Syllabus
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1. Introduction Introduction to the course structure and main concepts of Social Movement Studies *
2. Social Theory and Social Movements Theories of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Parsons and etc in relation to social movements *
3. Sociology of Conflict in the 20th Century Social conflict according to C. Wright Mills, Lewis Coser, and Ralf Dahrendorf *
4. Main Theoretical Perspectives on Social Movements Evolution of Social Movement theories in time with a focus on Resource Mobilization, Frame Analysis, Political Opportunity, and New Social Movements theories *
5. Dynamics of Contention Causal mechanisms in different cases of contentious politics and mobilizations with regard to environmental, cognitive, and relational mechanisms. Comparison of the causal dynamics of the Us Civil War and post-Franco Spain transition *
6. Repertoires of Contention How past experiences of contention shape contemporary social movements. Examples from Europe and the Middle East *
7. New Social Movements and Collective Identity Comparing 'old' and 'new' social movements focusing on the question of collective identity *
8. Media and Social Movements The relationship between social movements and media, traditional or social, with a focus on the Arab Spring *
9. Transnational Movements and Diffusion of Protests Social movements in the globalized world and how protests in different countries trigger one another. Discussion on diffusion between the protests in Brazil, Hong Kong, and Turkey *
10. Social Boundary Mechanisms in Social Movements Inclusion and exclusion in social movements as who gets to participate and who doesn't. Examples from the Algerian Hirak movement and the Gezi protests in Turkey *
11. Democracy and Social Movements Possibilities of democratic decision-making within social movements and beyond with a focus on the Global Justice Movement *
12. Social Movements' Success How to define success in social movements and discussion on different cases *
13. Concluding Remarks
Annotation
Social Movements have been one of the main engines of social change worldwide, gaining even more relevance in the first quarter of the 21st century as we observe countless protests and movements in each part of the world.
Therefore, the study of the phenomena that is social movements is imperative to our understanding of society and history. This course aims to provide an introduction to the theories of social movements, linking theory to various historical and contemporary cases to better understand how social movements emerge and in which dynamics they operate. These dynamics include social, political, and cultural aspects as the nature of any given social movement is highly dependent on these aspects, while also transforming the dynamics they operate in. The course addresses topics such as collective action, repertoires and cycles of contention, individuals and networks, mobilization patterns, inclusion and exclusion mechanisms, etc by linking them to broader sociological theory.
With the help of such topics, the course aims to discuss the contemporary theoretical debates revolving around the complex phenomena of social movements.