Politics 269 - Social Movements: Theory and Praxis

Why do people mobilize? When do they do so? Why and how do they create movements? Are social movements successful paths towards social change? If so, under which conditions? This course will review the main theories of social movements and use them to analyze cases from around the world. Some of the cases we will take upon are the Arab Spring, the American civil rights movement, women and indigenous movements in Latin America, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and the environmental movement in Europe.

Course limited to sophomores, juniors and seniors