. 2001. Assata: An Autobiography. Lawrence Hill Books. Elaine Brown. Leader of BPP for a time while Huey Newton was in prison. • Brown, Elaine. 1993. A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story. Anchor Press. Angela Davis. BPP member, orator, political candidate in Oakland. Now a leading Black intellectual and academic. • Davis, Angela Y. 1989. Angela Davis: An Autobiography. International Publishers. SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 9 of 11 Mumia Abu-Jamal. Member of BPP in Philadelphia, journalist, radio personality, convicted of murdering a police officer in highly controversial trial, still on death row. World-wide movement exists to free him. • Abu-Jamal, Mumia. 1997. Death Blossoms: Reflections from a Prisoner of Conscience. Plough Publishing House. The American Indian Movement Leonard Peltier. A leader of the American Indian Movement (AIM), tried and convicted of murdering two FBI agents in controversial trial. Serving life in prison. Also focus of worldwide movement to free him. • Peltier, Leonard. 2000. Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance. St. Martin's Griffin. Dennis Banks. Early leader of AIM. • Banks, Dennis and Richard Erdoes. 2005. Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks And The Rise Of The American Indian Movement. University of Oklahoma Press. Russell Means. Early leader of AIM. • Means, Russell. 1996. Where White Men Fear to Tread: The Autobiography of Russell Means. St. Martin's Griffin. Since the 1960s Ann Hansen. Militant punk/anarchist activist from Canada. • Hansen, Ann. 2002. Direct Action: Memoirs of an Urban Guerrilla. AK Press. Cesar Chavez. Founder of the United Farmworkers Union for migrant workers, organizer of a national boycott on grapes and lettuce that forced agribusiness concerns to recognize the first agricultural workers union in the US. • Ferriss, Susan, Ricardo Sandoval, and Diana Hembree. 1998. The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers Movement. Harvest/HBJ Books • Levy, Jacques E., Barbara Moulton, and Fred Ross, Jr. 2007. Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. International Che Guevara. Author, Marxist leader of the Cuban revolution, and revolutionary activist in many countries in Central and South America. Killed in Bolivia in 1967. • Anderson, Jon Lee. 1998. Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life. Grove Press. Subcommandante Marcos. Masked leader of the Mexican Zapatista movement for autonomy of indigenous peoples of Mexico, famous orator who drew lots of media attention and built an international netowrk in support of the movement. SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 10 of 11 • Henck, Nick. 2007. Subcommander Marcos: The Man and the Mask. Duke University Press. Nelson Mandela. Leader of the resistance to Apartheid in South Africa. Served 20 years in prison and emerged to become the first president of South Africa after Apartheid fell. • Mandela, Nelson. 1995. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Back Bay Books. • Mandela, Nelson. 1996. Mandela: An Illustrated Autobiography. Little, Brown & Co. Mohandas Gandhi. Author, activist, spiritual and political leader of the anti-colonial independence movement in India. Pioneer of nonviolent philosophy of Satyagraha and proponent of mass civil disobedience. Assassinated in 1948. • Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) and Mahadev H. Desai. 1993. Gandhi An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth. Beacon Press. Lech Walesa. Nonviolent labor and pro-democracy activist, founder of the “solidarity” movement in Poland which helped to bring down the Communist regime in the 1980s. • Walesa, Lech. 1994. The Struggle and the Triumph: An Autobiography. Arcade Publishing. • Rebecca Stefoff. 1992. Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy. Ballantine Books. SC357 Fall ‘08 Syllabus page 11 of 11