Political Movements and Political Participation

Catalog description

Political Movements and Political Participation is concerned with the variety of ways citizens engage in collective activism in the United States and across national boundaries, and with the conditions under which citizens identify common concerns and join together in political movements to bring about change. The course begins with an examination of three general bodies of theory and research on political movements: resource mobilization, political opportunity structures, and cultural framing. We will also investigate frameworks of political participation for understanding the relationships among different expressions of collective activism and representation. In the context of these sometimes competing theories, we will consider 1) the conditions under which political movements are likely to emerge, as well as the circumstances in which collective political action is precluded; 2) how citizens come to recognize collective grievances and shared political identities; 3) the strategies and tactics of organized movements, and their likelihood of political success; and 4) the relationship between political movements, political parties, and the state. Offered as POSC 322 and POSC 422 .