Community Studies 101
Communities, Social Movements & the Third Sector
Winter 2010
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12-2:45pm
Kresge College 321
Mary Beth Pudup + 210 Oakes College
459-2003 + pudup@ucsc.edu
office hours: Tuesdays, 2-3:30 + by appt.
The last few decades have witnessed remarkable historical changes that have challenged the
strategies and capacities of social movements to organize and, hence, to effect change through
traditional channels like political parties, labor unions, community organizing, and even
outright resistance and rebellion. Concurrently, even synergistically, there has been a reworking of something called “civil society” associated with the generation and rapid growth of a
so-called third sector. In this brave new world, nonprofit organizations, community
associations, and other NGOs have been theorized as both a response to “roll-back”
neoliberalization but also as sites of new services delivery, either taking the place of the state, or
more often acting as a “shadow state” in lieu of and/or in partnership with service agencies
associated with various branches of government. Social movements themselves have become
institutionalized and professionalized as a way to attract philanthropic monies and otherwise
maintain stability and/or gain permanence. Many have taken on roles that provide
“therapeutic,” educational, and/or clinical encounters for a “client” or “target” population.
Community Studies 101 explores these developments and a reconfigured “politics of the
possible” as a way of addressing the central question of “where politics lie” in struggles for social
justice. The course focuses on understanding recent historical transformations of the
institutional contexts of social justice activism with a goal of encouraging a more sophisticated
perspective on “doing politics” (i.e., organizing) in a neoliberalized world. The course will
introduce students to various domains of social action, their opportunities and obstacles, and
consider how some questions and constituencies deemed “political” have had to find new sets of
strategies to effect change. The course also explores how an “anti-politics” ethos has insinuated
itself into a variety of institutions once (and, in some quarters, still) considered vanguard
domains of social justice work.
Along the way, the course introduces students to ideas and concepts that span most topics and
field sites in which Community Studies students are likely to be placed. In this regard,
Community Studies 101 can be thought of a course that bridges the topically focused 100
seminars and the field study methods intensive work coming up in Community Studies 102.
Section meetings
Sections will begin meeting during the second week of the quarter.
We are very fortunate to have two talented and accomplished graduate student instructors
working with Community Studies 101. Bridgette Auger and Kate Trumbull are currently
enrolled in the department’s graduate program in social documentation. Each will inform
students in her sections about office hour protocols and each recommends email as the best
contact strategy: Bridgette Auger (bauger@ucsc.edu) and Kate Trumbull
(ketrumbull@gmail.com).
Course requirements
Students are required to attend all lecture and section meetings with the forewarning that
repeated absences and/or tardiness can be grounds for failing. I also maintain a zero tolerance
classroom decorum policy about speaking when other people (the professor or other students)
have the floor. Plainly stated, you will be asked to leave if you engage in side conversations.
The following books contained required reading and are available for purchase at the Literary
Guillotine bookstore in downtown Santa Cruz, as is a course reader that also contains required
readings.
1. David Wagner, What’s Love Got to Do With It? A critical look at American charity.
2. Barbara Cruikshank, The Will to Empower; Democratic citizens and other subjects.
3. Vincent Lyon-Callo, Poverty, Inequality and Neoliberal Governance.
4. Sara Diamond, Roads to Dominion; Right wing movements and political power in the
United States.
5. Luke W. Cole and Sheila R. Foster, From the Ground Up; Environmental racism and the rise
of the environmental justice movement.
6. Randy Shaw, Beyond the Fields; Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the struggle for justice in the
21st century.
Grades and evaluations will be based on work submitted in the following categories.
Midterm: 25% of final grade
Three (3) case study essays: 30% (total) of final grade
Final exam: 25% of final grade
Section performance: 20% of final grade
Expectations for exams and assignments are explained at the end of the syllabus.
Other reading expectations
It is impossible to fully realize the potential of the community studies major without knowing
what is going on in the world. I strongly urge everyone to get into the daily habit of
reading/listening/watching to a news source. At the risk of sounding hopelessly old fashioned, I
personally favor a daily newspaper and like it or not, newspapers are still one of the very best
sources of information about current events. But the proliferation of media platforms has made
news more available than ever before, making it almost absurdly easy to get and keep informed.
