[lbo-talk] the soc mov'ts class outline

[Alan Rudy]

Dear All:
I sought suggestions for how to think about, what to use as sources, my
pending Social Movements Since the 60s class...
After tearing my hair out, continuing to despise myself for leaving out
feminism and labor (there are other classes on these movements
specifically), and sure I am never going to recover from chopping out all
the other domestic, foreign and international movements - how, oh how,
could I cut the anti-apartheid movement?! - I cut, I have settled on a
trajectory within which I think I can construct a fairly coherent narrative.
The key, which should have been obvious far earlier than it was, proved to
be telling the story backwards... starting with Occupy Wall Streets and the
Arab Spring and then moving into the Tea Party, Neocons and Neoliberalism.

 The introductory week will be chronological and the rest reverse
chronology (kinda/mostly).  This first half of the course will then serve
as a more contemporary sounding board and frame of reference for the more
historical materials to follow.  The second level of the outlines variously
represent questions to wonder about, points to make, etc, but are not
intended to be comprehensive statements of the focus or keys for the week.
Any and all thoughts, criticisms, must-have-them-reads and celebrations
would be GREATLY appreciated.
Alan

WEEK      TOPIC

   1. *INTRODUCTION*

      1. Progressivism, Old Left, New Left, NSM and the New Right

   2. *OWS*

      1. Facts, events and internal arguments

   3. *OWS*

      1. New Social Networkings?

   4. *Arab Spring*

      1. New Social Networkings?

   5. *Tea Party*

      1. Half-astroturfist/Half-populist?

   6. *Moral Majority, etc.*

      1. Conservative anti-modern romanticism

   7. *Neoliberalism*

      1. Domestic (deregulate, anti-tax)

   8. *Neoliberalism*

      1. International (marketize, privatize)

   9. *Environmentalism*

      1. Domestic/Global resource struggles

   10. *Environmental Justice*

      1. Domestic hybridity

   11. *Political Ecology Movements*

      1. International hybridity

   12. *Gay RIghts/Queering*

      1. From Identity Politics to the Politics of Post-identity

   13. *Anti-war Struggles*

      1. Pacificism, Self-interest, Anti-imperialism

   14. *Black Power*

      1. Self-defense and self-determination

   15. *Civil Rights*

      1. Integrationist radicalization/splintering

*********************************************************
Alan P. Rudy
Assistant Professor
Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
Central Michigan University
124 Anspach Hall
Mt Pleasant, MI 48858
517-881-6319