This course covers the emergence and growth of social movements in response to social trends, their consequences in changing society and the dynamics of organizational structure within movements as related to their goals, tactics and ideologies.  Topics include political movements, racial and ethnic movements, women's movements, religious movements, and movements within social institutions, such as health care and criminal justice.

Regular attendance will be required, and students will be expected to do the assigned reading in advance so as to be prepared for discussion.  There will be regular in-class assignments and quizzes to make sure everyone is prepared.  In-class assignments and quizzes will not be announced in advance, you should be prepared each day.  If you miss class, you should check the  Schedule and Assignments page for the alternative assignment and post it to WEBCT by the date and time posted.  WEBCT will not accept late assignments.  Here are instructions for signing up for WEBCT and Submitting Assignments to the WEBCT Assignment Dropbox.  The first assignment is to submit an enrollment assignment to WEBCT.   You can find the first assignment here:  http://crab.rutgers.edu/~goertzel/enrolling.htm.  It must be completed by 17:00 on January 30, 2003.

Ted Goertzel's office hours are 2:30 to 3:30 Monday and Wednesday and 11:15 to 12:00 Friday in 325 Armitage.  Email: goertzel@camden.rutgers.edu.

Two books have been ordered and additional readings will be posted on the Internet:

1. Charles Steward, Craig Allen Smith and Robert Denton, Jr., Persuasion and Social Movements, 4th Edition.  This book provides an overview of the sociological literature on social movements with an emphasis on the arguments members of social movements use in their attempts to persuade others of the rightness of their cause.  This will be the central textbook for the course.
2. Elaine Showalter, Hystories:  Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Media.  This book provides a number of interesting case studies of movements that the author believes have a root in psychological needs, including:  chronic fatigue syndrome, Gulf War syndrome, recovered memory syndrome, multiple personality disorder, satanic ritual abuse and alien abduction.  The believers in these movements believe that the problems they focus on are real, not psychological projections.  We will examine the arguments used in arguing these issues.
3. The third focus of the course will be on terrorist movements and the "war against terrorism."  Reading material will be posted on the Internet.

You can check both of these books out on amazon.com and read sample pages.  Just click on the picture.

Grading will be based on:

 Quizzes  60%.  Four quizzes, each of which will count for 15% of the grade.  The last quiz will be on our final examination day, and will be comprehensive.  If your grade on the final quiz is higher than your grade on any of the previous quizzes, that quiz will be raised.
Op-ed essay  15%.  -
Attendance, 10% -
Other Assignments 15%