Political Science 4700: Protests and Social Movements

Political Science 4700: Protests and Social Movements Spring 2014 Tuesday & Thursday, 11am-12:20pm. Wooten Hall 212

Prof. Idean Salehyan Email: [email protected] Phone: (940)565-2317 Office hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 3:30-5pm. Wooten Hall 173B.

Popular movements have been responsible for some of the greatest social transformations in history, including voting rights for women, racial equality, democracy, and environmental sustainability. This course will examine theories of social movements and empirical examples of protests throughout history. We will discuss topics such as women’s suffrage, the US civil rights movements, pro-democracy movements, the Arab Spring, and far-right extremism. Students will gain a deeper understanding of who joins social movements, the role of leadership, tactical choices, and government responses. In addition, while there will be some lectures throughout the semester this class will be largely student-directed. I encourage you to think critically about the readings, interact with one another and with me, and make the course your own. Students are expected to participate actively in class discussions, develop independent research projects, as well as contribute to directed group projects.

Learning objectives: -Understand various theoretical perspectives regarding protest and repression. -Learn from historical examples of social movements. -Develop insights into how to design campaigns for social justice. -Develop expertise on a particular topic of interest. The syllabus and course material will be posted on Blackboard (learn.unt.edu). If you need to contact me, please email me at my regular email address ([email protected]) rather than sending a message through Blackboard. Reading Materials: All readings will be posted on Blackboard, unless there is an online link in the syllabus. Assignments: Group project #1: Persuasive Appeal (25% of grade). One of the most important tasks for an activist organization is to persuade others to join their cause and provide material contributions for their efforts. In the first group project you are to form a (fictional) non-governmental organization and design a recruitment pitch, which will attract people to join your group. You are to thoroughly research the topic you’ve chosen and make well-reasoned appeals. In designing your appeal, you should think about the following issues:

1) Come up with a name and mission statement for your group. Examples of mission statements: http://www.missionstatements.com/nonprofit_mission_statements.html 2) What is the social problem you’ve identified and why is it important for people to care about it? Make an emotional appeal to people’s sense of right and wrong. (You can choose any social issue you wish. Examples include: gender equality, child soldiers, LGBT rights, gun violence, student loans, corruption, environmental protection, human rights in a particular country, etc. If you are having trouble picking a topic, feel free to see me about it.) 3) How will your organization seek to promote change? What will people do when they join your group? Discuss the pragmatic steps that your organization will follow to meet its objectives. You can advocate any and all protest tactics, as long as they remain non-violent. 4) Why should people join your organization? How can a single individual’s effort make a real difference in the success or failure of your group?

On March 4th and 6th groups will present a 15 minute (maximum!) persuasive appeal to the class. You can be as creative as you would like with your presentations! You are free to give a speech, make a powerpoint/slide presentation, make an animation, film a video, use music, artwork, or any combination of these to make your recruitment pitch.

At the end of the presentations, students will vote for their favorite “cause”. The top group in terms of votes will receive an additional 20 points; the runner-up will receive 10 points.

Group Project #2: Direct Action Campaign (25% of grade). In seeking social change, activist organizations must develop concrete strategies for influencing policy. In this group project, you will design a campaign for promoting a particular cause (again, the topic is entirely up to you). Your group is to design a direct action strategy for bringing about the change you advocate. In designing a campaign, you should consider what tactics will be most effective. First, who has the power to change policy (e.g. Members of Congress, local officials, foreign leaders)? Second, what do these power-holders want and how can they be persuaded to support your cause (do they respond to money?, voters?, public shaming?)? Third, and relatedly, who has influence over these power-holders and who can make them listen? In designing your campaign, you may consider—but are not limited to—several tactics and strategies. 1) Draft a petition. Petitions inform the public of an issue and allow hundreds or thousands of people to easily express support for a particular cause. See www.moveon.org or www.change.org for examples of online petitions. 2) Organize a rally. Create a flyer and/or use social media to get people to congregate at a particular location on a given date/time. You may create banners and signs to draw attention to your group. 3) Conduct a letter writing campaign. Draft letters to decision makers urging them to undertake a particular action and get others to write them as well. For examples see: http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now 4) Create a blog. Write a blog to get your message across and inform the public about your cause. 5) Use social media. Use Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking websites to gather people, share information, and promote your message. 6) Use YouTube or other video sharing platforms to inform the public. 7) Use music, art, poetry and other creative outlets to get people to take action. 8) Organize a boycott. Get people to stop purchasing particular products or services to put economic pressure on your target. In designing your campaign, you can either actually launch the action(s) (e.g. post an online petition), or simply create “mock” material, or any combination thereof. During the final week of class, students will give a 15 minute presentation, discussing and presenting the materials they created. In your presentation, discuss the thought process that went into designing your actions. Why did you choose that tactic(s)? How did you choose your target(s)? Why did you use a particular forum and means of expression? What are some of the pros and cons of the strategy you used? At the end of the presentations, students will vote for their favorite “cause”. The top group in terms of votes will receive an additional 20 points; the runner-up will receive 10 points. **Note on group projects: for each project, your group is to write a one-page summary of who was responsible for which parts of the project. I expect each team member to provide equal input and effort into the project. Although the entire group will typically receive the same grade, under exceptional circumstances I may assign a lower grade to one or more group members. If you wish, you may also privately communicate with me if a team member is free-riding on the work of others. Review Papers x2 (10% of grade each, 20% total). Choose a particular week’s reading (including “discussion” readings described below) and write a critical essay of approximately 800-1,200 words reacting to the authors’ arguments (include the word count on the first page). Briefly review each of the readings for that week, indicating points that you found persuasive, and those which you disagree with. Please do not merely summarize the readings for that week, but provide your own opinion on the major themes, arguments, controversies, and empirical evidence presented. Were you persuaded by the readings? Did you find them lacking in any way? Did the readings change your mind about a particular issue? Were you (inspired/angered/confused) by a particular author? You are to submit two of these papers over the course of the semester.

