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Social movements and collective action

Module description

Since the final decades of the 20^th century, there has been increased anthropological interest in social movements, thanks to the wealth of forms of political mobilisations seen in many different parts of the world. These have engaged with issues ranging from economic inequality to indigenous rights, environmentalism, identity politics and anti-capitalism. All this raises questions about the nature of political action today; what leads to action, disenfranchisement, hope or anger; how this intersects with political structures, ideologies, identities, models of citizenship, or structures of power; and how political energy can be catalysed, co-opted or diluted.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module explores different forms of contemporary political action. It charts the lineage of different social movements, mobilisations and political paradigms, as well as the ways in which these have been studied within anthropology and the social sciences more broadly. It interrogates terms such as ‘the political’, ‘resistance’ and ‘activism’ highlighting how they have been used in social scientific literature and asking what they might mean in different geographical, social and cultural contexts today.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate familiarity with the major contemporary anthropological (and more broadly social scientific) approaches to the study of social movements and collective action;
• 2. show an understanding of specific issues related to the study of social movements and collective action, such as the changing nature of the political, the difference between social movements and new social movements, and the different meanings and usages of terms such as resistance or activism;
• 3. Show an understanding of debates around activist anthropology and its complexities

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 4. Relate a body of knowledge to specific contexts within the field of anthropology and the social sciences
• 5. Express coherent anthropological ideas both in writing and verbally

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 6. Undertake independent study concerning the subject matter of the course
• 7. Select appropriately from a range of suggested material and present key arguments clearly and convincingly
• 8. Develop the capacity to reflect critically on the various analytic perspectives presented in the course

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

• What is the nature of political action and social movements and how have these changed over time?
• Concepts of resistance – does the term still serve us today?
• What counts as activism and who gets to decide?
• New technologies of mobilisation from social media to clicktivism
• Identity politics
• Climate activism
• Activist anthropology

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Butler, J. et al. (eds). 2016. Vulnerability in Resistance. Durham: Duke University Press Books.
• Castells, M. 2012. Networks of Outrage and Hope: Social Movements in the Internet Age. Cambridge, UK?; Malden, MA: Polity Press.
• Graeber, D. 2009. Direct Action: An Ethnography. Edinburgh: AK Press.
• Jupp, E. 2022. Care, Crisis and Activism: The Politics of Everyday Life (First edition.). Bristol: Policy Press.
• Juris, J.S., and A. Khasnabish (eds). 2013. Insurgent Encounters: Transnational Activism, Ethnography, and the Political. Durham?; London: Duke University Press.
• Muehlebach, A. 2012. The Moral Neoliberal: Welfare and Citizenship in Italy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Nash. 2004. Social Movements: An Anthropological Reader. Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.
• Plender, C. 2021. ‘The “Awkwardnesses” of Aid and Exchange: Food Cooperative Practices in Austerity Britain’, Focaal  1(aop): 1–14.
• Scheper-Hughes, N. 1995. ‘The Primacy of the Ethical: Propositions for a Militant Anthropology’  36(3): 409–20.
• Scott, J. 1987. Weapons of the Weak: Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance (New Ed edition.). New Haven: Yale University Press.
• Sörbom, A., and M. Wennerhag. 2013. ‘Individualization, Life Politics, and the Reformulation of Social Critique: An Analysis of the Global Justice Movement’, Critical Sociology  39(3): 453–78.
• Wilde, M. 2020. ‘Eviction, Gatekeeping and Militant Care: Moral Economies of Housing in Austerity London’, Ethnos 1–20.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – College to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages
• Burton, O. (n.d.). ‘Black Lives Matter: A Critique of Anthropology’, Cultural Anthropology. Retrieved 9 December 2022 from https://culanth.org/fieldsights/black-lives-matter-a-critique-of-anthropology
• Dhillon, J., and N. Estes. (n.d.). ‘Standing Rock, #NoDAPL, and Mni Wiconi’, Society for Cultural Anthropology. Retrieved 9 December 2022 from https://culanth.org/fieldsights/series/standing-rock-nodapl-and-mni-wiconi
• Ticktin, M. 2021. ‘Building a Feminist Commons in the Time of COVID-19’, Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. Retrieved 1 June 2022 from http://signsjournal.org/covid/ticktin/

Key words search

Social movements, collective action, anthropology