This course provides a study of the Collective Behavior/Social Movements (CBSM) subfield in Sociology. The subfield is an unusual one in the professional organization of subfields, quite unlike Criminology or Political Economy, in that CBSM is not clearly or consistently defined. In fact, it most often appears to be two subfields, rather than one. “Collective behavior” originally referred to spontaneous, emergent actions such as crowd behavior or panics and included topics such as fads, fashions, rumors, mass hysterias – and social movements. But, since their rapid proliferation in the 1960s, social movements have become for many analysts a separate area of study from collective behavior. My own training reflects this divergence in the field: I have far more training and research experience in social movements than in collective behavior. Consequently, I will provide only an overview of collective behavior in this course, while pointing you in the general direction of the collective behavior literature. But my primary efforts will involve sharing my interests in and knowledge about social movements within the larger context of social and political change.

We’ll begin the course with a short history of social movements to whet your interest in the type of phenomena we’ll emphasize in this course. Then I’ll describe in more detail the history of CBSM as a subfield of sociology and narrow the focus of our investigation to sociopolitical movements that engage in efforts to produce social change. From there, we’ll take a brief side trip to sharpen some of your survival skills for graduate school – hence, the subtitle of the course. At that point, I’ll also provide you with more details on the requirements of the course. The rest of the semester will be spent on reading and evaluating work by social movement analysts. We’ll read the work in chronological order to reveal the evolution -- and perhaps devolution – of social movement theory. Finally, we’ll take a collective shot at predicting the future of the CBSM subfield.

1. to demonstrate the diversity that characterizes the sociological subfield of Collective Behavior/ Social Movements;
2. to urge you to think deeply and clearly about the uniqueness of the sociological perspective and how it brings insight to our understanding of collective rebellion;
3. to cause you to ruminate on the definition of a sociological subfield;
4. to contribute to your understanding of the formulation of research problems and the purpose and craft of literature reviews; and
5. to practice your writing skills.

The primary format of the course is the seminar, which relies on student participation. But student responsibility for class sessions will be turned over to you gradually. I will begin the semester by lecturing for several class sessions; based on assigned readings that provide background and context for the lectures. Later and for the rest of the semester, students will be responsible for summarizing the readings in class and for leading discussions of the readings.

The first book should provide some help for your other courses, too, and in writing your thesis/dissertation. The second and third books are readers which contain some of the most notable work in the field. Even the articles that are not assigned should be helpful to you in writing your literature reviews. The required series of articles is in the Reserve Room of the library.

Your course grade will be based upon class participation, summaries of articles/readings, your construction of a set of specialty exam questions, and a literature review. “Class participation” refers to your class attendance and your participation in class discussions. All students are expected to study all of the readings as preparation for class discussion, of course, but, beginning with the January 31 class session, one person will be assigned major responsibility for each reading. When you are assigned a reading, you must study it carefully, write a summary of it for presentation in class and for submission for a grade, and lead the class in a 20-minute discussion of the article. Assignments for summaries of the readings will be made a week in advance. Class participation grades will be based on your assigned leading of discussions and your participation in discussions led by others as it reflects your understanding of the material. The number of summaries that each student completes for the course depends on the number of students taking the course. Each typed summary submitted for a grade is due on the day the article is required for class and must include: the identification of major dependent and independent variables, the analytical approach taken, research questions or hypotheses, the major findings, and the work’s contribution to the field. Additionally, the summary must include the three discussion questions that you will use to lead class discussion about the article. Article summaries will be graded on the basis of thoroughness and demonstrated understanding of the work. Discussion questions will be evaluated by their insight, thoughtfulness, and capacity for stimulating discussion.

Details will be provided later in class on the specialty exam questions and the literature review. But I will say now that my purpose in these requirements is to demonstrate the close connections among individual articles, literature reviews, and specialty exam questions. Students tend to write literature reviews that consist of brief, discrete descriptions of a number of articles on a general topic -- for example, social movements – organized either randomly or chronologically. Instead, literature reviews should be thematic and analytical, indicating how one cluster of articles is related to another cluster and what gaps exist in the literature – what questions have not been addressed but should be. Such writing requires that you analyze and integrate the literature. It is this type of understanding of the literature that forms the basis for faculty’s writing of specialty examination questions. Therefore, my plan is to help you learn about literature reviews and, simultaneously, about specialty examinations.

COURSE SCHEDULE

JANUARY 10:

I	INTRODUCTION

Lecture: “A Short History of Social Movements.”



JANUARY 17:

II	THE SUBFIELD OF COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR/SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

Lecture: “History of the Collective Behavior/Social Movements Subfield.”


Readings:


Check for URL links


1. 1987.  Ralph H. Turner and Lewis M. Killian.  Pp.1-51 in Collective Behavior, 3e.  
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.  Reserve Room.
2. 1991.  Clark McPhail.  Chapters 5 and 6, pp.149-225, in The Myth of the Madding Crowd.  
NY: Aldine de Gruyter.  Reserve Room.

JANUARY 24:
III	SURVIVAL SKILLS FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL
Lecture: “Review of the Scientific Method.”
Lecture: “How to Read a Journal Article.”
Discussion of course assignments.
 Readings:
1. Not in the Reserve Room but readily available.  1992.  Kenneth R. Hoover.  
Chapters 1 and 2, pp.3-39, in The Elements of Social Scientific Thinking, 5e.  
NY: St. Martin’s Press.  (Or any other edition of the book.)  It’s not a big 
deal if you don’t get this book – I’ll lecture from it.
2. BOOK.  1999.  Jose L. Galvan.  Writing Literature Reviews.  Los Angeles: Pyrczak Publishing.
3. Not in the Reserve Room but readily available, probably from your personal 
collection: Earl Babbie.  Chapters on survey research, field research, and unobtrusive 
research in any edition of The Basics of Social Research.  Or consult some other text in methodology.
4. 1997.  William R. Freudenburg.  “The Crude and the Refined: Sociology, Obscurity, Language, and Oil.”  
Sociological Spectrum 17:1-28.  Reserve Room.

JANUARY 31:
DUE: TOPIC FOR LITERATURE REVIEW
IV	RESOURCE MOBILIZATION THEORY: PART 1
Lecture: “Early Resource Mobilization Theory, Parts 1 and 2.”
Readings:
1. 1990 [1975].  William Gamson.  Chapter 10, pp.130-144, in The Strategy of Social Protest, 2e.  
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.  Reserve Room.
2. 1978.  Charles Tilly.  Table of Contents and Chapters 1, 3, and 8, (pp. vii-x, pp.1-11, 
pp. 52-97, and pp. 223-242), in From Mobilization to Revolution.  Reading, MA: 
Addison-Wesley Publishing.  Reserve Room.

