Tuesday, 3-6 pm
(Offered during the second half of the semester, beginning November 1st.)
There are at least two ways to define the subject matter described by the phrase "culture and social movements," reflecting a distinction implicit in a good deal of recent literature in the sociology of culture. First, one might emphasize the cultural aspects of all social movements (and all social processes), for example, ideological processes common to all movements. Alternatively, one might instead focus on culture as a separate sphere of activity. That is, in the latter case, one might emphasize movements that specifically and explicitly make an uncompromising commitment to certain cultural values their central focus; here the New Christian Right and the animal rights movement would be examples. (And, in the sociology of culture, there is a good deal of work which treats "cultural" as a social sphere distinct, for example, from politics or economics.)
Some social movement research emphasizes both aspects of "culture," but perhaps the existence of these two approaches reflect two independent influences on the resurgence of interest in "culture and social movements." The emphasis on cultural processes as an important component of all movements may reflect primarily a declining confidence in the intellectual and strategic paradigms that guided the New Left of the 1960s and 1970s, as well as a critique of the rationalism that prevailed in the sociological study of social movements in the 1970s and early 1980s.
The approach that distinguishes movements with "cultural" goals from those with more instrumental goals perhaps reflects less changing intellectual fashions than changes in movements themselves (though the two are related). Thus attempts to understand such movements as the animal rights movement and the New Christian Right (paralleling attempts to understand apparently new kinds of social revolutions, such as in Iran in 1979) has led to literature that implicitly treats these as different in kind from the movements dominant during the period of the New Left.
Students will encounter both types of approaches in this seminar. We will consider the validity and compatibility of the two approaches, as well as such questions as the relationship between social-psychological and cultural approaches and the empirical contributions of cultural approaches to the study of social movements.
A six-week "mini-seminar" can only scratch the surface of the literature in any field; yet this remains a manageable literature because of the relatively recent resurgence of interest in cultural approaches to the study of social movements. The seminar aims to expose students to some of the more interesting recent works in this field, emphasizing writings with a clear empirical focus (e.g., as opposed to explicitly post-modern and other literature that mostly remains at an abstract level). Most works in this area are qualitative and/or historical.
Students interested in the sociology of culture, political culture, and related areas are advised (but certainly not required) to take this course in conjunction with Sociology 530m, "Cultural Analysis," offered by Professor Michle Lamont during the first half of the semester. For scheduling convenience, the two "mini-seminars" meet at the same time slot, i.e., Tuesday 3:00.
While the exact reading material used in this seminar may vary in the future, readings chosen for the Fall 1994 semester do not overlap with those readings used in Prof. Burns's seminar offerings of last year, including "Revolutions" and "The Culture of Politics and the Politics of Domination."
(However, graduate students in Sociology should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies about their final exam requirements, which may depend on the exact structure of their program of study. To obtain credit, such students must still meet the other course requirements.)