Social Movements
SOAN 225 / Winter 2015
M/W 1:50-3:00, F 2:20-3:20
Leighton 303
Professor:
Email:
Office:
Office Hours:
Daniel Williams
dwilliams@carleton.edu
Leighton 234
Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:30-4:30 pm, Fridays 10-11 am, and by
appointment.
“When John F. Kennedy sent the American Air Force to start bombing South Vietnam in
1962, he didn't have to keep it secret. It was on the front page of the New York Times and
nobody cared. When Johnson sent twenty thousand Marines to the Dominican
Republican to prevent a democratic revival there, it wasn't secret. When we subverted
the only free election in Laos in 1959, it wasn't secret. Nobody ever cared about these
things. The population was really marginalized. That changed as a result of the popular
movements of the sixties, which had a dramatic and lasting effect on the country.”
-
Noam Chomsky
The notion of social movements conjures up powerful images of protest and resistance
carried out in the name of justice, democracy, and equality by ordinary people. Put in
formal terms, social movements are defined as popular, collective action that take place
outside of ordinary institutions. To many, social movements are evidence of hope that
change happens and that people do not simply accept the world as it is. But there is a
great deal going on within any social movement that is both not obvious from the
movements themselves and yet important to understanding movements.
In this course, we will address a range of aspects of contemporary social movements,
looking at several specific movements as “cases”—including the Civil Rights Movement,
the LGBT movement, Immigrant rights movements, the Arab Spring, and Occupy. In
approaching these questions and issues, we will adopt a decidedly comparative
perspective—across types of movements, nationally/globally, and in part, historically. In
doing so, we will consider numerous questions:
How do movements emerge? What do movements do? Who participates in social
movements and how does it matter? How do media -- both mass and social -- influence
and affect movements? Why do movements fail or succeed and how do we measure
success? What role does violence play in movements’ outcomes? How might the culture,
society, and era in which movements take place help or hinder movements?
SOAN 225 Social Movements
Winter 2015
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We will first consider theories and scholarship on social movements, which will give us
both a vocabulary and basis for discussing and comparing movements.
From there, the course is divided into three sections based on the type of movements.
“Citizenship Movements” will examine movements that have been focused on inclusion
and equality. We will examine the Civil Rights Movement, the LGBT movement(s), and
the Immigrant Rights movement as examples. Next, we will examine “Democracy and
Anti-Corporate Movements,” or movements which are directed at the lack of power, or
power distributions in societies. Here we will focus on the Arab Spring (and other
movements for democracy in the Middle East, time permitting), and the Occupy
movement. Finally, we will briefly consider “Global Movements,” specifically the global
women’s movement and global Islamic movements.
Course Texts
The Social Movements Reader. 3rd (2015) or 2nd (2009) Edition. Edited by Jeff Goodwin
and James Jasper. Wiley-Blackwell.
Other readings posted on Moodle.
Course Logistics
Accommodation for Disabilities
Students who require an accommodation due to the impact of a disability should contact
me privately to discuss their specific needs. The office of Disability Services for
Students will also help coordinate reasonable accommodations for students with
documented disabilities. Please visit this URL to learn more:
https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/wellness/disability_services/
Academic Honesty
As stated in Carleton’s academic procedures and regulations: “It is assumed that a student
is the author of all course work (quizzes, problem sets, online contributions, tests, papers,
lab work, etc.) that he/she submits, whether for a grade or not, and that the work has not
been submitted for credit in another class without the instructor’s permission. Images,
ideas, data, audio clips, or phrases borrowed from others should be fully identified by
standard procedures for making such acknowledgment. All permitted collaboration with
others must still be acknowledged. Academic Honesty in the Writing of Essays and Other
Papers is one source for information on proper citation.”
Any act of academic dishonesty will be referred for appropriate action to the Academic
Standing Committee (ASC) via the Associate Dean of Students or the Associate Dean of
the College.
SOAN 225 Social Movements
Winter 2015
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Further details can be found here:
http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/dos/asc/academic_regs/?policy_id=21359.
Course Assignments
Class Participation. (5%)
Your active participation and attendance is critical to learning and the course going well.
Of course, doing the readings and being prepared to discuss them in class is a crucial part
of this.
Comparing Social Movements Memos. (15%) 3 @ 5% each.
Length: 3-5 pages, double-spaced.
Due dates: January 19, February 2, February 23
You will write three short memos on of social movements throughout the course. The
purpose of the assignment is for you to look at a particular aspect of a social movement
we study in class.
 Each of these memos should have a different focus:
o One memo should be on a comparative (global or historical) example of a
similar movement (e.g. LGBT movement in Mexico, racial equality
movement in Japan, women’s movement in the 19th Century, democracy
movement in Thailand).
o A second memo can be on any “aspect” of any movement. The ten
sections/aspects of the Social Movements reader is a good place to start.
o Your third memo should also be on the relations and borrowings of
movements; specifically, consider how movements borrow frames, tactics,
etc from each other, or how two or more movements speak to each other.
 Your sources can be taken from news media, journalistic accounts, or academic
articles.
 In your memo, you should do the following:
o Give a summary/brief narrative of your example; what aspect of social
movements does it address; what is it about?
o Discuss how the example adds and/or compares to two or more other
readings from the course. Does it support the other readings’ findings, or
challenge or change them in any way?
 You will present one of your papers in class.
Moodle Posts. (10%) 3 @ 3.3 each
Length: 1-1.5 pages single-spaced; Not longer!
Due Dates: Any readings starting Week 2 or later. Posted to Moodle by 8 pm the
evening before class. One must be posted before the midterm.