IV(cont’d)  EARLY RESOURCE MOBILIZATION THEORY: PART 2
1. 1973.  John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald.  “The Trend of Social Movements in America: 
Professionalization and Resource Mobilization.”  Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.  Reserve Room.
2. 1977.  John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald.  “Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: 
A Partial Theory.”  American Journal of Sociology 82(6): 1212-1240.  Reserve Room.
Beginning of student-assigned article summaries/discussions:
3. 1977.  J. Craig Jenkins and Charles Perrow.  “Insurgency of the Powerless:  Farm Worker 
Movements (1946-1972).”  American Sociological Review 42: 249-268.  #4 in McAdam and Snow book.
4. 1977.  Emily Stoper.  “The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee: Rise and Fall 
of a Redemptive Organization.”  Journal of Black Studies 18:13-28. #17 in Freeman and Johnson book. 
5. 1979.  Jo Freeman.  “Resource Mobilization and Strategy:  A Model for Analyzing Social 
Movement Organization Actions.”  The Dynamics of Social Movements, ed. By Mayer N. Zald and 
John D. McCarthy.  Cambridge: Winthrop. #11 in Freeman and Johnson book.
  FEBRUARY 7:
Lecture: “Criticisms of Resource Mobilization Perspectives.”
V	RESOURCE MOBILIZATION PERSPECTIVES OF THE 1980s
Readings:
1. 1980.  David A. Snow, Louis A. Zurcher, Jr., and Sheldon Ekland-Olson.  “Social Networks 
and Social Movements: A Microstructural Approach to Differential Recruitment.”  American 
Sociological Review 45: 787-801.  #10 in McAdam and Snow book.
2. 1981.  Edward J. Walsh.  “Resource Mobilization and Citizen Protest in Communities 
Around Three Mile Island.”  Social Problems 29(1): 1-21.  Reserve Room.
3. 1983.  Doug McAdam.  “The Decline of the Civil Rights Movement.”  Social Movements of 
the Sixties and Seventies, (ed.) Jo Freeman. #16 in Freeman and Johnson book.
4. 1981.  Aldon D. Morris.  “Black Southern Student Sit-In Movement: An Analysis of 
Internal Organization.”  American Sociological Review 46:744-767.  #8 in McAdam and Snow book.

FEBRUARY 14:
DUE: BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR LITERATURE REVIEW    
Readings:
5. 1983.  Edward J. Walsh and Rex H. Warland.  “Social Movement Involvement in the Wake 
of a Nuclear Accident: Activists and Free Riders in the TMI Area.”  American Sociological 
Review 48: 764-780.  #17 in McAdam and Snow book.
6. 1983.  Frederick D. Miller.  “The End of SDS and the Emergence of the Weatherman: 
Demise through Success.”  Social Movements of the Sixties and Seventies, (ed.) Jo Freeman. 
#15 in Freeman and Johnson book.
7. 1984.  Pamela E. Oliver.  “‘If You Don’t Do It, Nobody Else Will’: Active and Token 
Contributors to Local Collective Action.”  American Sociological Review 49: 601-610.  #16 in 
McAdam and Snow book.
8. 1984.  Herbert H. Haines.  “Black Radicalization and the Funding of Civil Rights: 1957-1970.”  
Social Problems 32: 31-43.  #33 in McAdam and Snow book.
9. 1984.  Sherry Cable.  “Professionalization in Social Movement Organizations: A Case 
Study of Pennsylvanians for Biblical Morality.”  Sociological Focus 17(4): 287-304.  Reserve Room.
10. 1988.  Sherry Cable, Edward J. Walsh, and Rex H. Warland.  “Differential Paths to 
Political Activism: Comparisons of Four Mobilization Processes After the Three Mile Island 
Accident.”  Social Forces 66(4): 951-969.  Reserve Room.

FEBRUARY 21:
Readings:
 11. 1988.  Suzanne Staggenborg.  “The Consequences of Professionalization and 
 Formalization in the Pro-Choice Movement.”  American Sociological Review 53:585-606. #6 
 in Freeman and Johnson book.
12. 1989.  Verta Taylor.  American Sociological Review 54:761-775.  #31 in McAdam and Snow book.
13. 1983.  Doug McAdam.  “Tactical Innovation and the Pace of Insurgency.”  American 
Sociological Review 48:735-754.  #26 in McAdam and Snow book.
14. 1986.  David A. Snow, E. Burke Rochford, Jr., Steven K. Worden, and Robert D. Benford. 
 “Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization, and Movement Participation.”  
 American Sociological Review 51: 464-481.  #18 in McAdam and Snow book

Lecture: “New Social Movement Theories.”

