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Special Topics in Political Science (390-0-27)

Topic

Protests & Movements in American Politics

Instructors

Alvin Tillery

Meeting Info

Scott Hall 212: Tues 9:30AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This graduate seminar examines the theory, history, and practice of political protest and social movements in the United States. The course is organized around a central question: How do marginalized and organized groups translate grievances into sustained political power? Drawing on classic and contemporary scholarship in political science, sociology, and political theory, we analyze the origins, strategies, organizational forms, and outcomes of social movements across American history.

Substantively, the course engages movements centered on labor, race, gender, immigration, religion, sexuality, and class, while also examining conservative and reactionary mobilizations. Analytically, the course bridges multiple traditions—resource mobilization, political process theory, framing, identity-based mobilization, and American Political Development (APD). Students will critically evaluate how institutions, parties, media, and state power shape the possibilities and limits of collective action. The seminar is discussion-driven and designed to support original research. Students will leave the course with a strong command of the social movements literature and a polished research paper suitable for conference presentation or journal submission.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Evaluate major theoretical approaches to social movements and political mobilization.
  • Situate American social movements within broader institutional and historical contexts.
  • Analyze the relationship between movements, parties, courts, and the state.
  • Compare progressive and conservative mobilization strategies.
  • Develop and execute an original research project on mobilization in American politics.

Teaching Method

Seminar

Evaluation Method

  1. Active Seminar Participation (25%): Students are expected to complete all readings and contribute substantively to weekly discussions.

  2. Weekly Reading Memos (25%) - Short (1-2 page): Students must produce short analytic memos identifying core arguments, theoretical tensions, and discussion questions. Each student will also co-lead at least one week of discussion.

  3. Final Research Paper (50%): A 20-25 page original research paper. Includes proposal, literature review, and final submission.

Class Materials (Required)

  1. Doug McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency, 1930-1970, 2nd Edition, University of Chicago, 1999 (IBSN#: 0226555534);

  2. Daniel Q. Gillion, The Political Power of Protest: Minority Activism and Shifts in Public Policy, Cambridge University Press, 2013 (IBSN#: 1107657415);

  3. Chris Zepeda-Millán, Latino Mass Mobilization: Immigration, Racialization, and Activism, Cambridge University Press, 2017 (IBSN#: 1107434122);

  4. Daniel Schlozman, When Movements Anchor Parties, Princeton University Press, 2015 (IBSN#: 0691164703)

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for Political Science students until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites.
Add Consent: Instructor Consent Required