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Sociology 3430: Collective Action and Social Movements Fall 2016

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Sociology 3430: Collective Action and Social Movements Fall 2016 Carleton University Department of Sociology and Anthropology Sociology 3430: Collective Action and Social Movements Fall 2016 Professor Justin Paulson Class time: Tuesday 8:35-11:25 Email: [email protected] Location: Southam 313 Office: Loeb C768 Office hours: Tuesday and Wednesday 1pm-2pm T.A.: TBA Messages: 613-520-2600, ext. 2938 Prerequisites: Soc/Anth 1001 and 1002 or Soc/Anth 1003. Students with at least 3rd-year standing only. Description and Objectives This class will offer a survey of historical studies and theoretical perspectives on collective action and social movements, with a focus on Canada and the United States. Several specific social movements will be studied in detail, including labour, civil rights, indigenous struggles, and the student movement, as well as the theoretical tools for understanding them. Lectures may include examples of and comparisons to movements in other parts of the world, but our principal cases studies will be movements in Canada and the United States that are ongoing or that have been foundational to our social world today. Key questions include: what is a social movement? What factors influence social movement development? Why do they form in some circumstances but not others? What forms can they take? Why do some succeed, but others fail? Throughout the term, students are encouraged to probe the relationships between social movements and social change, social movements and democracy, social movements and government structures, and social movements and revolution. Format and Assessment Students in this class will read a mix of historical and theoretical texts on social movements, and then meet for 3 hours each week. Class meetings may consist of lectures, discussions, films, and student presentations. Note that lectures are not designed to rehash the assigned texts, but to complement them by providing background, context, clarification, and theoretical framing. Students will have opportunities each week to engage with and discuss the readings and the issues that they raise. Students are expected to: • Carefully read the assigned texts before the class meets. In the week before each meeting, whether or not you're giving a presentation or writing a paper, you should prepare some written questions, thoughts, and/or subjects for discussion that are drawn from the week's texts. • Attend all class meetings, being prepared to discuss the reading for that week. You should not take this course if you cannot attend regularly. • Assessment in this course will be based on: ☞ class participation (20% of the grade): this includes attendance, weekly reading quizzes and other in- class exercises, and the quality of your regular participation. ☞ a midterm exam (worth 20% of the grade), in class on October 18. ☞ a group presentation (worth 20% of the grade) – details and signups will be made available in the first class. ☞ a final research project (worth 40% of the grade), which can be either (at your discretion): a) a paper of 12-15 pp. in length, on a topic of your choosing stemming from the course; b) a class presentation of your participatory research in a social movement, accompanied by a 6-page paper. Your choice must be made in a one-page project proposal, due November 1. Extra-credit opportunities may be made available at various points in the term; these may involve attending and learning from campus colloquia, panel talks, and other events related to social movements. In accordance with the Carleton University Undergraduate Calendar, the letter grades assigned in this course will have the following percentage equivalents: A+ = 90-100 B+ = 77-79 C+ = 67-69 D+ = 57-59 A = 85-89 B = 73-76 C = 63-66 D = 53-56 A - = 80-84 B - = 70-72 C - = 60-62 D - = 50-52 F = Below 50 WDN = Withdrawn from the course ABS = Student absent from final exam DEF = Deferred FND = (Failed, no Deferred) Questions: Out-of-class questions about the course material are best handled in office hours. Please do not hesitate to schedule an appointment! If it is impractical or impossible to schedule an appointment, then you are encouraged to email your question to Prof. Paulson or to your TA, as appropriate. Please note that all emails to your professor or to your TA should be considered formal communication, and written accordingly. Email turnaround time: Every effort will be made to respond to office hour scheduling requests within 24 hours. Other emailed questions to Professor Paulson may take longer, depending on their content. (Please do not use email as a substitute for reading the syllabus!) Paper standards: Written work should be typed, proofread, double-spaced, and written in a standard 12-point font Written work for this course is also expected to conform to the grammatical and style standards of formal university writing: in Sociology this typically means using in-text citations in order to cite others' texts, and