Spring 2019 - IS 329 E100
Special Topics III (4)
Class Number: 8226
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Jan 3 – Apr 8, 2019: Thu, 5:30–9:20 p.m.
Vancouver
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Instructor:
Efe Gurcan
egurcan@sfu.ca
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Prerequisites:
45 units.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Specific details of courses to be offered will be published prior to enrolment each term.
COURSE DETAILS:
This course addresses the dynamics and relevance of social movements in the context of the Global South. It revolves around the following questions: Where do social conflicts originate from? How do they translate into collective action? How are people organized to struggle for their interests through collective action? How can we assess the outcome of social mobilization? What does the experience of the Global South tell us about the inner workings of social movements? Students will be introduced to key theories of social mobilization (relative deprivation and strain models, resource mobilization, political process, social mechanisms, framing, new social movements, and Marxism). They will be offered ways of reading more deeply into these theories through structured discussions and documentary excerpts. Several issues –e.g. working-class mobilization, urban mobilization, environment activism, peasant and indigenous movements, gender activism, citizenship rights, revolutions, terrorism, and ethnicity– will be addressed in the context of the Global South (including China and Russia). At the end of the semester, students will have acquired a broad range of conceptual and analytical tools for examining social movements across a diverse range of countries. They will have acquired an intermediate-level knowledge on the conditions under which movements emerge and succeed. Weekly seminars will consist of a combination of lectures, structured discussions of assigned readings, and screening of documentary excerpts. Lectures will only provide the historical and conceptual background for in-class case study discussions on assigned readings and documentary excerpts.
Grading
- Attendance and Participation 15%
- Case-Study Paper 35%
- Exam #1 25%
- Exam #2 25%
NOTES:
Where a final exam is scheduled and you do not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, you will be assigned a N grade. Unless otherwise specified on the course outline, all other graded assignments in this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned.
Students will be required to submit their written assignments to Turnitin.com in order to receive credit for the assignments and for the course.
The School for International Studies strictly enforces the University's policies regarding plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. Information about these policies can be found at: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/teaching.html.
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Excerpts and lecture slides will be available on Canvas/Files.
Steven M. Buechler, Understanding Social Movements: Theories from the Classical Era to the Present, Routledge, 2011 (no purchase required).
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS