Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies
DRAFT DRAFT DRAFT
THIS IS THE FACE TO FACE VERSION
THE ONLINE VERSION WILL BE SIMILAR
BUT STRUCTURED FOR AN ONLINE
ENVIRONMENT.
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
School of Education
Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies
Introduction to Community Organizing, ED POL 111, M-W 10-11:15am, Enderis 516
Fall 2014
Instructor:
Aaron Schutz
Department of Educational Policy and Community Studies
Enderis 535
Phone: 229-4150 (Note: if I don’t answer it goes to “google voice” and the voice-mail you
leave gets sent to me through email)
Email: schutz@uwm.edu
Office Hours: M 11:15-12, Tu 3:20-4:20
Course Objectives:
This course will examine basic techniques for organizing communities. The objectives of the course are:
--To understand the differences between different approaches to community change.
--To learn the history and theory of organizing and its relationship to social movements in America.
--To learn how to conduct a one-on-one interview to identify self-interests and build relationships.
--To learn strategies for building networks within fragmented communities.
--To learn skills for locating targets, cutting issues and building effective tactics and strategies.
--To learn different approaches to community organizing: institutional and individual approaches.
--To understand the differences between public, private, and civic roles from an organizing perspective.
--To explore ways to identify the key concerns of a local community and identify self-interests that an
organizer might work to bring a community together around.
--To develop a sense of some "nuts and bolts" issues related to community organizing
Texts
1.
Schutz, Aaron and Sandy, Marie. 2011. Collective Action for Social Change: An Introduction to
Community Organizing. (Palgrave: New York). [Note: we make almost nothing on these books
ourselves, and donate what we get to local community efforts.]
Ed Pol 111 Syllabus
2.
2
Assorted articles on-line at the course’s D2L site. We will be using the 111 D2L site, and all 501
students will be added to that. Please contact me ASAP if something is missing.
Requirements
Participation. Classes will be based on a seminar format. Participation is an important part of this
course. Students will be expected to take part in all class discussions; reflect understandings from the readings;
receive alternative perspectives in a constructive and respectful manner; listen well to the comments of others;
share and negotiate meaning; ask questions for understanding; and contribute to the growth of others.
Attendance. Students will be expected to attend all classes. Students who miss more than two class
periods must make-up this period with assignments to be negotiated with the instructor. Students who miss
more than five classes, for any reason, will fail the course.
Reading. Students will be expected to complete all course reading prior to attending class.
Daily Responses. All students will write 250 word (Graduate Students 400 word) daily responses to the
readings if no other assignment is due. These should include a discussion of a few key points from the reading
and students’ response to these points. They should provide evidence that the student has read and thought
about the entire reading. These should be posted to the D2L discussion page for the course by midnight the day
before class. These cannot be made up. Students who prefer not to post on D2L may email their responses to me
instead.
Paper 1: Critical Response to Course Readings. A detailed description will be passed out in class.
Students failing to turn paper in on time or failing to turn paper in by rewrite date will lose 1/3 of a grade unless
an acceptable reason is given or prior arrangements are made with me.
Research Paper (Graduate Students). Topics and structure will be negotiated with Dr. Schutz
Brief Presentations of Extra Readings (Graduate Students). Graduate students should come prepared to
summarize key points of extra readings.
General Information on Papers: Papers should be written in grammatical form, typed, give evidence to
support conclusions. They should do more than simply report data. Successful papers will make an argument
that brings your opinion, ideas, and experience in contact with the material we have examined. Successful
papers will not simply make assertions, but will bring evidence and reasoning to bear on the material at hand.
More detailed guidelines will be passed out. Papers may be rewritten for better grades, and I will often request
that papers be rewritten.
Take-Home Exam. This will cover material up to the point at which it is passed out. Students may use the
material in the course readings to complete this exam. Because we will spend extensive time in class discussing this
material, students are expected to complete the exam without assistance from their classmates.
Undergraduate Requirements
Weight
Participation, class preparation
20 points
Responses
25 points
Paper #1
25 points
Take Home Examination
30 points
(Failure to attend classes, write daily responses, and to make up classes will affect a student's participation
grade.)
Graduate Requirements
Weight
Participation, class preparation
15 points
Responses
15 points
Paper #1
20 points
Take Home Examination
20 points
Research Paper
30 points
(Failure to attend classes, write daily responses, and to make up classes will affect a student's participation grade.)
Other Class Policies
Ed Pol 111 Syllabus
3
Academic Misconduct
The University has a responsibility to promote academic honesty and integrity and to develop procedures to deal
effectively with instances of academic dishonesty. Students are responsible for the honest completion and
representation of their work, for the appropriate citation of sources, and for respect of others' academic endeavors.