appending a formal bibliography to the end of your paper that lists the texts you have consulted. As an alternative, students may use Chicago style instead. (Either style should be used consistently.) Submission: Papers are due at the BEGINNING OF CLASS on their due-date. Late Work: Late work will not be accepted. Academic honesty: Please see the next page of the course outline for the University's policies concerning plagiarism. Both your professor and your TA take academic honesty extremely seriously, and follow the university guidelines to the letter. Even if you think you know what plagiarism is, you should read over the entire academic integrity policy again; ignorance is not an excuse! Computers: Laptop computers may be used in class when necessary to take notes; documentation from the Paul Menton Centre is required. (The internet connection should be switched off, power cords should not cross the aisles, and the computer use should not be distracting to other students.) Other computers, iPods, etc. should be turned off and put away. Cell phones: Cell phones should be off and put away for the duration of the class. No exceptions. Required Texts: a) journal articles and book chapters available through the library's journals and reserves system b) textbooks available at OCTOPUS BOOKS, 116 Third Ave. (613-233-2589); some may be available used as well, from other sellers: Carroll, William & Kanchan Sarker. A World to Win: Contemporary Social Movements and Counter-Hegemony. Staggenborg, Susan and Harold Ramos. Social Movements (3rd ed.). Academic Regulations, Accommodations, Plagiarism, Etc. University rules regarding registration, withdrawal, appealing marks, and most anything else you might need to know can be found on the university’s website, here: http://www.carleton.ca/calendars/ugrad/current/regulations/acadregsuniv.html Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities The Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) provides services to students with Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/mental health disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), chronic medical conditions, and impairments in mobility, hearing, and vision. If you have a disability requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact PMC at 613-520-6608 or [email protected] for a formal evaluation. If you are already registered with the PMC, contact your PMC coordinator to send your Letter of Accommodation at the beginning of the term, and no later than two weeks before the first in-class scheduled test or exam requiring accommodation (if applicable). *The deadlines for contacting the Paul Menton Centre regarding accommodation for final exams for the Fall exam period is November 11, 2016 and for the Winter exam period is March 10, 2017. For Religious Obligations: Students requesting academic accommodation on the basis of religious obligation should make a formal, written request to their instructors for alternate dates and/or means of satisfying academic requirements. Such requests should be made during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist, but no later than two weeks before the compulsory event. Accommodation is to be worked out directly and on an individual basis between the student and the instructor(s) involved. Instructors will make accommodations in a way that avoids academic disadvantage to the student. Students or instructors who have questions or want to confirm accommodation eligibility of a religious event or practice may refer to the Equity Services website for a list of holy days and Carleton's Academic Accommodation policies, or may contact an Equity Services Advisor in the Equity Services Department for assistance. For Pregnancy: Pregnant students requiring academic accommodations are encouraged to contact an Equity Advisor in Equity Services to complete a letter of accommodation. The student must then make an appointment to discuss her needs with the instructor at least two weeks prior to the first academic event in which it is anticipated the accommodation will be required. Plagiarism Plagiarism is the passing off of someone else's work as your own and is a serious academic offence. For the details of what constitutes plagiarism, the potential penalties and the procedures refer to the section on Instructional Offences in the Undergraduate Calendar. What are the Penalties for Plagiarism? A student found to have plagiarized an assignment may be subject to one of several penalties including: expulsion; suspension from all studies at Carleton; suspension from full-time studies; and/or a reprimand; a refusal of permission to continue or to register in a specific degree program; academic probation; award of an FNS, Fail, or an ABS. What are the Procedures? All allegations of plagiarism are reported to the faculty of Dean of FASS and Management. Documentation is prepared by instructors and/or departmental chairs. The Dean writes to the student and the University Ombudsperson about the alleged plagiarism. The Dean reviews the allegation.
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