FEBRUARY 28:
VI	NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES
Readings:
1. 1994.  Hank Johnston, Enrique Larana, and Joseph R. Gusfield.  “Identities, Grievances, 
and New Social Movements.”  Pp.3-35 in Hank Johnston, Enrique Larana, and Joseph R. Gusfield (eds.) 
New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity.  Philadelphia: Temple University Press.  Reserve Room.
2. 1994.  Alberto Melucci.  “A Strange Kind of New ness: What’s ‘New’ in New Social Movements?”  
Pp. 101-130 in Hank Johnston, Enrique Larana, and Joseph R. Gusfield (eds.) New Social Movements: 
From Ideology to Identity.  Philadelphia: Temple University Press.  Reserve Room.
3. 1994.  Bert Klandermans.  “Transient Identities?  Membership Patterns in the Dutch Peace 
Movement.”  Pp. 168-184 in Hank Johnston, Enrique Larana, and Joseph R. Gusfield (eds.) New 
Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity.  Philadelphia: Temple University Press.  Reserve Room.
4. 1994.  Mate Szabo.  “Greens, Cabbies, and Anti-Communists: Collective Action during Regime 
Transition in Hungary.”  Pp. 287-303 in Hank Johnston, Enrique Larana, and Joseph R. Gusfield (eds.) 
New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity.  Philadelphia: Temple University Press.  Reserve Room.
5. 1994.  Jose Alvarez-Junco.  “Social Movements in Modern Spain: From the Pre-Civil War Model 
to Contemporary NSMs.”  Pp.304-329 in Hank Johnston, Enrique Larana, and Joseph R. Gusfield (eds.)
 New Social Movements: From Ideology to Identity.  Philadelphia: Temple University Press.  Reserve Room.

MARCH 7:
Lecture: “Criticisms of New Social Movement Theories.”
VII	SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORIES OF THE 1990s: HYBRID OR SYNTHESIS?
Readings:
 1. 1990.  Eric L. Hirsch.  “Sacrifice for the Cause: Group Processes, Recruitment, and Commitment in 
 a Student Social Movement.”  American Sociological Review (April): 243-254. #3 in Freeman and Johnson book.
2. 1992.  Sherry Cable.  “Women’s Social Movement Involvement: The Role of Structural 
Availability in Recruitment and Participation Processes.”  Sociological Quarterly 33(1): 35-50.  Reserve Room.
3. 1992.  Hanspeter Kriesi, Ruud Koopmans, Jan Willem Duyvendak, and Marco G. Giugni.  “New Social
 Movements and Political Opportunities in Western Europe.”  European Journal of Political 
 Research 22:219-244.  #5 in McAdam and Snow book.
4. 1992.  Verta Taylor and Nancy E. Whittier.  “Collective Identity in Social Movement Communities: 
Lesbian Feminist Mobilization.”  Frontiers in Social Movement Theory, ed. Aldon D. Morris and Carol 
M. Mueller. #9 in Freeman and Johnson book.

MARCH 14:
Readings:
5. 1993.  Sherry Cable and Michael Benson.  “Acting Locally: Environmental Injustice and 
the Emergence of Grass-Roots Environmental Organizations.”  Social Problems 40(4): 464-477.  Reserve Room.
6. 1993.  Doug McAdam and Ronnelle Paulsen.  “Specifying the Relationship Between Social Ties and 
Activism.”  American Journal of Sociology 99: 640-667.  #12 in McAdam and Snow book.
7. 1993.  James M. Jasper and Jane D. Poulsen.  “Fighting Back: Vulnerabilities, Blunders, and 
Countermobilization by the Targets in Three Animal Rights Campaigns.”  Sociological Forum 8: 639-657.  
#30 in McAdam and Snow book.
8. 1994.  Dirk Oegema and Bert Klandermans.  “Why Social Movement Sympathizers Don’t Participate: 
Erosion and Nonconversion of Support.”  American Sociological Review 59: 703-722.  #14 in McAdam and Snow book.
9. 1994.  David S. Meyer and Nancy Whittier.  “Social Movement Spillover.”  Social Problems 41: 277-298.
  #36 in McAdam and Snow book.
10. 1995.  Rita K. Noonan.  “Women Against the State: Political Opportunities and Collective 
Action Frames in Chile’s Transition to Democracy.”  Sociological Forum 10: 81-111.  #19 in McAdam and Snow book.

