Course credit
3 credit hours
Course description
Sociological and sociopsychological conceptualizations of the genesis, dynamics, and demise of modern social movements. Emphasis on reformist, utopian, nativistic, and totalitarian organizations.
Delivery
This course is available in a web-based format, utilizing web pages and MyCourses, a computer conferencing program. MyCourses requires Internet access and a web browser — no additional software is required. Students may need access to someone who can assist with computer set-up.
Prerequisites
UNI students: 980:001; junior standing.
Instructor
Ruth A. Chananie-Hill, Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology.
Ruth Chananie-Hill grew up in the sunshine state of Florida. She dropped out of college, partied hard, worked in the “real world” for a decade or so and joined the Army for two years prior to going back to school at a non-traditional age. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sociology at Middle Tennessee State University in 1999, and went on to earn her master’s degree in Sociology at the same university in 2002. From there, she continued her odyssey north to Carbondale, IL, where she completed her Ph.D. in Sociology at Southern Illinois University in 2007.
Her first teaching position was as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at Manchester College in North Manchester, IN, a small but vibrant liberal arts college. In 2008, she was fortunate enough to join the faculty at the University of Northern Iowa as an Assistant Professor of Sociology. Her primary teaching and research areas include social theory, social movements, social inequalities, and sociology of sport and gender. Currently, her research foci include comparing socio-legal framings of same-sex and interracial marriage; analyzing female bodybuilders’ gendered expressions and extreme dieting practices; and using a third-wave feminist lens to investigate women’s participation in do-it-yourself flat-track roller derby leagues.
Evaluation
11 assignments, 1 final project
Course overview
Welcome to the world of social movements. If you have questions such as: Why do movements emerge when they do? Who “starts” movements? Why do people join or drop out of movements? How can I get involved? What strategies and tactics do they use? What works and what doesn't? What happens when the government or other powerful organizations try to stop a movement? Why do certain movements just seem to “die out”? ...then you are in the right place. During this course, you will investigate the answers to these questions and many more.
During the first part of the course, you will learn what a social movement is, and what it is not. For example, did you know that the accepted definition of a social movement is a collective effort, outside of established institutions (such as government), to enact or reverse social change? Most people think of all social movements as politically liberal, such as the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, or the gay and lesbian movement. However, there are many conservative movements, often referred to as countermovements, whose typical goal is to reverse changes made by liberal movements (such as the Pro-Life movement in response to the passage of Roe v. Wade). Also, you will explore the formation and histories of major contemporary movements, such as those mentioned above, plus the environmental movement, the peace and anti-war movement, the labor movement, anti-globalization movements, and religious movements.
Next, you will learn about contemporary theories that activist-scholars develop to explain various aspects of social movements. For example, resource mobilization focuses on resources that movement organizations need in order to mobilize and to succeed. Political opportunity theorists claim that a social movement cannot succeed unless the political atmosphere is “open” to debate and change. On the other hand, framing scholars argue that the most important element of social movement success involves how well the movement appeals to people’s morality and sense of injustice. In a related vein, scholars of emotions in social movements point out that feelings are the ultimate catalysts for people taking action against something they perceive as wrong or unjust. New social movement theorists claim that modern movements are no longer about simply gaining rights; we are now in an era where collective identity is most important – in other words, the right to be different as well as equal. In this course, you will have the opportunity to explore and apply these theories, and to decide for yourself which one(s) best explain your adopted social movement’s practices.
Following this, you will learn about movement strategies and tactics, and investigate what motivates people to mobilize for a collective cause. In addition, you will be exposed to crucial issues that affect activism and movements, such as organizational structure and networking, collective identity politics, media exposure, and movement adversaries. In the last part of the course you will explore the meaning of social movement success and speculate about the future of social movements. For your final project, you get to “adopt” a social movement (SM) of your own and apply your new social movement analysis “toolkit” to its practices.
Course objectives
Understand, compare, and contrast social movement concepts and principles and apply them to current or historic social movement activities. This will help illuminate the inner workings of social movements and collective behavior. By the end of the course you should have a good idea of how people work together to mobilize groups of people and communities in order to accomplish movement goals.
Understand the role of theory in the study of social movements. Become familiar with contemporary social movement theories, compare and contrast their key concepts and assumptions, and apply them to explain various aspects of social movement activity.
Use a sociological lens to make sense of the world, one’s identities, and one’s actions in relation to social movements. This will encourage effective participation in civil society and provide you with the knowledge and tools to work effectively in social movement organizations.
Course organization
This course will be delivered over the World Wide Web, utilizing web pages, and a learning management system (MyCourses). It consists of 11 assignments and a final project. There are no formal exams in this course. Rather, the assignment questions are meant to be taken seriously, and are graded accordingly. They are critical thinking questions designed to a) instill in you an appreciation for the dynamics of social movements that you will retain after the course is over; and b) prepare you for the final project, which consists of applying what you have learned. The final project, in lieu of an exam, is designed to assess your ability to take what you have learned and apply it to a social movement of your choosing.
