32501
Seminar
WiSe 13/14: Social Movements
Margarita Mayer
Comments
This class deepens the understanding of 'Policies and Politics' in North America in so far as it studies social movements as actors in American politics that are shaped by and themselves play active roles in shaping policies in a variety of areas. The class aims particularly at gaining an understanding of the specificities of US social movements in their role within the political system and their interaction with political institutions on various scales.
After familiarizing ourselves with some classic texts on US social movements, we will investigate contemporary movements, such as mobilizations around social justice (around labor, environmental, urban, migrant, race, gender and other social issues) as well as populist mobilizations such as the so-called tea party movements. We will gain an understanding of the novelty of social justice activism in contrast to earlier waves of progressive mobilization in the US, and of its specificity in contrast to contemporary European mobilizations, as well as of the novelty of the tea party movements in contrast to earlier populist movements.
By looking at examples of currently active social movements, their frames, organizing, and action repertoires, on local as well as regional and national levels, we will be able to learn how the US specific framing of conflicts matters. The literature on various movements assigned on this syllabus are to be complemented by the various websites and blogs.
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16 Class schedule
Regular appointments
Tue, 2013-10-15 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2013-10-22 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2013-10-29 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2013-11-05 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2013-11-12 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2013-11-19 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2013-11-26 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2013-12-03 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2013-12-10 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2013-12-17 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2014-01-07 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2014-01-14 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2014-01-21 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2014-01-28 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2014-02-04 10:00 - 12:00
Tue, 2014-02-11 10:00 - 12:00