RESEARCH A SOCIAL MOVEMENT

Overview
This
assignment will give you an opportunity to research how activist groups have
worked to oppose and transform oppression.
This project involves both substantial research and analysis. You will first extensively research a social
movement of your choice (list is below) that we have read about or will be
reading about throughout the semester.
You will also make an informed analysis about and why forms of
oppression have been challenged and how social gains have been advocated for
through collective social movements.

Purpose
Be
able to explain how a social movement has changed in response to internal and
external pressures by utilizing social networks as a basis of information dissemination
and mobilization. The term social
movement describes a situation in which a loosely organized group of people
challenges the existent social norms and values often defying established rules
of behavior in their actions. We extend
this commonly used description by adding in the factor of social networks and
how they play a role in the organization and mobilization of these social
movements.

Content
Choose one movement to focus on:
-Occupy Wall Street
-Arab Spring [this includes both
Tunisia and Egypt]
-Indignados
-Iceland’s Kitchenware Revolution

You
should include the following throughout the paper:
1)
An historical analysis of how and why the
social movement you have chosen has emerged.
2)
Explain how the participants of the social
movement understood or interpreted the oppression they sought to challenge. Who were the dominate and subordinate groups
involved and what were their perspectives?
3)
Show and understanding of the activities of the
social movement, its participants, visions, strategies, dissemination of
information and mobilization.
4)
Explain what the social movement achieved,
didn’t achieve or has yet to achieve in terms of the movement itself, and its
communicative properties.
5)
Give a detailed explanation of what adversaries
say about the social movement, and whether or not you agree/disagree with their
perspective or what you have discounted as merely rhetoric.

As
you can see, I’m not asking you to simply report on a social movement. I’m asking you to dive headfirst into a social
movement and really understand who were the dominant players, why they felt a
sense of oppression, explain their strategies, what they achieved or didn’t
achieve, and to form an opinion based on your extensive research. You should
pull from the course texts, articles from the class as necessary, library
research and most of all, *credible* internet resources. You
should have no less than 8 sources, but many students will use more than
that to accomplish their purpose.

Organization
You
should organize your paper into the following three parts.

I.
Introduction: Provide a brief description of the social
movement you have chosen and include a brief preview of all major sections of
your paper.

II.
Body: Discuss in detail the main points
corresponding to the various topics included under the Content section. The body is by far the longest part of the
paper and should explicitly address all of the sections required above. It is important that you give direct quotes
and paraphrases from your research, as well as direct quotes (and source
citations) from the course textbooks to ensure application of theoretical
principles to this project.

III.
Conclusion: Provide a brief summary of the body of the
paper, including a review of all main ideas covered.

Requirements
The
paper must be typed (double spaced) and must display acceptable college level
standards of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraph structure,
spelling, etc. Please use 12 point font
and one inch margins on all sides (standard in Word). Use only Arial, Verdana, or Trebuchet
font. Length: 1,500-1,800 words.

Submission: Email your finished paper to me at comm179perez@gmail.com as an attached
file in .doc, .docx, .rtf or .pdf format. Label your file with your last name
and the assignment, as with CarolPerez_ResearchSocialMovement.doc

*** Please review the grading sheet
below prior to starting this assignment. ***

/15

1).

Basics – Assignment Accomplish
the learning goals of this paper. Showed a clear understanding and
explanation of course material. (See
assignment sheet for specific information).

2).

Basics – Format Double-space,
12-point Verdana, Arial or Trebuchet font, one-inch margins. Used subheadings as appropriate.

3).

Basics – Pagination Limit three
lines above or below page length. Number all pages. Name only at the top of the first page.
Avoid empty lines between paragraphs.

/50

4).

Analysis/Concept
Application
– Included a thoughtful and thorough analysis, used specific examples, and
applied the course concepts appropriately. Explained course concepts clearly.

/20

4).

Organization
– Forecast
Preview each major section of your paper in a single sentence placed within
your introduction.

5).

Organization
– Review
Summarize each major section of your paper in a single sentence placed within
your conclusion.

/15

6).
Paragraphs – Topic Sentences Forecast main idea in topic sentence.

7).
Paragraphs – Body Sentences Avoid fragments; employ subject and verb.

8).
Paragraphs – Length No mini-graphs or paragraphs exceeding a page.

9).

Paragraphs
–
Transitions Develop a justification to shift from paragraph to
paragraph. Do not use quoted material
at the beginning or ending of a paragraph.

/20

10).

Evidence – Include meaningful quotations (and/or paraphrases with citation)
from readings.

11).
Evidence – Proper APA In-text citation of quotes and paraphrases.

12).
Evidence – APA Reference Page (Including outside sources)

/20

13).

Editing
– Grammar
and Spelling Edit your work carefully. Pay close attention to commonly
misused words, apostrophes, commas, semicolons, etc…

/10

14).

Writing
Style –
Avoid clichés, employ clear direct writing, avoid wordiness. Avoid words like “extremely” and
“very”.

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