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Class number:
2905
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Title: Social Movements |
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Department: Sociology |
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Career: Undergraduate |
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Component: Lecture |
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Session: Regular |
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Instructor's Permission Required: No |
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Grading Basis: Regular |
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Units: 1.00 |
| Enrollment limited to 24 |
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Current enrollment: 11 |
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Available seats: 13 |
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Start date: Monday, January 31, 2022 |
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End date: Monday, May 16, 2022 |
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Mode of Instruction: In Person |
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Schedule: R: 6:30PM-9:00PM, MC - 305 |
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Instructor(s): Spurgas, Alyson |
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Prerequisite(s): Prerequisite: C- or better in Sociology 101 |
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Distribution Requirement: Meets Social Sciences and Global Requirements |
Course Description:
The objectives of this course are to enhance your ability to think critically about the problems we face in society from a sociological perspective, to analyze the social movements that have developed in response, and to work reciprocally with a local organization to gain perspective on how social movement organizations operate in addition to working alongside them in their efforts. We will primarily utilize five theoretical perspectives to understand social movements: 1.) collective behavior, 2.) resource mobilization, 3.) political opportunity / political process, 4.), new social movement theory, and 5.) network / new media / alternative globalization. We will be concerned with not only how social problems come to be defined as such, but also with who is affected by these problems and how, and with what people are doing, have done, and might continue to do to address unequal distributions of power, money, and other resources. We will examine how individuals have come together to change society through protest, revolution, and other social movements. We will examine U.S-based and international social movements and revolutions historically, and we will also discuss inequalities and oppression as they characterize the national and global climate today. We will consider possibilities for social change and examine the landscape of current social movement responses. Students in this course will work with a Hartford-based community organization that is fighting for social justice, in coordination with the Center for Hartford Engagement and Research (CHER). We will work closely as a class with this organization and apply sociological theoretical perspectives to analyze their work, learn what is important to them and how they function, and help them advance their efforts to achieve their goals. Through working with a local group, we will deepen our understanding of local and global social issues and gain real-world experience as social justice-oriented sociologists on the ground in Hartford. |