Social Movements: Borderlands and Beyond

Catalog description

The field of ethnic studies is about critical knowing and unapologetic imagining and creation of a better, more just world. One way that is accomplished is through social movements. In this class we will study social movements in this class – and why some were more successful than others. We will explore the roots, logic, and ongoing practice of social movements around the world, and with a specific focus on the Borderlands. “A social movement is a complex set of different types of actions by different actors all oriented toward some general social change goal” (Oliver, 1995) After the murder of George Floyd, a social movement was sparked in which hundreds of thousands of people took to the street hoping to affect change in U.S. society. Did it work? This class will look at social movements – both successful and unsuccessful – throughout history.