Social Movements

Catalog description

In all societies, today and in the past, people have joined together to push for or against social change. This course examines the social movements that carry many of these struggles. These include not only historical exemplars like the civil rights, anti-war, and women’s movements of the sixties but also recent activism concerned with issues like sweatshops, global warming, and healthcare. Some core questions: What historical and political conditions lead to social movements? Why do people enter into and abandon efforts at collective action? What tactics do protesters use, and how are they countered by opponents? What do social/political movements share with movements in other domains, like art, music, the professions, and corporations? What impact do social movements have? What do participants take away with them when the movement ends?