Book Review Essay (20% of grade). Select and read a book on a particular social movement, protest campaign, or activist organization or leader. You may choose any topic from the syllabus, or other topic of your choosing. Write an essay between 1,500-2,000 words reviewing the book (include the word count on the first page). You are to: 1) provide a brief summary of the book, 2) discuss the merits of the book and its problems/shortcomings, and 3) discuss your own views about the topic/subject matter. See the New York Times Book Review Section (http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/review/) for examples. I highly encourage you to ask me if the book is appropriate for the review. Book reviews are due TUESDAY, MAY 6.

Participation (10% of grade). You are expected to come to all class sessions and actively participate in discussions. On selected Thursdays unless noted (see schedule), we will have readings marked “discussion”. These classes will be entirely discussion based, where we consider and debate issues brought up in the readings. You should have read the articles for that week and be prepared to discuss them. For these classes, you are to write bring a list of 2-3 questions about the given readings. We may or may not have time to address all of the questions, however. Please be respectful of other people’s point of view, even if you disagree with them.

**Plagiarism and cheating are serious offenses and will result in, at minimum, failure on the assignment. You are to submit your own, original work for the essay assignments.

CLASS SCHEDULE

1. JANUARY 14 & 16. Course Preliminaries -McAdam, Doug, Sidney Tarrow and Charles Tilly. 1996. “To Map Contentious Politics.” Mobilization 1(1).

2. JANUARY 21 & 23. Theoretical Foundations -John McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald, "Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial theory." American Journal of Sociology 82 (1977): 1212-1241.

-Mansur Olson, “The Free Rider Problem.” In, Jeff Goodwin and James Jasper eds, The Social Movements Reader. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell

3. JANUARY 28 & 30. Movements in History: Women’s Suffrage -Fraser, Arvonne. 1999. “Becoming Human: the Origins and Development of Women’s Human Rights.” Human Rights Quarterly. 21(4).

-Ramirez, Francisco, Yasemin Soysal and Suzanne Shanahan. 1997. “The Changing Logic of Political Citizenship: Cross National Acquisition of Women’s Suffrage.” American Sociological Review. 62(5).

Discussion Readings: - Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls Conference, 1848. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/senecafalls.asp -Remarks by Susan B. Anthony in the Circuit Court of the United States for the Northern District of New York, 1873. http://ecssba.rutgers.edu/docs/sbatrial.html

4. FEBRUARY 4 & 6. Non-Violence as a Tactic -Stephan, Maria and Erica Chenoweth. 2008. “Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Non- Violent Conflict.” International Security. 33(1).

-Schock, Kurt. 2003. “Nonviolent Action and its Misconceptions: Insights for Social Scientists.” PS: Political Science and Politics. 36(4).

-“Salt March” from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandi_March

-Watch: Scilla Elworthy: Fighting with Non-Violence http://www.ted.com/talks/scilla_elworthy_fighting_with_non_violence.html

5. FEBRUARY 11 & 13. Racial Equality: The US Civil Rights Movement -Blumberg, Rhoda. “The Civil Rights Movement.” In, Jeff Goodwin and James Jasper eds, The Social Movements Reader. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Also read the MLK biography.

-McAdam, Doug. 1983. “Tactical Innovation and the Pace of Insurgency.” American Sociological Review. 48(6).

Discussion Reading -Martin Luther King Jr., “Non-Violence: the Only Road to Freedom” http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/nonviolence-the-only-road-to-freedom/

6. FEBRUARY 18 & 20. Racial Equality: The Anti-Apartheid Movement -“Apartheid” from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid

-Hirschmann, David. 1990. “The Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa.” Journal of Modern African Studies. 28(1).

-Seidman, Gay. “Armed Struggle in the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement.” In, Jeff Goodwin and James Jasper eds, The Social Movements Reader. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Discussion Readings -Nelson Mandela, “I am prepared to die” http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/07/12/transcript-nelson-mandela-speech-i-am-prepared-die %E2%80%99 -Nelson Mandela Biography http://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography

7. FEBRUARY 25 & 27 (No class Feb 27). Democracy in Eastern Europe -Kuran, Timur. 1991. “Now out of Never: The Element of Surprise in the East European Revolution of 1989.” World Politics. 44(1).

