CONTENTIOUS POLITICS

INTLST/POLISCI 325

An introduction to the major empirical and theoretical themes in the study of social movements and politics in Latin America. While it is impossible to cover every theoretical approach or Latin American case during the semester, the course should give students the tools to begin to think critically about where and why people engage in collective action. We will develop and hone these tools through thinking about Latin American cases, paying specific attention to revolutions, social movements, and riots. The course is designed in three parts. It begins by exposing students to the dominant theoretical paradigms in the study of contentious politics as well as some prominent critiques. The course then turns to empirical themes in Latin American revolutions, challenging students to use and question the theoretical tools to which they have already been exposed. The final part of the course looks to social movements in Latin America. Cases will focus on challenges to dictatorships, identity-based movements, and resistance to globalization.

POLISCI 851

Why do people mobilize outside of routine political channels or institutions to pursue political change? How do we explain moments when people take to the streets or take up arms to accomplish their political goals? At the heart of these questions is one that has long formed a core of social science inquiry: how do scholars explain collective action, particularly in the face of often serious risks. Examine these questions through exploring leading theoretical themes in the study of social movements, revolutions, and riots. Explore how a variety of factors affect the where's, why's and how's of movement dynamics.

SOC 624

Theory of democracy, political culture, comparative studies of voting behavior, political decisions, collective violence, regime breakdowns, social movements, mobilization processes, frame analysis.

C&ESOC/SOC 724

Critical examination of theories and research in political sociology. Topics include: power and interests, state-formation, social movements, class and political behavior, revolutions, ideology, and states and social policy.

SOC/URBRPL 924

Selected topics in political sociology, e.g., social movements, citizenship, civic engagement, weakening of postwar "social democratic consensus" under financialized globalization pressures.