Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

In this course students will examine the nature of contentious politics by focusing largely on the role that social movements play in political life and how they contribute to democracy. Looking at both historic social movements and more recent examples of political protest, we will examine how and why ordinary people come together under unlikely circumstances to challenge power. We will study the different repertoires of action that activists may adopt and also the important links between social movements and political parties. Students will use theories to examine the rise, nature and political influence of contemporary social movements. The course will deal primarily in western and democratic contexts but there will also be an opportunity to apply their knowledge of dynamics of contention to collective action beyond these geographic areas.

This course may not be running this year. For further information please check the Politics Moodle page or contact the subject directly.

Honours entry, as set out in the Undergraduate Course Catalogue

None

None

Student assessment will be based on one essay of 2,000 words (40% of the final mark), one exam (50% of the final mark) and participation in the weekly seminar (10% of the final mark). The participation mark will be based on the quality of student's participation in the weekly seminars.

In this course students will examine the role that social movements play in political life. Politics scholars have spent a great deal of time studying collective action and interest group organizing as a general phenomenon. More recently attention has also been paid to the less institutionalized, more amorphous and often more radical types of collective action practiced within social movements. Students will use theories to examine the rise, nature and political influence of important social movements, both historic and contemporary. Potential case studies include: the labour movement, the 'new social movements' of the 1960s and 1970s, the early 21st century alter-globalisation movement and the contemporary movement to fight climate change.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Understand key concepts including repertoires of collective action, participatory democracy and social movement organisations (SMOs).

■ show a clear grasp of the theories of social movements including resource mobilization, political process theory and cultural approaches including framing.

■ develop and support with evidence arguments to explain the rise, nature and influence of specific historic and contemporary social movements.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.