About the Course
This course is about understanding a variant of social change. The aim of the course is to provide the students with the necessary academic tools enabling them to comprehend contemporary social and political movements by taking into account historical, cultural, economic, social, political and psychological factors. An interdisciplinary outlook will be required in order to cope with the complexity of social change and the different levels of analysis.
At the end of the semester the students will have an idea about how they can articulate and assess the organizational structure, historical context, discursive meaning or the ideological position of a social movement. The ongoing specific issues such as the global warming, the abortion issue and the Arab spring as well as the increasing relevance of NGO’s, globalization, transnationalism and interdependency will be critically discussed.
In addition to the reading material, visual material (films and documentaries) will be used as much as possible to be able to address the spontaneity and dynamism of social movements.
To download the course syllabus, please click here.
Tentative Weekly Schedule
Week 1 - Introduction: About the Course and Social Movements
Week 2 - Liberalism: Civil Rights Movements
Week 3 - Socialism: Labour Movements and Trade Unions
Week 4 - Fascism: Youth Organizations, Mobilization and Propaganda
Week 5 - Revolutions: Radical Activism and Social Change
Week 6 - New Social Movements: The Legacy of 1968
Week 7 - Environmental Activism: The Ecology Movement and the Greens
Week 8 - Sexual Politics and Social Movements: Feminism and Lesbian/Gay Movement
Week 9 - Conservative Politics and Social Movements
Week 10 - NGOs and Humanitarian Aid
Week 11 - Comparing Social Movements
Week 12 - Social Movements and the Media: Making Sense of The Arab Spring
Week 13 - Identity Politics and Social Movements
Week 14 - The Global Turn: Transnationalism in Social Movements
Week 15 - Class Discussion and Evaluation of the Term