91142 - Political Effects Of Social Mobilization

Learning outcomes

The course aims at developing an encompassing knowledge of the outcomes that social mobilizations have at the level of politics and policies. At the end of the course, students will be able to: - critically discuss the main approaches related to the outcomes of social mobilizations at the level of politics and policies; - compare the political effects of social mobilitazions across different countries and different territorial levels; - evaluate specific cases of social mobilizations with regard to their intended and unintended political effects.

Course contents

PART I - SETTING THE STAGE

WEEK 1
Day 1: Introduction to the course
Day 2: Some basic definitions of political campaigns and social mobilisations

WEEK 2
Day 1: The context of political campaigns and social mobilisations: political opportunities
Day 2: The context of political campaigns and social mobilisations: discursive opportunities

WEEK 3
Day 1: Resources and organisational structures of political campaigns and social mobilisations
Day 2: Political campaigns, social mobilisations and interpretative frameworks

PART II - SOCIAL MOVEMENT OUTCOMES IN THE REALM OF POLITICS

WEEK 4
Day 1: Introduction to social movement outcomes
Day 2: Social movements outcomes in the polity

WEEK 5
Day 1: Social movement outcomes concerning politics
Day 2: Social movement outcomes and policy

 

PART 3 - DILEMMAS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS’ OUTCOMES

WEEK 6
Day 1: The institutionalization of social movements: A loss or a gain for social movement organizations and activists?
Day 2: The dilemma of funding and its impact on social movements' outcomes

WEEK 7
Day 1: Organizing within social movements
Day 2: The role of digital media in shaping social movements' outcomes

WEEK 8
Day 1: Social movement outcomes in hybrid and authoritarian regimes
Day 2: Social movements and political violence: The dilemma of the radical flank effect

WEEK 9
Day 1: Dilemmas of social movement escalation
Day 2: Dilemmas of transnational social movements

WEEK 10
Day 1: Social movement outcomes beyond the realm of politics
Day 2: Wrap-up of the course

 

The course is taught in English and consists of 40 hours of interactive lectures. A more detailed syllabus outlining the topics, readings, and other materials covered each week is available on the Virtuale platform.

Exchange students: the admission to optional courses of the LM/Master IR is allowed to incoming students at Master level.

As for undergraduate students, they are very welcomed but need contact the Professor showing they already acquired competences in related disciplines connected to the topics covered by this course.

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students are required to read and study all the compulsory readings listed below and made available in due time on the Virtuale platform. Readings are subject to change in case novel and more relevant publications will be published before the beginning of the course.

WEEK 1

• Tilly, C. (1999). “From Interactions to Outcomes in Social Movements”, in Giugni, M., McAdam D., & Tilly C. (eds), How Social Movements Matter, University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis, pp. 253–270

• della Porta, D., & Diani, M. (2006). Social Movements: An Introduction, Second Edition, Blackwell. Chapter 1

WEEK 2

• della Porta, D., & Diani, M. (2006). Social Movements: An Introduction, Second Edition, Blackwell. Chapter 8

WEEK 3

• della Porta, D., & Diani, M. (2006). Social Movements: An Introduction, Second Edition, Blackwell. Chapters 6 and 3

WEEK 4

• Jasper, J.M. et al. (2022). Gains and Losses: How Protestors Win and Lose, Oxford University Press. Chapter 2

• Andrews, K. T. (1997). The Impacts of Social Movements on the Political Process: The Civil Rights Movement and Black Electoral Politics in Mississippi, American Sociological Review, 62(5), 800–819. JSTOR

WEEK 5

• Piccio, D.R. (2019). Party Responses to Social Movements: Challenges and Opportunities, Berghahn Books. Chapter 2

• Burstein, P. (1999). Social Movements and Public Policy, in Giugni, M., McAdam, D., & Tilly, C. (eds), How Social Movements Matter, University of Minnesota Press

WEEK 6

• Belda-Miquel, S., Peris Blanes, J., & Frediani, A. (2016). Institutionalization and Depoliticization of the Right to the City: Changing Scenarios for Radical Social Movements, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 40(2), pp. 321–339

• Corrigall-Brown, C. (2016). Funding for Social Movements, Sociology Compass, 10(4), 330–339

WEEK 7

• Dobusch, L., & Schoeneborn, D. (2015). Fluidity, Identity, and Organizationality: The Communicative Constitution of Anonymous, Journal of Management Studies, 52(8), 1005–1035. doi:10.1111/joms.12139

• Odilla, F., & Mattoni, A. (2023). Unveiling the Layers of Data Activism: The Organising of Civic Innovation to Fight Corruption in Brazil, Big Data & Society, 10(2)

WEEK 8

• Reuter, O.J., & Robertson, G.B. (2015). Legislatures, Cooptation, and Social Protest in Contemporary Authoritarian Regimes, The Journal of Politics, 77(1), 235–248. doi:10.1086/678390

• Coley, J. S., Raynes, D. K. T., & Das, D. (2020). Are Social Movements Truly Social? The Prosocial and Antisocial Outcomes of Social Movements, Sociology Compass, 14(8), e12820

WEEK 9

• Meyer, D. S. (2023). Dilemmas and Dimensions of Social Movement Escalation, Sociological Forum, 38(4), pp. 1361–1374

WEEK 10

• Bosi, L., & Uba, K. (2009). Introduction: The Outcomes of Social Movements, Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 14(4), 409–415.

• della Porta, D., & Diani, M. (2006). Social Movements: An Introduction, Blackwell. Chapter 9 – The Effects of Social Movements

 

Non-attending students are required to read and study all the compulsory readings listed above and the following books:

• Donatella della Porta and Mario Diani (2020) Social Movements: An Introduction, Wiley-Blackwell
• David Meyer (2021) How Social Movements (Sometimes) Matter, Polity Press

Teaching methods

The course combines lectures, in-depth analysis of specific case studies, and interactive sessions with the students.

Assessment methods

Attending students will be evaluated through an oral exam that will cover the lectures, the contents of compulsory readings. 

Attending students will have to attend at least 15 classes out of 20. Those students who will attend 14 or fewer classes will be considered non-attending students.

Non-attending students will be evaluated through two main tools:

• An oral exam that will cover the contents of compulsory readings and the students' final essay (3,000 words to be submitted by the end of the course and before the oral exam)

Please note that compulsory readings for non-attending students are all the compulsory readings listed above and made availbale on the Virtuale platform and the following books:

• Donatella della Porta and Mario Diani (2020) Social Movements: An Introduction, Wiley-Blackwell
• David Meyer (2021) How Social Movements (Sometimes) Matter, Polity Press
  

 

Students with Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) or Temporary/Permanent Disabilities

It is recommended to contact the dedicated university office in advance (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ). This office will be responsible for proposing any necessary accommodations for the individuals concerned. These accommodations must be submitted at least 15 days in advance for approval by the instructor, who will assess their suitability in light of the learning objectives of the course.

 

Teaching tools

Power Point presentations, multi-media materials, and practical exercises will support teaching and learning activities.

Office hours

See the website of Fernanda Odilla Vasconcellos De Figueiredo