-“History of Solidarity” from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Solidarity

Discussion Reading (Discussion will be on Tuesday, Feb 25. No class on the 27th) -Vaclav Havel, Power of the Powerless http://vaclavhavel.cz/showtrans.php?cat=eseje&val=2_aj_eseje.html&typ=HTML -Havel Biography: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/19/world/europe/vaclav-havel-dissident-playwright-who-led- czechoslovakia-dead-at-75.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0

8. MARCH 4 & 6. STUDENT PRESENTATIONS: PERSUASIVE APPEAL -Davenport, Christian. 1995. “Multi-Dimensional Threat Perception and State Repression: an Inquiry into Why States Apply Negative Sanctions.” American Journal of Political Science. 39(3).

---SPRING BREAK: MARCH 10-16--

9. MARCH 18 & 20. Democracy in Burma -Taylor, Robert. 2012. “Myanmar: From Army Rule to Constitutional Rule?” Asian Affairs, 43(2).

-Hlaing, Kyaw Yin. 2012. “Understanding Recent Political Change in Myanmar.” Contemporary Southeast Asia. 34(2).

Discussion Readings -Aung San Suu Kyi, “Freedom from Fear.” On Blackboard -Aung San Suu Kyi, “In Quest of Democracy.” On Blackboard -Aung San Suu Kyi Biography http://www.biography.com/people/aung-san-suu-kyi-9192617

10. MARCH 25 & 27 (No class March 27). Environmental Justice -Pellow and Brulle, “Environmental Justice.” In, Jeff Goodwin and James Jasper eds, The Social Movements Reader. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

-Michaelson, Marc. 1994. “Wangari Maathai and Kenya's Green Belt Movement: Exploring the Evolution and Potentialities of Consensus Movement Mobilization.” Social Problems. 41(4).

Discussion Readings (Discussion will be on Tuesday, March 25. No class on the 27th) -Wangari Maathai, Nobel Prize Speech. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2004/maathai-lecture-text.html -Wangari Maathai, Biography. http://www.biography.com/people/wangari-maathai-13704918?page=1

11. APRIL 1 & 3. Transnational Movements -Keck, Margaret and Kathryn Sikkink. 1999.“Transnational Advocacy Networks in International and Regional Politics.” International Social Science Journal. 51(159).

-Bennett, Lance. 2005. “Social Movements Beyond Borders: Organization, Communication and Political Capacity in Two Eras of Transnational Activism.” In, Donatella Della Porta and Sidney Tarrow, eds. Transnational Protest and Global Activism.

-Carpenter, Charli. 2007. “Setting the Advocacy Agenda: Theorizing Issue Emergence and Non- Emergence in Transnational Advocacy Networks.” International Studies Quarterly. 51(1).

12. APRIL 8 & 10. The Arab Spring -Ajami, Fouad. 2012. “The Arab Spring at One.” Foreign Affairs. March/April. 2012

-Game, Gregory. 2011. “Why Middle East Studies Missed the Arab Spring.” Foreign Affairs. 91(4)

-Johnstone, Sarah and Jeffry Mazo. 2011. “Global Warming and the Arab Spring.” Survival. 53(2).

Discussion Videos, View the Following TED Talks and be prepared to discuss them. -Dalia Mogahed: The Attitudes that Sparked the Arab Spring http://www.ted.com/talks/dalia_mogahed_the_attitudes_that_sparked_arab_spring.html -Wael Ghonim: Inside the Egyptian Revolution. http://www.ted.com/talks/wael_ghonim_inside_the_egyptian_revolution.html -Zahra Langhi: Why Libya’s Revolution Didn’t Work – and What Might. http://www.ted.com/talks/zahra_langhi_why_libya_s_revolution_didn_t_work_and_what_might.html

13. APRIL 15 & 17. New Media and the Internet -Bennett, Lance. 2003. “New Media Power: The Internet and Global Activism.” In, Nick Couldry and James Curran, eds. Contesting Media Power. Rowman and Littlefield.

-Earl, Jennifer. 2006. “Pursuing Change Online: The Use of Four Protest Tactics on the Internet.” Social Science Computer Review. 24:362.

-Pfeifle, Mark. “Changing the Face(book) of Social Activism.” Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-pfeifle/social-media-political-activism_b_1594287.html

-Slaten, William. “Springtime for Twitter: Is the Internet Driving the Revolutions of the Arab Spring?” Slate Magazine. http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2011/07/springtime_for_twitter.html

14. APRIL 22 & 24. Far-Right Movements -Pitcavage, Mark. 2001. “Camouflage and Conspiracy: the Militia Movement from Ruby Ridge to Y2K.” American Behavioral Scientist. 44: 957

-Southern Poverty Law Center. 2009. “The Second Wave: Return of the Militias”.

-Institute for Strategic Dialogue. 2012. “The New Radical Right: Violent and Non-Violent Movements in Europe.” Briefing Paper.

15. APRIL 29 & MAY 1. STUDENT PRESENTATIONS: DIRECT ACTION -No readings this week.

MAY 6, Book reviews due.

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