Critical Social Inquiry 0263 - Occupy Wall Street

This course will stress critical thinking about the history and practices of New York City's Occupy Wall Street mobilization and the "#occupy" movement. We will cover the motivating issues of the movement (income inequality, unemployment, student debt, foreclosures, public space, police militarization); its sources of inspiration (Arab Spring; the capitol occupation in Madison, WI; anti-austerity mobilizations in Greece and Spain; Anonymous; as well as older influences like Situationism, Zapatismo, and anarchism/autonomism); its movement formations (general assemblies, occupations, home reoccupations, general strikes, tumblrs and social networks), its debates (decolonization vs. occupation, the question of demands, community agreements), and its futures. Assignments will include weekly reading responses, discussion facilitation, a major paper due at midterm, and final project with a public presentation component.

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research This course is best suited for second and third year students with some background in critical social analysis and cultural studies.