Soc 61.6 Social Movements    

Professor Alex Vitale   

Fall 2005                                                                                            Office: 3101 James

Tues, Thurs 3:30-4:45                                    Tues, Thurs 1- 2 PM, Mon, Wed 5 - 6 PM

Room 5501 James                                                             avitale@brooklyn.cuny.edu

Course web page: http://home.earthlink.net/~alvgc/work

Objectives

·        To become familiar with different social movement theories and apply them to contemporary social movements.

·        To learn the factors that contributed to the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement.

·        To learn about transnational social movements and how they differ from domestic ones.

·        To use sociological concepts to analyze fictional and real world descriptions of social movements.

·        To communicate ideas effectively in class and in writing.

·        To do effective internet based research of contemporary local and transnational social movements.

Books

·        Morris, Aldon. 1984. The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: Free Press.

·        Steinbeck, John. 1992. In Dubious Battle. New York: Penguin.

·        Della Porta, Donatella and Sidney G. Tarrow eds. 2005. Transnational Protest and Global Activism. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

All books can be purchased at Shakespeare & Co., or on-line.

Requirements

·        Class Participation 10%: Students are expected to be in class on time and well prepared. This means reading the assignment and participating in classroom discussions. You should be prepared to be called upon to answer questions at any time.

·        First Essay 15%: This essay will be a 2-3 page comparison of the themes in John Steinbeck’s novel  In Dubious Battle and those of Morris’s The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement.

·        Midterm Paper 30%: There will be a midterm paper of 4-5 pages that uses concepts from the Morris book to analyze a local social movement. Papers that are turned in on time and receive a grade below A- may be resubmitted the following week. A detailed assignment sheet will be given out in class.

·        Final Paper 45%: The final paper will be a 9-10 page paper. Students must utilize concepts from the della Porta and Tarrow book to analyze a transnational social movement of their choice. A detailed assignment sheet will be given out in class.

Ground Rules

·        If you miss class, contact the instructor by email before the next class to receive any missed assignments, handouts, etc.

·        Please do not disturb class with cell phones, side conversations, or excessive eating in class

·        Plagiarism (writing someone else’s words as your own), sharing your work with another student, or copying another student’s work will result in an F in the course.

·        If you feel you are not doing as well as you would like in the course you should come and see me in my office or after class. Grades can not be adjusted after an assignment is completed or once the semester is over.

Course Schedule

Tues.    8/30     Lecture on Sociology and Social Movements

Thurs.   9/1       Lecture on social movements theories (Begin reading Steinbeck)

Tues.   9/6        Video (continue reading Steinbeck)

Thurs.  9/8        Video (continue reading Steinbeck)

Tues.   9/13      Morris Introduction and Ch.1

Thurs.  9/15      Morris Ch.2

Tues.   9/20      Morris Ch.3

Thurs.  9/22      Morris Ch.4

Tues.   9/27      Morris Ch.5 and 6

Thurs.  9/29      Discuss Steinbeck

Thurs. 10/6       Morris Ch.7, Essay #1 Due

Tues.  10/18     Morris Ch. 8

Thurs. 10/20     Morris Ch.9

Tues.  10/25     Morris Ch.10

Thurs. 10/27     Morris Ch.11

Tues.  11/1       Video, Midterm Paper Due

Thurs. 11/3       Morris article (distributed in class)

Tues.   11/8      della Porta and Tarrow Ch. 1, Midterm Paper Returned

Thurs.  11/10    della Porta and Tarrow Ch. 2