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Sociology 313 – Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Spring 2008, 1-1:50, MWF, Chavez 405
Instructor: Jeremiah Coldsmith
Office Phone Number: 621-1089
Office Number: 426 Social Sciences
E-mail Address:
Class Website:
Office Hours: Noon-1, Monday – Friday
Course Description:
Welcome to Sociology 313. The primary objective of this class is to help you form an understanding of the study of riots, panics, crazes, and reform and revolutionary movements; their origins, social bases, careers, and consequences. The collective behavior and social movements sub-field has transformed from one primarily concerned with answering questions surrounding spontaneous group behavior and the actions of individuals in those situations to a field interested in understanding organized movements, be they social, political, or revolutionary. This course is designed to help you understand the development of theories and findings in the context of this shifting focus. Knowing where one has already been is often useful in figuring out where one may be headed next. By the end of this course you will have a well rounded understanding of the collective behavior and social movements subfield in sociology.
Readings:
There are two textbooks, as well as several academic articles assigned for this course. The textbooks are:
Crossley, Nick. (2002) Making Sense of Social Movements. Philadelphia, PA: Open
University Press.
Locher, David. (2002) Collective Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Your other readings can be found on the University of Arizona’s library website from the J-Stor article index or Academic Search Premier (ASP). The full citation of each reading can be found on the date for which it should be read. You can use this information to access the article from J-Stor or ASP. Note that if you are off campus you will need to use your cat-card number or be running the VPN dialer to access the articles.
The reason I make you find your readings on your own is to force you to become familiar with some of the information gathering tools available from the University Library. The ability to use the Library’s resources is a skill that will not only help you in your academic career but also in many positions you hope to fill once your formal education has ended.
Assignments, Exams, and Grading:
Policy on late and makeup work:
Work can be handed in late or made up only if you make arrangements with me prior to the absence. Any unforeseeable absences must be documented in order for work to be accepted late or made up.
Attendance:
Attendance is not assigned any points in this course. However, class time is the best opportunity for you to learn not only from me, but also from your fellow students. You never know when someone else’s question might make something clearer in your mind. If you wish to do well in this course, attending class will greatly help in that venture.
Assignments:
1)There are two take home writing assignments for this class. The assignments are intended for you to synthesize the materials covered in class and in the readings. For each assignment you will be given two questions. You can choose either question on which to write. The responses are to be 4-6 pages in length, double spaced, with one inch margins, and 12pt. Times New Roman font. You will receive these questions at least one week before they are due. Each take home writing assignment is worth 100 points.
2)Whenever an academic journal article is to be read, reflective questions to which you must write brief answers will also be due. These readings have an * next to them in the reading list. The one page, single spaced papers are due at the beginning of each class for which the reading is assigned and are worth four points for each set of questions completed.
The questions on which you are to write are as follows: 1) What is the author or authors concerned with in the article for today? 2) What is the procedure the author or authors follow in collecting evidence for their study? 3) What are the conclusions to which the author or authors come concerning their predictions? 4) What do you think about the argument and evidence presented in the article for today?
There are 13 readings. Therefore these short writing assignments are worth a total of 52 points.
Exams:
There are two exams in this class. One ison Friday, March 7th, and the otheris on Friday, May 16th. The first exam will cover collective behavior, and the second will cover social movements. There will be four essay questions on each exam. You must choose two of them to answer. Each essay question is worth 25 points. There will also be 25 multiple choice and 25 matching questions. Each of these questions is worth 1 point. Each exam is therefore worth 100 total points.
Grading:
The class has a total of 452 points. However, I will calculate your final grade out of 450 points, giving you 2 bonus points.
Writing assignment 1 100pts.
Exam 1 100pts.
Writing assignment 2 100pts.
Exam 2 100pts.
4pt daily questions X 13 readings = 52pts.
452 total
The grade distribution breaks down as follows:
405-450 A
360-404 B
315-359 C
270-314 D
269 and below E
Note: While participation in class is not assigned any points, participating in class will help you understand the material and thus help you do well on the take home writing assignments and the exams. Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to participate in class.
Schedule of Classes:
Wednesday January 16th: Introduction
Friday January 18th: What is Collective Behavior?
Reading: Locher Chapter 1 AND
*McPhail, Clark and Ronald T. Wohlstein. (1983) “Individual and Collective
Behavior within Gatherings, Demonstrations, and Riots.” Annual Review of Sociology. Vol. 9, pp. 579-600
Due: Reflective Questions
Monday January 21st:NO CLASS
Wednesday January 23rd: Social Contagion Theory
Reading: Locher Chapter 2
Friday January 25th: Social Contagion Theory Continued
Monday January 28th: The Emergent Norm Perspective
Reading: Locher Chapter 3
Wednesday January 30th: The Emergent Norm Perspective Continued
Friday February 1st: Value-Added Theory
Reading: Locher Chapter 4
Monday February 4th:Value-Added Theory Continued
Wednesday February 6th: Individualist Approaches
Reading: Locher Chapter 6
Friday February 8th:Individualist Approaches Continued
Monday February 11th: Deprivation and Breakdown Theory
Reading: *Useem, Bert. (1998) “Breakdown Theories of Collective Action.” Annual
Review of Sociology. Vol. 24, pp. 215-38
Due: Reflective Questions
Note: Last Day to Drop Without a Record is Tomorrow!
