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Sociology 313 – Collective Behavior and Social Movements
Summer II 2005
Instructor: Jeremiah Coldsmith
Office Phone Number: 621-1089
Office Number: 426 Social Sciences
E-mail Address:
Office Hours: Monday-Friday 1-3
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, 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:
With the exception of three readings, all of your readings can be found on the University of Arizona’s library website from the J-Stor article index. 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. 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 three articles not in J-Stor are noted in the Schedule of Classes and can be found on the e-res site for this course. The password for the e-res site is soc313.
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.
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 one week before they are due. Each writing assignment is worth 40 points.
2)Along with these two long essays, there are daily reflective questions to which you must write brief answers (no longer than half a page). These are due at the beginning of each class for which a reading is assigned and are worth one point for each reading completed. (Note some days have two readings and a set of reflective questions must be done on each reading.) These questions are as follows: 1) What is the author(s) concerned with in the article for today? 2) What was the procedure the author(s) followed in collecting evidence for their study? 3) What are the conclusions to which the author(s) came concerning their predictions? 4) What do you think about the argument and evidence presented in the article for today? There are twenty readings. Therefore these short writing assignments are worth a total of 20 points.
Exams:
There are two exams oneon July 21 and one on August 10th. 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 question is worth 25pts.
Grading:
The class has a total of 200 points.
Writing assignment 1 40pts.
Exam 1 50pts.
Writing assignment 2 40pts.
1pt daily questions X 20 readings = 20pts.
Final 50pts.
200 total
The grade distribution breaks down as follows:
180-200 A
160-179 B
140-159 C
120-139 D
119 and below E
While participation in class is not assigned any points, participating in class will encourage me to round up, if you have a borderline grade. Not participating, participating rarely, and missing more than three classes will strongly encourage me to round your grade down, if you have a borderline grade.
Other Important Things:
DisabilityResourceCenter (DRC) Statement:
Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations to fully participate in course activities or meet course requirements must register with the DRC. If you qualify for services through DRC, bring your letter of accommodations to me as soon as possible.
Code of Academic Integrity:
Academic misconduct of any kind will not be tolerated. Misconduct includes (but is not limited to) cheating on exams, not citing sources properly, and turning in other individuals’ work as your own. I reserve the right to follow through on any incidents of cheating with sanctions in accordance with the University’s Code of Academic Integrity, available online at:
Schedule of Classes:
Monday July 11: Introduction
Tuesday July 12: Collective Behavior: Theories of Collective Behavior
Reading: Gehlen, Frieda L. (1977) “Towards a Revised Theory of Hysterical Contagion.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 27-35
Wednesday July 13: Theories of Collective Behavior cont.
Reading: 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
Thursday July 14: More Theories of Collective Behavior
Reading: Useem, Bert. (1998) “Breakdown Theories of Collective Action.” Annual
Review of Sociology. Vol. 24, pp. 215-38
Note: Take Home Writing Assignment 1 Handed Out
Friday July 15: A Taxonomy of Riots
Reading: Marx, Gary T. (1970) “Issueless Riots.” Annals of the AmericanAcademy
of Political and Social Science. Vol. 391, pp. 21-33
Monday July 18: Examples of Collective Behavior
Reading: Useem, Bert. (1985) “Disorganization and the New Mexico Prison Riot of
1980.” American Sociological Review. Vol. 50, No. 5, pp. 677-88
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.
Tuesday July 19: A Final Example of Collective Behavior
Reading: Johnson, Norris R. (1987) “Panic at ‘The Who Concert Stampede’: An
Empirical Assessment.” Social Problems. Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 362-73
Wednesday July 20: Looking Critically at the Study of Collective Behavior
Reading: Currie, Elliott and Jerome H. Skolnick. (1970) “A Critical Note on
Conceptions of Collective Behavior.” Annals of the AmericanAcademy of Political and Social Science. Vol. 391, pp. 34-45
Thursday July 21: Discussion of First Take Home Writing Assignment
Note: Take Home Writing Assignment Due at the Beginning of Class
Friday July 22: Exam 1
Monday July 25:Early Movements Studies
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
Tuesday July 26: Early Movements Continued
Reading: Boettiger, L. A. (1924) “Organic Theory of Social Reform Movements.”
Journal of Social Forces. Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 60-64.
Wednesday July 27: Defining Social Movements
Reading: Burstein, Paul and April Linton. (2002) “The Impact of Political Parties,
Interest Groups, and Social Movements Organizations on Public Policy: Some Recent Evidence and Theoretical Concerns.” Social Forces. Vol. 81, No. 2, pp. 380-408
Thursday July 28: 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
Friday July 29: RM Continued
Reading: Jenkins, Craig. (1983) “Resource Mobilization Theory and the Study of
Social Movements.” Annual Review of Sociology. Vol. 9, pp. 527-53
Monday August 1: Political Opportunities and Social Movements
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
Tuesday August 2: Framing Theory and Social Movements
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
Reading: Snow, David and Robert Benford. (1988) “Ideology, Frame Resonance, and Political Mobilization.” International Social Movement Theory. Vol. 1, pp. 197-217 Note: This article is on the e-res site.
Note: Take Home Writing Assignment 2 Handed Out.
Wednesday August 3: Framing Processes in Social Movements
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
Thursday August 4: Biographical Availability and Recruitment
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
Friday August 5: Social Movements and Networks
Reading: Diani, Mario. (1997) “Social Movements and Social Capital: A Network
Perspective on Movement Outcomes.” Mobilization. Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 129-47 Note: This article is on the e-res site.
Monday August 8: Social Movements and Identity
Reading: Britt, Loyd and David Heise. (2000) “From Shame to Pride in Identity
Politics.” Pp. 252-68 in Sheldon Stryker, Timothy J. Owens, and Robert W. White (eds), Self, Identity, and Social Movements. Minneapolis, Minn: University of Minnesota PressNote: This reading is on the e-res site.
Tuesday August 9: Discussion of Second Take Home Writing Assignment
Note: Second Take Home Writing Assignment Due at the Beginning of Class
Wednesday August 10: Final
Have a Good End to Your Summer Break!