This seminar is a space for collaborative inquiry into the relationships between social movements and the media. We'll review these relationships through the lens of social movement theory, and function as a workshop to develop student projects. Seminar participants will work together to explore frameworks, methods, and tools for understanding networked social movements in the digital media ecology. We will engage with social movement studies as a body of theoretical and empirical work, and learn about key concepts including: resource mobilization; political process; framing; New Social Movements; collective identity; tactical media; protest cycles; movement structure; and more. We'll explore methods of social movement investigation, examine new data sources and tools for movement analysis, and grapple with recent innovations in social movement theory and research. Assignments include short blog posts, a book review, co-facilitation of a seminar discussion, and a final research project focused on social movement media practices in comparative perspective.

As we get caught up in elections cycles and endless political debates, we can sometimes forget what democracy is and its institutions; how they work, their strengths and weaknesses. It's divided into 5 sections.

The state of democracy
The first part looks at the overall state of democracy across the world. After definining what a democracy is, we're look at how not all democracies are equal in measure, with some having more functioning democratic institutions than others. A useful recap of the other major types of government will feature.

Checks and balances
The separation of powers (legislative, executive and judicial) come from the premise that concentrating power in the hands of one person, party or government can have a detrimental effect on society. Hence why power and functions are distributed across separate and independent entities.

Thriving political culture
A democracy is more than voting once every x number of years. It's first of all making sure everyone who is elligible to vote can easily do so (obstacles are common). Political culture is also determined through the freedom to contest and protest.

Transparency, accountability & corruption
It is a given that a functioning democracy, with politicians elected by the people who get to decide how tax-payer money is spent, decision-making processes and accounting should be as transparant and corruption-free as possible. Unfortunately, lobbying and other forms of corruption are proven to be a hindrance on democracy as a whole.

Media: the fourth power
What is discussed in media outlets - from podcasts to TikTok videos, news articles to TV news bulletins - can have a significant impact on society, raising matters of public interest, forcing politicians to take position, debate and take action.
Hence the importance of a free press. One that is independent, can speak openly about any issue, criticise the government if need be, without fear of reprisal. It is also crucial that information is transparent, that journalists can access information on what governments are doing without hindrance.

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Part of the political science collection.

This course explores the relationship between political institutions and economic development, covering key theoretical issues as well as recent empirical evidence. Topics include corruption, democracy, dictatorship, and war. Discusses not just what we know on these topics, but how we know it, covering how to craft a good empirical study or field experiment and how to discriminate between reliable and unreliable evidence.
MITx Online Version
This course is part of the Micromaster’s Program in Data, Economics, and Design of Policy through MITx Online. The course is entirely free to audit, though learners have the option to pay a fee, which is based on the learner's ability to pay, to take the proctored exam, and earn a course certificate. To access the course, create an MITx Online account and enroll in the course 14.750x Political Economy and Economic Development.

This graduate reading seminar explores the role of religious groups, institutions, and ideas in politics using social science theories. It is open to advanced undergraduate students with permission of the instructor.

This is a module framework. It can be viewed online or downloaded as a zip file.

As taught Autumn Semester 2010/2011.

This module explores and analyses democratic politics in Latin America since the third wave of democratization in the 1980s. It is divided into three parts:

1. Conceptualising democracy in the region with a focus on the debate between those who argue that liberal democracy and liberal markets are necessary and desirable and those who argue that only experiments that go beyond both will truly democratise the region.

2. Explaining problems in democratic development such as lack of participation, representation and citizenship with reference to the political economy of neoliberalism, dependent development and political culture, amongst other theories.

3. Asking the question: who are the actors who will democratise democracy in Latin America, with a focus on political parties, social movements, elites/technocrats and NGOs. All discussions will be contextualised with reference to particular case studies.

Module Code: M13098

Credits: 20

Suitable for study at: Undergraduate level 3

Dr Sara Motta, School of Politics and International Relations

Dr Sara Motta obtained her BA in Philosophy and MSc in The Politics of Development (Latin America) from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She completed her PhD at the Department of Government, LSE under the supervision of Dr Francisco Panizza and Professor Rodney Barker in 2005. She was appointed as a three year Tutorial Fellow in Comparative and Latin American Politics in the Government Department, LSE before being appointed to lectureship in Politics at the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham in 2007.

Dr Motta's teaching interests are in the broad themes of comparative political economy of the Global South, popular politics and social movements in Latin America, comparative political analysis of democracy and development in Latin America and the politics of knowledge.

