SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY Fall 2013 Political Science 226 Haverford College Steve McGovern Office: Hall 105 Phone: 896-1058 (w) Office Hours: Th 9-11 smcgover@haverford.edu (and by appointment) Course Description A social movement consists of individuals acting collectively with some degree of organization and continuity, and at least partially outside the normal political processes and institutions, to bring about societal change. Mass protest has been a vibrant part of American political history from the start, but it has attracted more and more scholarly attention in recent decades as ordinary citizens have taken to the streets to advance causes about which they feel passionately. Often, their efforts have made a difference. In the realm of civil rights, women s rights, environmental protection, abortion, taxation, gay and lesbian rights, religion, and peace, activists have played a vital role in reshaping American society, culture, and politics. Some of the central questions we will consider in this course include: Why do social movements emerge from time to time? Why do some succeed while others fail? Why do some individuals actively participate? Why do certain social movements remain outside the political system while others gradually blend in? What organizational forms do social movements take? What strategies and tactics have been effective in producing change? And what impact have social movements had on politics and society in the United States? In sum, this course seeks to expose students to the major concepts and issues in the study of social movements. Drawing upon a rich body of social movement theory over the past four decades, students will then engage in their own research project by examining one or more social movements while attempting to address a theoretical issue of particular interest and importance. Requirements Class participation 20% First analytical paper 20% Second analytical paper 30% Research paper (12-15 pages) 30% Texts Todd Gitlin, Occupy Nation: The Roots, the Spirit, and the Promise of Occupy Wall Street (itbooks 2012) Jeff Goodwin and James M. Jasper, eds., The Social Movement Reader: Cases and Concepts, 2 nd ed (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009) Doug McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930-1970, 2 nd ed. (University of Chicago Press, 1999) All other assigned readings will be available through Moodle.
Topics and Readings Week 1 I. Introduction to Course A. Social Movements and Theory B. Social Movements and American Politics Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, Introduction: I Want My Country Back! in The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism Todd Gitlin, Preface and Ch. 1, Occupy Nation Week 2 II. Facilitating Conditions A. Societal Strain and Discontent Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Bourgeois and Proletarians in Social Movements, eds. Steven M. Buechler and F. Kurt Cylke William Kornhauser, The Politics of Mass Society in Social Movements, eds. Steven M. Buechler and F. Kurt Cylke Doug McAdam, Ch. 1, Political Process and the Politics of Black Insurgency B. Resources and Organizations John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald, Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory (Ch.19, G&J) Clarence Y. H. Lo, Astroturf versus Grass Roots: Scenes from Early Tea Party Mobilization in Steep: The Precipitous Rise of the Tea Party, eds. Lawrence Rosenthal and Christine Trost Daniel M. Cress and David A. Snow, Mobilization at the Margins: Resources, Benefactors, and the Viability of Homeless Social Movement Organizations, American Sociological Review, vol. 61 (1996) Jo Freeman, The Women s Movement (Ch.3, G&J) Doug McAdam, Ch. 2, Political Process and the Politics of Black Insurgency C. Political Opportunities Week 3 Doug McAdam, Ch. 3, Political Process and the Politics of Black Insurgency J. Craig Jenkins and Charles Perrow, Farmworkers Movements in Changing Political Contexts (Ch.29, G&J) Roberta Ann Johnson, Mobilizing the Disabled in Social Movements of the Sixties and Seventies, ed. Jo Freeman