Most of them are still free, to boot. Whatever sources you consult, make it a lifelong habit.
Learn to recognize and filter media biases. Find out what gets covered and what doesn’t. Get in
touch with the fascinating independent media movement. The main thing is becoming informed
as a necessary step in becoming and remaining engaged and active.
Surprises
The course schedule has been carefully designed to include the latest thinking about
communities, social movements and the third sector. At the same time, the history of the
present continues unabated. Therefore, we must adopt a flexible attitude regarding the
potential for small changes to the course schedule that may take place during the quarter. By
this I mean we may have a film or audio clip added to the course or an unexpected guest
speaker. Rest assured I will not amend the assignments or readings or exams. But I hope you’ll
agree that in a course of this nature, it’s crucial to remain alive to changes that are taking place
in the world outside our syllabus and, whenever possible and only when appropriate, invite that
world into the classroom.
Academic integrity
Regrettably, cases of academic misconduct are on the rise at UCSC and yes, even in Community
Studies. While there are many reasons people engage in academic misconduct, from often
ridiculous pressures of scholastic achievement to lack of understanding of proper citation
practices, please note that plagiarism and cheating are serious academic offenses, and ones that
are increasingly easily discovered. Penalties for lapses in academic integrity can range from a
failing grade for an assignment or for the course to suspension or expulsion from the university.
It is your responsibility to know what constitutes plagiarism, and there are many sources that
can provide guidance for proper citation practices, including a UCSC webpage at:
http://nettrail.ucsc.edu/ethics/index.html and the “owl at Purdue”
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/. Of course if you have questions regarding how to avoid
plagiarism or cheating for any given assignment, by all means ask me and I will seek to clarify
what sort of citations and collaborations are acceptable for a specific assignment. More general
university Rules of Conduct discussed at: http://www2.ucsc.edu/judicial/handbook.shtml.
Students with disabilities
If you qualify for classroom accommodations because of a disability, please submit your
Accommodation Authorization from the Disability Resource Center (DRC) to me during my
office hours in a timely manner, preferably within the first two weeks of the quarter. Contact
DRC at 459-2089 (voice), 459-4806 (TTY).
Course schedule
Week 1 Introductions
T 1/5 and Th 1/7 Read Jamie Peck and Adam Tickell, “Neoliberalizing space,” Antipode (course
reader)
Week 2 What’s charity got to do with it: the present in the past, and vice versa
T 1/12 Read David Wagner, What’s Love Got to Do With It? (entire book this week)
Th 1/14 VIDEO PRESENTATION: “TL Christmas”
Read “Charity and Dignity” by Janet Poppendeick, and “Revisiting the “Big Three” Foundations”
by Robert Arnove and Nadine Pinede (both in course reader)
Week 3 Producing the non-profit sector, and …
T 1/19 Read selections from The Shadow State by Jennifer Wolch; and “Third Sector Scope,
Scale and Purpose” by Christopher Gunn, (both in course reader)
Th 1/21 TOPICAL ESSAY #1 DUE
Begin reading Barbara Cruikshank, The Will to Empower
Week 4 … What the non-profit sector produces
T 1/26 Read “Introduction: The Revolution will not be Funded” by Andrea Smith (course
reader); complete Cruikshank and begin reading Vincent Lyon-Callo, Poverty, Inequality and
Neoliberal Governance
Th 1/28 Complete reading Lyon-Callo
Week 5 To market, to market: the new social entrepreneurs
T 2/2 VIDEO PRESENTATION: “The New Heroes”
Read “Declaring Assumptions” by Paul C. Light, and “Taking a market-based approach to
poverty reduction” by World Resources Institute (www.wri.org/print/7792) (both in course
reader)
Th 2/4 TOPICAL ESSAY #2 DUE
Read “The New Black,” New York Times articles by Claudia H. Deutsch and Matthew L. Wald;
“Inside the Big Box; Can Former Sierra Club Head Adam Werbach Green Wal-Mart?” by Burr
Snider, San Francisco Chronicle Magazine; “Take Habitat for Humanity Seriously” by Howard
Husock; “The Politics of Vouchers” by Terry Moe (all in course reader)
Week 6 Interrogating Community
T 2/9 VIDEO PRESENTATION: “The Garden”
Read “It Takes a Garden: Producing Citizen-subjects in Organized Garden Projects” by Mary
Beth Pudup (course reader)
Th 2/11 Read selections from Keywords; A Vocabulary of Culture and Society by Raymond
Williams and “Introduction to Against the Romance of Community by Miranda Joseph; and
“Community, Citizenship and the Third Way” by Nikolas Rose (all in course reader).