You will write three short Moodle response papers to a single reading.
In your paper, you should do the following:
 Briefly summarize the reading.
SOAN 225 Social Movements
Winter 2015
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Discuss a point or finding from the reading that you found particular interesting or
important.
Pose one discussion question for the class based on the topic, findings, or argument
that the article presents.
Keep your paper under 1.5 pages! It’s not easy, but succinct and concise writing is a
good skill to learn.
Midterm Exam. (35%).
The midterm will be a take home exam that will be largely or entirely essay-based. It
will be due Tuesday, Feb. 10th.
Final Paper (35%).
Each of you will write a paper on a movement or aspect of a movement, in consultation
with me. I will meet with each of you individually prior to your submitting the final
paper, to give you feedback, suggestions and critique. Papers will be due on the last day
of class. Papers are expected to be 12-15 pages in length and use sources outside of
course readings. Other expectations and details will be provided by the third week of the
course.
SCHEDULE OF READINGS and TOPICS*
* Course reading schedule is tentative
(GJ) Readings in the Social Movements Reader
Week 1
Studying Social Movements: Concepts and Approaches
Jan 5
Introduction to Course
Jan 7
Social Movement Concepts
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Jan 9
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GJ, Introduction
Tarrow, Power in Movement, Introduction, pp. 8-12, 21-33
GJ 36: Meyer, “How Movements Matter”
GJ 35: Gamson, “Defining Movement Success”
Gitlin, “Where are the Occupy Protesters now?”
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/jun/17/where-occupy-protestersnow-social-media
Is #blacklivesmatter a Social Movement?
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/12/ferguson-new-civil-rightsmovement-113906.html#.VKnNzkh94Vw
Movement Emergence
GJ 2: “The Civil Rights Movement”
GJ 5: “The Egyptian Revolution”
Rimmerman, “The Lesbian and Gay Movements,” pp. 13-29
GJ 2: “The Women’s Movement,”
SOAN 225 Social Movements
Winter 2015
Week 2
Concepts and Aspects of Social Movements
Jan 12
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Contentious Action
Tarrow, “Acting Contentiously,” pp. 95-118
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Frames, Names, and Claims: Making Meaning in Social Movements
Best, “Activists as Claimsmakers,” pp. 64-96
GJ 16: Ryan and Gamson, “Are Frames Enough?” pp. 136-142
Gamson, “The Dilemmas of Identity Politics,” pp. 354-362
Jan 14
Jan 16
Organizations and Networks
 GJ, Part V, “How are movements organized?”
 GJ 19: “Social Movement Organizations”
 Gladwell, “The Revolution will not be Tweeted”
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/04/small-change-3
 Abdalla, “The Revolution will be Tweeted”
http://www.aucegypt.edu/gapp/cairoreview/pages/articledetails.aspx?aid=89
 Whites in the Ferguson Protests:
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/White-voices-dominate-Bay-Areaprotests-of-racial-5953977.php
Optional:
 Kuumba, “Social Movements through a Gender Lens,” Gender and social
movements, pp. 13-22
II. Citizenship Movements: Race, Immigration, and Sexuality
Week 3
The Civil Rights Movement
Jan 19
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McAdam, “The Generation of Black Insurgency, 1955-1961,” pp. 117-145
Kuumba, “Civil Rights and Black Power,” in Gender and Social Movements,
pp. 32-39
Film: Awakenings
Tuesday, Jan. 20, 5 – 7 pm - Special campus event on Ferguson.
Jan 21
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GJ 20: Morris, “Tactical Innovation in the Civil Rights Movement”
McAdam, “The Heyday of Black Insurgency, 1961-1965”
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SOAN 225 Social Movements
Winter 2015
Jan 23
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Week 4
The Selma March and Freedom Summer
GJ 7: “Recruits to Civil Rights Activism”
The LGBT Movement
Jan 26
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Race movements in Brazil, “Breaching Brazil’s Pact of Silence,”
GJ 21: Seidman, “Armed Struggle in the Anti-Apartheid Movement,”
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Rimmerman, “Aids Activism and ACTUP Fight back”
Jan 28
Film: Stonewall Uprising
Jan 30
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Week 5
Rimmerman, “Jilted at the Altar: Same Sex Marriage,”
GJ 25: Taylor, “Tactical Repertoires: Same Sex Weddings”
The Immigrant Rights Movement
Feb 2
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Trans* folk and the LGBT movement
LGBT movements abroad
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Rallying for Immigrant Rights Ch. 1, “The Protests of 2006,”
“Spanish-language Media and Mobilization,” Ch. 2, Rallying for Immigrant
Rights
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Ch. 4, “The Immigrant-Labor-Clergy Alliance”
Feb 4
Feb 6
III. Democracy and Anti-Corporate Movements
Week 6
The Arab Spring and Fighting for Democracy
Feb 9
MIDTERM BREAK
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Please watch documentary, “How Facebook changed the World: the Story of
the Arab Spring,”
http://vimeo.com/45410957
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SOAN 225 Social Movements
Winter 2015
Feb 11
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Castells, “The Egyptian Revolution,” 53-93
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“The Arab Uprisings,” 93-110
Feb 13
Week 7
Arab Spring; Gezi Park; Occupy
Feb 16
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Arab Spring (cont.)
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Gezi Park
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Gitlin, Occupy
Feb 18
Feb 20
Week 8
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Occupy
Gitlin, Occupy
Chomsky, Occupy
Castells, Occupy
Week 9
Global Movements: Islam, Women’s Movement
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Moghadam, Globalization and Social Movements
Week 10
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Conclusion, Reflection, Presentations
Readings TBA
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