Social Movements, Protest, and Policy/Political Change

Catalog description

We think of social movements as forces for change, which frequently involves policy and institutional reform. Yet just how they affect such change is frequently not explicitly addressed. This course introduces students to major theories and analytical frameworks that help to explain the policy/political consequences of contentious action by social movements, ranging from nil to substantial and points in between. In the process, the course covers themes such as race and ethnicity, policy consequences of resistance to mega development projects, environmental justice, nuclear power and peace movements, among others. Effects are traced at various levels of governance, from national to local (sorry no international). Regions of the world include Latin America, the United States, and Europe.