Week 7 Social movement strategies for success
T 2/16 MIDTERM EXAMINATION
Th 2/18 VIDEO PRESENTATION: “Jesus Camp”
Begin reading Sara Diamond, Roads to Dominion
Week 8 Social movements, cont’d.
T 2/23 Complete Diamond
Th 2/25 Begin reading Luke Cole and Sheila Foster, From the Ground Up
Week 9 Social movements, cont’d.
T 3/2 Complete reading Cole and Foster
Th 3/4 THIRD TOPICAL ESSAY DUE
Begin reading Randy Shaw, Beyond the Fields
Week 10 Social Movements, cont’d.
T 3/9 GUEST SPEAKER: Randy Shaw, Tenderloin Housing Clinic Founder and Executive
Director and author of Beyond the Fields
Complete reading Shaw
Th 3/11 Course conclusions and evaluations
Guidelines for midterm and final examinations
The midterm and final will consist of conceptual short answer questions that draw upon
required readings, media presentations (video and audio) and lecture material. During the week
prior to each exam, I will distribute a study guide with proposed exam questions. The exam will
consist of a subset of questions drawn from the study guide. There is no need to bring a blue
book, as the exams will include adequate space for your short answers.
Guidelines for topical essays
The other major course requirement consists of three (3) topical essays due throughout the
quarter on the following dates:
Essay 1: due Thursday, January 21
Essay 2: due Thursday, February 4
Essay 3: due Thursday, March 4
The purpose of these essays is examining case study organizations in different
conceptual/institutional categories that operate in social justice domains of direct relevance to
individual students’ academic plan within the Community Studies major. Accordingly, the first
essay will focus on case studies of organized charities, the second essay will focus on case studies
of non-profit service related organizations and the third essay will focus on a social movement.
Students will select an organization/movement active (past or present) in the topical domain of
social justice corresponding to their 100 seminar and field study. For example, students
working in the area of health will examine case studies in that sector, students working in the
area of immigration will examine case studies in that sector, students working in the areas of
gender and sexuality will examine case studies in that sector, etc., etc.
Students will choose a different organization for each essay and use a set of basic questions.
Each essay should be 4-5 pages long.
Here are some suggested questions to kick start your research. Your research should address,
but is by no means limited to, the following questions. These are intended to get you started but
I want to encourage your own interests and creativity in crafting the essays.
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For each organization—what kind of organization is it? What does it do as its primary
activity? What are its goals? How do its actions compare to its mission statement?
What organizations are involved in the social problem? Who are the members? Where do
they meet, do their work, etc.? When and how did they become organized?
How would you characterize the relationship between the activist organization and their
social-problem focus? Are they providing emergency assistance? Seeking long-term
structural changes?
How do the activists conceptualize the people they are hoping to help? Victims? Clients?
Partners? Co-community members?
How did you find out about the organization and its work? Word of mouth? Street
outreach? Postings? What are its channels for information?
How does the organization work in coalition with others? Find specific examples of when
and how. Are there turf issues between it and other organizations working in the same
area (geographically or topically defined)?
What can you discern about the internal processes of the organization? Does it seem
democratic; is there on strong leader? Is there a large or small staff?
Guidelines for sections
Sections provide a forum for in-depth discussion of required reading that is typically difficult, if
not impossible in large lecture meetings. Performance expectations in section include
attendance and punctuality, submitting discussion questions, facilitating discussion and
contributing to class discussion (both speaking up and active, engaged listening). Kate
Trumbull and Bridgette Auger will speak more specifically about expectations in their sections.