Papers submitted for this class must have been written expressly for this class. Unless explicitly negotiated with the
instructor, papers or parts of papers turned into more than one course will be treated as academic misconduct.
Quotations taken from articles and/or books should be indicated with quotation marks.
Accommodation for Religious Observances
Students will be allowed to complete requirements that are missed because of a religious observance.
Grade Appeal Procedures
A student may appeal a grade on the grounds that it is based on a capricious or arbitrary decision of the course
instructor. Such an appeal shall follow the established procedures adopted by the department. These procedures
are available in writing from the department chairperson.
Incompletes
A notation of "incomplete" may be given in lieu of a final grade to a student who has carried out a subject
successfully until the end of the semester but who, because of illness or other unusual and substantiated cause
beyond the student's control, has been unable to complete some limited amount of term work. An incomplete is
not given unless you prove to the instructor that you were prevented from completing course requirements for
just cause as indicated above.
Participation by Students with Disabilities
If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course, please contact the
instructor as soon as possible.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is not tolerated by the University, and threatens the edicational experience and well-being of
students, faculty, and staff. The University will not tolerate behavior between or among members of the
University community which creates an unacceptable working environment for anyone
Missing Papers
You should always keep a copy of any major paper or exam you pass in to me. If the paper is somehow
misplaced, and you do not have a copy, you will need to rewrite.
Links to UWM Syllabus Policies on a range of issues can be found here:
http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/SyllabusLinks.pdf.
Ed Pol 111 Syllabus
4
Course Outline
Ed Pol 111
Note: All classes may have extra readings added, and this schedule is open to change.
9/3
Introduction
9/8
Overview of Community Organizing
Read:
Schutz/Sandy, Introduction and Ch. 1
9/10
What Organizing Isn’t
Read:
Schutz/Sandy Ch. 2
9/15
Take Back the Schools Example
Read: “Introduction to the Latino Civil Rights Movement”
This response can be briefer than usual—the reading is brief
9/17
Organizing Overview
Read: Richard Harmon, “Making an Offer We Can’t Refuse”
9/22
Public vs. Private
Read:
Schutz/Sandy, Ch. 9
9/24
One on Ones I
Read:
Schutz/Sandy Ch. 10
Brown on D2L
9/29
One on Ones II
Read:
Schutz/Sandy Ch. 4 (we will discuss this on 10/1)
10/1
History of Community Organizing I
Read:
Schutz/Sandy Ch. 3, pp. 47- top of 69
10/6
History of Community Organizing II
Read:
Schutz/Sandy Ch. 3, 69-85
10/8
Obama and Stories
Read:
Schutz/Sandy Ch. 5
10/13
Saul Alinsky I: In His Own Words
Read:
Reveille for Radicals (Chs. 4-6)
Watch:
Alinsky Video Part I
10/15
Saul Alinsky II: In His Own Words
Read:
Reveille for Radicals (Chs. 7-8)
10/20
Gender and Collective Action
Read:
Stahl and Stoecker, "Community Organizing or Organizing Community?" on D2L
10/22
House Meetings and Fred Ross
Read:
Fred Ross on D2L
10/27
Leadership: In-class exercise
Read:
von Hoffman, “Finding and Making Leaders” on D2L
Assignment: Paper 1 Due. (No response paper due)
10/29
Faith-Based Community Organizing
Read:
Schutz/Sandy, Ch. 6
Miller, Community Organizing: A Brief Introduction, Ch. 1.
Ed Pol 111 Syllabus
Watch:
5
Alinsky Video Part II
11/3
“Door-Knocking” Community Organizing Groups: ACORN
Read:
Schutz/Sandy, Ch. 7
Schutz ACORN INTRO on D2L
Brown, pp. 148-152
Play this game: http://organizinggame.org/
Assignment: In your response, talk partly about your experience playing online game.
11/5
Power and Targets
Read: Schutz/Sandy, Ch. 12
11/10
Cutting an Issue
Read:
Schutz/Sandy, Ch. 13
11/12
Cutting an Issue: Practice
11/17
Tactics
Read:
Read Brown, Chapter 11
Schutz/Sandy Ch. 14, 261-280
11/19
Strategy
2-page “Strategy” assignment passed out in class
11/24
Strategy, Research, and Tactics, Part II
Assignment: 2-page "Strategy" Plan Due
EXAM DISTRIBUTED
11/29
Community Organizing vs. Movement Organizing
Read:
Cloward and Piven, “Disruptive Dissensus” (D2L)
12/3
Organizing Against Globalization
No Reading
EXAM DUE
12/5
The Occupy Movement and Organizing
Reading: TBA
12/10
Guest Lecture Reading TBA
END OF CLASS