Basic Course Outline:
Unit 1: Contemporary Social Movements
Assignment 1 – Introduction to Social Movements
Assignment 2 – Liberal Social Movements, Pt. 1
Assignment 3 – Liberal Social Movements, Pt. 2
Assignment 4 – Religious Movements
Unit 2: Theories
Assignment 5 – Social Movement Theories, Pt. 1
Assignment 6 – Social Movement Theories, Pt. 2
Assignment 7 – Applications of Theory
Unit 3: Strategies and Mobilization
Assignment 8 – Strategies and Tactics
Assignment 9 – Mobilization
Unit 4: Activism
Assignment 10 – Crucial Issues in Activism
Assignment 11 – Looking Forward
Unit 5: Project
Assignment 12 – Final Project (undergraduates only) or Research Paper (graduate students only)
Readings:
The assigned text and ancillaries provide the core reading material for this course. It is imperative that you read the materials carefully in order to do well on the assignments and final project. Students come to these courses with varying skill-levels regarding reading comprehension and English language vocabulary. You are the best judge of your current reading and vocabulary skills, so do what is best for you to ensure you understand the readings as thoroughly as possible. Feel free to ask me questions about the readings as you go along. If you need it, obtain help and assistance from UNI’s student learning resources http://www.uni.edu/unialc/ or the local resources in your area. If you let me know about any issues you are having understanding the readings, I will be happy to make some suggestions. Also see Practical Tips for Reading Critically: http://gsi.berkeley.edu/resources/discussion/read_crti.html
Disclaimer: Some of the material you read for this course may be disturbing to you, depending on your belief systems and/or life experiences. Readings will discuss contentions issues such as abortion, child abuse, same-sex marriage, religious fundamentalism, feminism, terrorism, suicide bombings, and so forth. Sensitivity to such issues will not excuse you from completing the assignments. Higher education is a venue in which your deepest assumptions may be challenged, and thus discomfort is often part of the experience. The purpose of this course is not to change your belief systems, but to get you to think sociologically about the issues presented. If you feel you cannot do this, this course may not be for you.
Written Assignments:
Each of the eleven written assignments is composed of a series of questions that require you to read, think about what you've read, and to apply the concepts or ideas to a current social movement or issue. In general, I am looking for your ability to reason logically and persuasively, based on reading content, any additional research, and, if applicable, your own experience with social movements. For some questions, there are no “right” answers. This does not mean that all answers are equally valid; some, of course, will be better than others. It does mean, however, that I am mainly interested in your ability to think critically about what you've read, to apply the concepts you are learning, and to coherently communicate your ideas and the ideas of others in writing. These skills are crucial for all of your college and career endeavors. I will assess you based on a) critical thinking ability; b) clarity of communication (i.e., good writing skills); c) logical arguments accompanied by supporting evidence (such as examples from the readings or your research); and d) thoroughness of answers. Although length will vary a bit, a reasonable guideline is approximately three or four double-spaced, typed pages for each assignment.
Important note: In your written work, always identify the source of the ideas or information you are discussing. For example, if you are referring to a course article, put the name(s) of the author(s) either in the sentence or in parentheses after the sentence. If you are quoting, include a page number. If you are using an Internet source, include the website address somewhere in the text or in parentheses at the end of the sentence (or a footnote) when you first mention information from it. Failure to credit your sources properly can result in unpleasant consequences (see section on Academic Honesty below). If you have questions on how to do this, please ask immediately. Grad students – I expect you to use correct ASA (or APA) style citations wherever applicable for all assignments. See Assignment 12 and the additional resources.
Type written assignments using a word processing program and save as a file. If you are using a word processing program other than Microsoft Word, then please save the file as Rich Text Format. Submit your assignments to the Assignments tool.
Graduate Students:
Students completing the course for graduate credit are required to do work which is both quantitatively and qualitatively more complex than undergraduates. Graduate students can expect assignments and exams to be graded with greater scrutiny. Additionally, graduate students will be expected to complete a scholarly research paper, as described in Assignment 12. The other assignments will help your prepare to write your research paper, so I suggest you take a look at the instructions early.
Technical Requirements of Learners:
This is a web-based course. All elements of this course will require students to access documents using UNI’s eLearning program and perform research online, communicate with the instructor via email, and submit typed assignments using word processing software. In addition, your final project/research paper (Assignment 12) will be evaluated through Turnitin.com via a link on the Home Page. Please refer to the Turnitin.com Assignments Tutorial for further instruction.
Academic Honesty:
As members of a college community, we have a responsibility to be honest and act ethically. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense. All cases of cheating and plagiarism will be subject to academic discipline according to university policy. Ignorance of these policies does not preclude individual responsibility for such actions. If you are unsure what counts as plagiarism and how to avoid it do not hesitate to ask.
See http://www.uni.edu/pres/policies/301.shtml in UNI Student Handbook and summary below:
Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to: presenting as your own, for academic evaluation, the ideas or words of another person without proper acknowledgment and citation of sources, including purchasing another’s work (i.e. plagiarizing; also includes cutting and pasting from web sites); using unauthorized assistance (e.g. having someone write your assignments for you); and providing unauthorized assistance (doing someone else’s work for them). Disciplinary actions include: Failing grade for the specific assignment/exam; Failing grade for the course (at instructor’s discretion); Written report to student’s and instructors department head, and to the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs; Possible suspension and loss of credit; Possible permanent expulsion from UNI.
Grading
Please note that UNI Guided Independent Study requires that you complete all assignments to pass the course.
Assignments (11 x 30) 330 pts.
Final Project (undergrad only) 100 pts.
Research Paper (grad only) 100 pts.
Grade |
Percent (min.) | 430 possible points |
| A | 93% | 399 |
| A- | 90% | 387 |
| B+ | 88% | 378 |
| B | 83% | 357 |
| B- | 80% | 344 |
| C+ | 78% | 335 |
| C | 73% | 314* |
| C- | 70% | 301 |
| D+ | 68% | 292 |
| D | 63% | 271 |
| D- | 60% | 258 |
* Graduate students must earn a "C" or better to earn graduate credit.
Textbook(s)
Goodwin, Jeff and Jasper, James M. (eds.). 2009. The Social Movements Reader: Cases and Concepts (2nd Edition). West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
Course Packet of additional readings.
Texts are available from www.bookfinder.com
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