300546 Social Movements (in English) (S) (SoSe 2011)

The seminar discusses the phenomena of social movements from diverse theoretical perspectives: Cultural aspects are stressed in the frame-alignment approach and in studies on the role of narratives and identities in social movements. Structuralist approaches emphasize the role of resources and of networks in the recruitment to and the success of social movements. The civil society perspective puts social movements into a wider political frame and claims their normative superiority to other political actors. Historical sociological studies draw on these different theoretical accounts to examine the historicity of social movements.
The seminar focuses on the theoretical approaches, but discusses them with regard to different empirical examples. Apart from the typical “positive” examples of civil rights, women’s, ecological and peace movements, also less endorsed movements like secessionist, xenophobic, and terrorist groups are examined.
Students are required to read all of the core texts for the seminar sessions, and to participate actively in discussion.

Bibliography

David Snow / Sarah Soule / Hanspeter Kriesi (eds.): The Blackwell Companion to Social Movements, Oxford: Blackwell 2004/2007.