- Docente: Alice Mattoni
- Credits: 8
- SSD: SPS/08
- Language: English
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
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Corso:
Second cycle degree programme (LM) in
International Relations (cod. 9084)
Also valid for Second cycle degree programme (LM) in International Relations (cod. 9084)
Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Politics Administration and Organization (cod. 9085)
Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Politics Administration and Organization (cod. 9085)
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from Feb 28, 2023 to May 10, 2023
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
The course will focus on both theories and practices related to the political effects of social movements.
Students are required to read the assigned material before the class carefully, and active participation through presentations of existing scholarship and case studies will also be expected.
The course is divided in three parts. First, the course will focus on social movements and their features in the digital age. Second, the course will deepen students' understanding of social movements' outcomes at the level of policy, politics and polity. Third, the course will present some mechanisms and dilemmas that activists face when it comes to social movement outcomes.
The schedule of the course is the following:
PART 1 - SETTING THE CONTEXT: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Week 1
- Introduction to the course
- What do we talk about when we talk about social movements
Week 2
- Social movements and the mainstream press
- Social movements and alternative media
Week 3
- Social movements and digital media
- Social movements and the logic of connective action
Week 4
- Social movements and datafication: analytic activism and data-activism
PART 2 - UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL MOVEMENT OUTCOMES AT THE LEVEL OF POLICY, POLITICS AND POLITY
Week 4
- Social movements outcomes at the level of policy
Week 5
- - Social movement outcomes at the level of policy and the relevance of framing
- Social movements and outcomes at the level of politics
Week 6
- The institutionalization and professionalization of social movement organizations
- Social movement outcomes at the level of polity
PART 3 - MECHANISMS AND DILEMMAS OF SOCIAL MOVEMENTS’ OUTCOMES
Week 7
- Social movement and political violence: the dilemma of the radical flank effect
Week 8
- Social movement outcomes and digital media
- In-depth analysis: the case of anti-corruption movements in Brazil
Week 9
- In-depth analysis: the blurring boundaries between activism and journalism
Week 10
- Transnational social movements and social movement outcomes
- In-depth analysis: the Hirak movement in Algeria
Week 11
- Social movements effects on other movements
- In-depth analysis: the biographical consequences of social movements
Readings/Bibliography
Students are required to read and study:
- Donatella della Porta and Mario Diani (2020) Social Movements: An Introduction, Wiley-Blackwell
- David Meyer (2021) How Social Movements (Sometimes) Matter, Polity Press
And one book selected amongst the following list of books:
- Donatella della Porta (2022) Contentious politics in emergency critical junctures: progressive social movements during the pandemic, Cambridge University Press
- Zeynep Tufekci (2017) Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest, Yale University Press
- Lance Bennett and Alexandra Segerberg (2013) The Logic of Connective Action: Digital Media and the Personalization of Contentious Politics. Cambridge University Press.
Teaching methods
The course combines lectures, in-depth analysis of specific case studies, and interactive sessions with the students.
Assessment methods
Students will be evaluated through three main tools:
- A final paper of 4,000-5,000 words about one of the topics covered during the course (50%)
- An oral exam that will cover the main topics discussed during the course and in the students' final papers (50%)
Teaching tools
Power Point presentations, multi-media materials, and practical exercises will support teaching and learning activities.
Office hours
See the website of Alice Mattoni
SDGs
This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.