Wednesday February 13th: Deprivation and Breakdown Theory Continued
Friday February 15th: The Assembly Perspective
Reading: Locher Chapter 5 pages 55-9
Monday February 18th: Sociocybernetic Theory
Reading: Locher Chapter 5 pages 59-70
Wednesday February 20th: Types of Collective Behavior
Reading: Locher Chapter 7
Friday February 22nd: Types of Riots
Reading: *Marx, Gary T. (1970) “Issueless Riots.” Annals of the AmericanAcademy
of Political and Social Science. Vol. 391, pp. 21-33
Due: Reflective Questions
Note: Take Home Writing Assignment 1 Handed Out and Posted Online
Monday February 25th: Example of a Stampede
Reading: *Johnson, Norris R. (1987) “Panic at ‘The Who Concert Stampede’: An
Empirical Assessment.” Social Problems. Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 362-73
Due: Reflective Questions
Wednesday February 27th: Example of a Riot
Reading: *Useem, Bert. (1985) “Disorganization and the New Mexico Prison Riot of
1980.” American Sociological Review. Vol. 50, No. 5, pp. 677-88
Due: Reflective Questions
Friday February 29th: Another Example of a Riot
Reading: *Olzak, Susan, Suzanne Shanahan, and Elizabeth H. McEneaney. (1996)
“Poverty, Segregation, and Race Riots, 1960-1993.” American Sociological Review. Vol. 61, pp. 590-613.
Due: Reflective Questions
Monday March 3rd: The 1992 Race Riots in Los Angeles
Reading: Locher Chapter 8 AND
*Bergesen, Albert and Max Herman (1998) “Immigration, Race, and Riot: The 1992 Los
Angeles Uprising.” American Sociological Review. Vol. 63, pp. 39-54.
Due: Reflective Questions
Wednesday March 5th:Exam 1 Review
Due: Take Home Writing Assignment 1
Friday March 7th: Exam 1
Monday March 10th: Introduction to Social Movements
Reading: Crossley Chapter 1
Note: Last Day to Drop With a “W” is Tomorrow!
Wednesday March 12th: Collective Behavior Approaches to the Study of Social Movements
Reading: Crossley Chapters 2 and 3
Friday March 14th: Collective Behavior Approaches Continued
Monday March 17th: No Class
Wednesday March 19th: No Class
Friday March 21st: No Class
Monday March 24th: Collective Behavior Approaches Continued
Wednesday March 26th: Early Studies of Social Movements
Reading: *Young, James T. (1903) “The Basis of Present Reform Movements.”
Annals of the AmericanAcademy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 21, pp. 86-99
Due: Reflective Questions
Friday March 28th: Rational Actor Theory
Reading: Crossley Chapter 4
Monday March 31st: Rational Actor Theory Continued
Wednesday April 2nd: Resources, Networks, and Organizations
Reading: Crossley Chapter 5
Friday April 4th: Resources, Networks, and Organizations Continued
Monday April 7th: Resource Mobilization Theory
Reading: *McCarthy, J. and M. Zald. (1977) “Resource Mobilization and Social
Movements: A Partial Theory.” American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 82, pp. 1212-41
Due: Reflective Questions
Wednesday April 9th: Farm Workers
Reading: *Jenkins, Craig and C. Perrow. (1977) “Insurgency of the Powerless: Farm
Worker Movements, 1946-1972.” American Sociological Review. Vol. 42, No. 2, pp. 249-68
Due: Reflective Questions
Friday April 11th: Opportunities, Cognition, and Biography
Reading: Crossley Chapter 6
Monday April 14th: Opportunities, Cognition, and Biography Continued
Wednesday April 16th: Biographical Availability
Reading: *McAdam, Doug. (1986) “Recruitment to High-Risk Activism: The Case of
Freedom Summer.” American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 92, No. 1, pp. 64-90
Due: Reflective Questions
Friday April 18th: Repertoires, Frames, and Cycles
Reading: Crossley Chapter 7
Note: Take Home Writing Assignment 2 Handed Out and Posted Online
Monday April 21st: Repertoires, Frames, and Cycles Continued
Wednesday April 23rd: Framing
Reading: *Snow, David, E. B. Rochford, Jr, S. K. Worden, and Robert Benford. (1986)
“Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization, and Movement Participation.” American Sociological Review. Vol. 51, pp. 464-81
Due: Reflective Questions
Friday April 25th: Framing
Reading: *Benford, Robert and David Snow. (2000) “Framing Processes and Social
Movements: An Overview and Assessment.” Annual Review of Sociology. Vol. 26, pp. 611-40
Due: Reflective Questions
Monday April 28th: New Social Movements
Reading: Crossley Chapter 8
Wednesday April 30th: New Social Movements Continued
Friday May 2nd: Discussion of Take Home Writing Assignment 2
Due: Take Home Writing Assignment 2
Monday May 5th: “Flex Day”
Wednesday May 7th: Exam 2 Review
Final Exam: Friday May 16th from 11am-1pm.