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Why and how do some people come to collectively promote (or prevent) social change? And when does such collective action have political and cultural impacts? The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with foundational and cutting-edge answers to these longstanding questions in the study of collective behavior and social movements. We will review seminal accounts of movements’ emergence, internal dynamics, and outcomes in conjunction with work extending these insights to mobilization processes beyond protest and to recently emerging lines of contention. For instance, research on mobilization among business groups, journalists, voters, or government officials, as well as studies considering the role of digital communication technologies in shaping contentious interactions these days. We will also discuss the evolution of social movement theory and research in response to changing assumptions, questions, socio-historical contexts, and scholarship in other fields. As political dissent takes many forms, students will apply course topics to a case of mobilization of their choosing throughout the semester. The course will be conducted in English. |