MARCH 28:
DUE: FIRST DRAFT OF LITERATURE REVIEW
Readings:
11. 1997.  Robert D. Benford.  “An Insider’s Critique of the Social Movement Framing Perspective..”  
Sociological Inquiry 67(4): 409-430.  Reserve Room.
12. 1997.  Sherry Cable and Beth Degutis.  “Movement Outcomes and Dimensions of Social Change: 
The Multiple Effects of Local Mobilizations.”  Current Sociology 45(3): 121-135.  Reserve Room.
 13. 1999.  Abigail Halcli.  “AIDS, Anger, and Activism: ACT UP As a Social Movement Organization.”
  #7 in Freeman and Johnson book.
14. 1999.  Victoria Johnson.  “The Strategic Determinants of a Countermovement: The Emergence 
and Impact of Operation Rescue Blockades.”  #12 in Freeman and Johnson book.
15. 1999.  David S. Meyer.  “Civil Disobedience and Protest Cycles.”  #13 in Freeman and Johnson book.
16. 1993.  Sherry Cable.  “From Fussin’ to Organizing: Individual and Collective Resistance at 
Yellow Creek.”  Fighting Back in Appalachia: Traditions of Resistance and Change, (ed.) Stephen L. Fisher.
  Philadelphia: Temple University Press.  Reserve Room.

APRIL 4:
DUE: SPECIALTY EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
VIII	NEW DIRECTIONS IN SOCIAL MOVEMENT RESEARCH
Lecture: “Is the US a social movement society?”
Reading:
BOOK.  1998.  Mary Fainsod Katzenstein.  Faithful and Fearless: Moving Feminist Protest inside the 
Church and Military.  Princeton: Princeton University Press.

APRIL 11:
Readings:
1. 1999.  Sherry Cable, Thomas Shriver, and Donald W. Hastings.  “The Silenced Majority: 
Quiescence and Social Control on the Oak Ridge Nuclear Reservation.”  Research in Social Problems 
and Public Policy 7: 59-81.  Reserve Room.
2. 2001.  Thomas E. Shriver.  “Environmental Hazards and Veterans’ Framing of Gulf War Illness.”  
Sociological Inquiry 71: 403-420.  Reserve Room.
3. 2001.  Jon Shefner.  “Coalitions and Clientelism in Mexico.”  Theory and Society, 
forthcoming.  Reserve Room.

APRIL 18:
Readings:
BOOK.  2000.  Steven M. Buechler.  Social Movements in Advanced Capitalism:  The Political Economy 
and Cultural Constructions of Social Activism.  NY: Oxford University Press.

4. 2001.  Asafa Jalata.  Chapter I “Introduction,” pp. 1-22, and Chapter V “Comparing the 
African American and Oromo Movements,” pp. 107-132, in Fighting Against the Injustice of 
the State and Globalization: Comparing the African American and Oromo Movements.  New York: PALGRAVE.
  Reserve Room.
 5. 1997.  Ron Pagnucco.  “The Transnational Strategies of the Service for Peace and 
 Justice in Latin America.”  Pp.123-138 in Jackie Smith, Charles Chatfield, and Ron Pagnucco (eds.) 
 Transnational Social Movements and Global Politics: Solidarity Beyond the State.  Syracuse: 
 Syracuse University Press.  Reserve Room.
6. 1997.  John D. McCarthy.  “The Globalization of Social Movement Theory.”  Pp.243-259 in 
Jackie Smith, Charles Chatfield, and Ron Pagnucco (eds.) Transnational Social Movements and 
Global Politics: Solidarity Beyond the State.  Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.  Reserve Room.

APRIL 25:
IX	THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MOVEMENT THEORY: WHERE FROM HERE?
Lecture: “The Dynamics of Contention: A Book Summary.”


APRIL 29 OR SOONER, DUE: FINAL DRAFT OF LITERATURE REVIEW