Stuart A. Wright, Patriots, Political Process, and Social Movements and The Gun Rights Network and Nascent Patriots: Rise of a Threat Spiral in Patriots, Politics, and the Oklahoma City Bombings D. Political Opportunities (cont d) Week 4 Doug McAdam, Chs. 4-9, Political Process and the Politics of Black Insurgency Film in class: Freedom Riders First Analytical Paper Due Week 5 III. Recruitment A. Rational Self-Interest Mancur Olson, The Free Rider Problem (Ch.6, G&J) Bert Klandermans and Dirk Oegema, Potentials, Networks, Motivations, and Barriers: Steps towards Participation in Social Movements, American Sociological Review, vol. 52 (1987) B. Social Networks David A. Snow, Louis A. Zurcher, Jr., and Sheldon Ekland-Olson, Social Networks and Social Movements: A Microstructural Approach to Differential Recruitment, American Sociological Review, vol. 45 (1980) Ziad W. Munson, Learning to Care in The Making of Pro-Life Activists: How Social Movement Mobilization Works Doug McAdam, Recruits to Civil Rights Activism (Ch.7, G&J) C. Grievances (Reconsidered) Steven M. Buechler, The Strange Career of Strain and Breakdown Theories of Collective Action in Social Movements, eds. David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi Edward J. Walsh, Resource Mobilization and Citizen Protest in Communities around Three Mile Island, Social Problems, vol. 29, (1) (1981) Film in class: Eyes on the Prize: School Busing in Boston D. Framing 1. Making Connections Week 6 David A. Snow et al., Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization, and Movement Participation in American Sociological Review, vol. 51 (1986)
Kathleen E. Hull, The Political Limits of the Rights Frame: The Case of Same-Sex Marriage in Hawaii, Sociological Perspectives, Summer 2001 Myra Marx Ferree, Resonance and Radicalism: Feminist Framing in the Abortion Debate of the United States and Germany, American Journal of Sociology, vol. 109 (2003) 2. Emotions James M. Jasper, Recruiting Intimates, Recruiting Strangers: Building the Contemporary Animal Rights Movement in Waves of Protest: Social Movements Since the Sixties, eds. Jo Freeman and Victoria Johnson Deborah B. Gould, The Emotion Work of Movements in Moving Politics: Emotion and ACT UP s Fight against AIDS 3. Limitations of Framing Jane J. Mansbridge, Ideological Purity in the Women s Movement (Ch.15, G&J) Charlotte Ryan and William A. Gamson, Are Frames Enough? (Ch.16, G&J) Research Paper Proposal Due FALL BREAK Week 7 Week 8 IV. Oppositional Consciousness A. Cultural Hegemony/Counterhegemony Kristin Luker, World Views of Pro- and Anti-Abortion Activists (Ch.14, G&J) Todd Gitlin, Chs. 2-4, Occupy Nation B. Free Spaces Jane Mansbridge, The Making of Oppositional Consciousness, Oppositional Consciousness: The Subjective Roots of Social Protest, eds. Jane Mansbridge and Aldon Morris Sharon Groch, Free Spaces: Creating Oppositional Consciousness, Oppositional Consciousness: The Subjective Roots of Social Protest, eds. Jane Mansbridge and Aldon Morris C. Collective Identity Verta Taylor and Nancy E. Whittier, Collective Identity in Social Movement Communities: Lesbian Feminist Mobilization in Frontiers in Social Movement Theory, eds. Aldon D. Morris and Carol M. Mueller Stephen Valocchi, The Importance of Being We : Collective Identity and the Mobilizing Work of Progressive Activists in Hartford, Connecticut, Mobilization, March 2009
Week 9 V. Sustaining Commitment Eric L. Hirsch, Generating Commitment Among Students (Ch. 10, G&J) Sharon Erickson Nepstad, Persistent Resistance: Commitment and Community in the Plowshares Movement, Social Problems, vol. 51 (2004) Bert Klandermans, Disengaging from Movements (Ch.12, G&J) Film in class: Occupation: The Harvard Living Wage Sit-In Week 10 VI. Strategies and Tactics A. The Question of Militance Saul D. Alinsky, Protest Tactics (Ch.23, G&J) Herbert H. Haines, Black Radicalization and the Funding of Civil Rights: 1957-1970, Social Problems, vol. 32 (1984). Mark J. Rozell and Clyde Wilcox, Second Coming: The Strategies of the New Christian Right, Political Science Quarterly, vol. 111 (1996). Todd Gitlin, Chs. 9-11, Occupy Nation B. The Question of Forum Vivian Gornick, Consciousness in Radical Feminism: A Documentary Reader, ed. Barbara A. Crow Jeffrey