Dr Motta's research focus is the politics of subaltern resistance, with particular reference to Latin America.

History is a challenging subject to impart to students, especially 7 and 8 year olds. As with all subjects, showing a connection to their daily lives ensures its relevance and an enduring understanding. Students have some sense of their basic rights, but they do not know how these rights came to be and how they differ for noncitizens and those outside the United States.

The aim of this unit is to teach students how our constitutional rights evolved and why they are salient today. It’s divided into sections to ensure this complex topic can be presented at an elementary level. It will provide the students with an overview of the Constitution of the United States with a focus on the rights and privileges of citizens that will be most intuitive to children (1 st , 13 th , 14 th ,15 th , and 19 th ). Activities include producing a narrative writing, a research booklet, a dialogical notebook, and a take-action choice piece with an eye to promoting critical thinking about historical change. Upon completion, students will have a better understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens, and how they can contribute to the betterment of this country.

In this project, you will explore a real-world problem, and then work through a series of steps to analyze that problem, research ways the problem could be solved, then propose a possible solution to that problem. Often, there is no specific right or wrong solutions, but sometimes one particular solution may be better than others. The key is making sure you fully understand the problem, have researched some possible solutions, and have proposed the solution that you can support with information / evidence.Begin by reading the problem statement in Step 1. Take the time to review all of the information provided in the statement, including exploring the websites, videos and / or and articles that are linked. Then work on steps 2 through 8 to complete this problem-based learning experience.

This is a learning module that uses data to investigate the increasing attention being drawn to a debate about the compatibility of certain religions and democracy.

Although many people think of the White House as a symbol of democracy, it is also a part of our country’s history of slavery. From the start of White House construction in 1792 until emancipation took effect in Washington, D.C. in 1862, enslaved men, women, and children labored at the Executive Mansion. The stories of these individuals, working under the oppressive institution of slavery in the “People’s House,” demonstrate a stark contrast to the ideals of freedom and democracy that the White House has long represented.

This course provides an introduction to the vast literature devoted to public opinion. In the next 12 weeks, we will survey the major theoretical approaches and empirical research in the field of political behavior (though we will only tangentially discuss political  participation and voting). For the most part we will focus on American public opinion, though some of the work we will read is comparative in nature.

While the arrival of explorers and the beginning of the fur trade were going on in the American Northwest, a new nation was being born in the east. This is the teacher guide companion to The State We're In: Washington (Grade 3-5 Edition) Chapter 3. The resource is designed to engage students with a launch activity, focused notes, and a focused inquiry.

People make the past come alive as students research and then share stories about famous Americans who promoted democratic ideals.

These are course materials for a new course at the intersection of civil discourse and public policy.  The course was developed and taught at the Biden School at the University of Delaware.  Support for this course was provided by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Ithaca Initiative.

This book is written for you – students early in college – to provide a guide to the founding documents and structures of governance that form the United States political system. This book is called American Government and Politics in Principle and Practice because you will notice that what has been inscribed in law has not always been applied in practice-particularly for indigenous peoples, enslaved peoples, people of color, women, LGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, those formerly incarcerated, immigrants and the working class within U.S. society.

In designing this book, we have two goals. First, we want you to know what the founding documents say and how our political institutions were formed. Second, and as important, we season the book with questions for you to investigate and learn concerning who has been excluded and who has benefited from the political structures of the United States. We will examine the contradictions and tensions that erupt, and how social movements have transformed our political landscape. We offer a range of questions/assignments that will allow you to help us keep this book up to date.

You will read, across time, tensions between the federal and state governments, between individual and collective rights, between those with power and those without, and you will notice when and for whom rights have been protected by our government and when and for whom rights have been trampled. We will explore the historical context that informs significant political movements and structures of the present. This is history riddled with racism, xenophobia, sexism and imperialism, and also a vibrant history of struggle where groups of people imagine, fight for, and often achieve a more equitable society.

 U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.Senior Contributing AuthorsP. Scott Corbett, Ventura CollegeVolker Janssen, California State University, FullertonJohn M. Lund, Keene State CollegeTodd Pfannestiel, Clarion UniversityPaul Vickery, Oral Roberts UniversitySylvie Waskiewicz

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Compare and contrast monarchy and republican governmentDescribe the tenets of republicanism

A New Political Style: From John Quincy Adams to Andrew JacksonThe Rise of American DemocracyThe Nullification Crisis and the Bank WarIndian RemovalThe Tyranny and Triumph of the Majority