M. Berry, The Rise of Citizen Groups in Civic Engagement in American Democracy, eds. Theda Skocpol and Morris P. Fiorina Michelle Micheletti and Dietland Stolle, The Politics of Consumption/The Consumption of Politics: Mobilizing Consumers to Take Responsibility for Global Social Justice, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, May 2007 Doug McAdam, Tactical Innovation and the Pace of Insurgency, American Sociological Review, vol. 48 (1983) Week 11 VII. Internal Structures of Social Movements A. Leadership and Organization Aldon D. Morris and Suzanne Staggenborg, Leadership in Social Movements in Social Movements, eds. David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi Seymour Martin Lipset, The Iron Law of Oligarchy in Social Movements, eds. Steven M. Buechler and F. Kurt Cylke Suzanne Staggenborg, The Consequences of Professionalization and Formalization in the Pro- Choice Movement, American Sociological Review, vol. 53 (1988)
Kim Voss and Rachel Sherman, Breaking the Iron Law of Oligarchy: Union Revitalization in the American Movement, The American Journal of Sociology, vol. 106 (2000) Todd Gitlin, Chs. 5-8, Occupy Nation B. Factionalism Carol Mueller, The Organizational Basis of Conflict in Contemporary Feminism in Feminist Organizations, eds. Myra Marx Ferree and Patricia Yancey Martin Leslie King, Ideology, Strategy and Conflict in a SMO: The Sierra Club Immigration Wars, Mobilization, February 2008 Week 12 VIII. External Influences A. The State Sarah Soule and Christian Davenport, Velvet Glove, Iron Fist, or Even Hand? Protest Policing in the U.S., 1960-1990, Mobilization, March 2009 Pamela Oliver, Repression and Crime Control: Why Social Movement Scholars Should Pay Attention to Mass Incarceration as a Form of Repression, Mobilization, February 2008 B. The Media Todd Gitlin, The Media in the Unmaking of the New Left (Ch.30, G&J) Amy Farrell, Like a Tarantula on a Banana Boat : Ms. Magazine, 1972-1989 in Feminist Organizations, eds. Myra Marx Ferree and Patricia Yancey Martin Ryan Moore and Michael Roberts, Do-It-Yourself Mobilization: Punk and Social Movements, Mobilization, February 2008 Jennifer Earl, et al., Changing the World One Website at a Time: Conceptualizing and Explaining Internet Activism, Mobilization, December 2010 C. Countermovements Week 13 Susan Marshall, Confrontation and Co-optation in Antifeminist Organizations in Feminist Organizations, eds. Myra Marx Ferree and Patricia Yancey Martin James M. Jasper and Jane D. Poulsen, Fighting Back: Vulnerabilities, Blunders, and Countermobilization by the Targets in Three Animal Rights Campaigns, Sociological Forum, vol. 8 (1993) Lionel Bechner, Cycles of Protest: How Urban Cyclists Act Like Insurgents, Theory in Action, April 2013 D. Globalization Stephen Lerner, Global Corporations, Global Unions (Ch.33, G&J) Jackie Smith, The Transnational Network for Democratic Globalization (Ch.22, G&J) Research Paper Due
Week 14 IX. The Decline of Movements Michael Heaney and Fabio Rojas, The Partisan Dynamics of Contention: Demobilization of the Antiwar Movement in the U.S., Mobilization, March 2011 Todd Gitlin, Ch. 12, Occupy Nation Paul Burstein, Interest Organizations, Political Parties, and the Study of Democratic Politics in Social Movements and American Political Institutions, eds. Anne N. Costain and Andrew S. McFarland Verta Taylor, Social Movement Continuity: The Women s Movement in Abeyance, American Sociological Review, vol. 54 (1989) Film in class: Rebels with a Cause X. The Impacts of Movements Week 15 David S. Meyer, How Social Movements Matter (Ch.39, G&J) Paul Burstein, Social Movements and Public Policy in How Social Movements Matter, eds. Marco Giugni, Doug McAdam and Charles Tilly Kathleen J. Fitzgerald and Diane M. Rogers, Radical Social Movement Organizations: A Theoretical Model, The Sociological Quarterly, vol. 41 (2000) Marco G. Giugni, Personal and Biographical Consequences in Social Movements, eds. David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi Nancy Whittier, The Consequences of Social Movements for Each Other in Social Movements, eds. David A. Snow, Sarah A. Soule, and Hanspeter Kriesi Second Analytical Paper Due at End of Exam Period