IDS 2935:
Religion and Social Movements
Fall 2022

Instructor:  Anna Peterson			
Office: 105 Anderson (Mailbox in 107 Anderson) 
Tel. 352-392-1625, fax 352-392-7395			
E-mail:  annap@ufl.edu
Schedule: Lectures, M/W 7th period (1:55-2:45); Discussion sections: Friday 6, 7, and 8th periods
Office Hours: M/W 6th period (12:50-1:40) in person and by appointment on Zoom

I.  DESCRIPTION
	This class explores the role of religion in movements for social change. We will address core questions in the study of social movements – how movements emerge, why people join, how they mobilize resources, what strategies and tactics they employ, and what goals they seek – by examining a range of case studies, including civil rights and anti-racist organizing, environmental protection, LGBTQ rights, animal rights, immigration reform, and gender justice. We will pay particular attention to the distinctive ways in which religion enters into the formation, identity, practices, and outcomes of various movements. 
	This course is taking place during a time of radical changes in social movements and political culture. Our activities, and discussions will address these events and help us analyze and evaluate them. We will pay particular attention to the role of the media (including social media) in both interpreting social changes and contributing to them. We will explore, for example, the ways that movements have adjusted to the pandemic by moving many activities online, and also the ways that the pandemic itself has generated moral and political issues and even become a focus of protests.
	As a Quest 2 course, this class is not a broad survey but rather a focused examination of the ways that perspectives, methods, and resources from the social and behavioral sciences can help us understand and address real-world issues. It will be organized around a number of guiding questions:
	- How and why do people organize collectively to address social problems?
	- How do religious ideas, communities, and leaders contribute to social movements?
	- How do faith-based movements contribute to the solution of social problems?
	- How do social movement activists use tools and data from the social and natural sciences to strengthen and understand their work?
	- How do social movements use social media and other virtual resources in their organizing efforts?
	- How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected religious communities and social movements, both in the issues they address and in the ways they address them?

	We will explore these questions by reading literature from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including economics, history, political science, psychology, religious studies, and sociology.  We will also read primary sources, including documents produced by the movements themselves and oral histories. In addition, we will examine scientific research, survey data, and other resources that movement activists use to understand the problems they are addressing, public attitudes towards these issues, and effective ways to resolve problems. Students will also engage in independent and group research throughout the semester, documenting the ways organizations and congregations are responding to contemporary challenges.
	
This course meets the general education requirements for Diversity (D) and Social/Behavioral Sciences (S), as well as 2000 words towards the university writing requirement. It also counts as an elective for Religion majors and minors. Please see separate sheet for Quest and General Education goals, objectives, and learning outcomes.

Writing Requirement
The University Writing Requirement (WR) ensures students both maintain their fluency in writing and use writing as a tool to facilitate learning. This course carries 2000 words that count towards the University Writing Requirement. You must minimum grade of C (2.0) for the course. It is possible to fail to meet the writing requirement and still earn a minimum grade of C in a class, so students should review their degree audit after receiving their grade to verify receipt of credit for the writing component.  The instructor will evaluate and provide feedback on the student’s written work with respect to content, organization and coherence, argument and support (when appropriate), style, clarity, grammar, punctuation, and other mechanics, using the writing rubric attached to this syllabus.  More specific guidelines for individual assignments will be provided later in the semester. 
 
I encourage you to seek help from the university’s Writing Studio (www.writing.ufl.edu), which offers support for writing in all fields and can be very helpful both in developing your first drafts and in polishing those drafts.

I recommend the Chicago manual of style (https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html) as a guide for writing format and style.  However, you may use a different style guide, as long as you check with me first and make sure to use the same format consistently.

II. CLASS POLICIES, RULES, AND RESOURCES
1.  Attendance and Participation:  Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies, found in the online catalog at: https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx. 
Please let me know about any planned absences (for religious holidays, athletic events, or other reasons) as soon as possible.  For unplanned absences (due to illness or emergency), please let me know as soon as possible and provide documentation (e.g, doctor’s note).

2. Please read and follow the Netiquette Guide for Online Courses, produced by the UF Center for Teaching Excellence. While this guide is designed for online courses, much of the advice is helpful for in person classes as well.

3. Make-up policy: I will arrange for a make-up or early in-class exam with sufficient notice. If you have an emergency that requires you to miss an assignment, please contact me as soon as you are able to arrange an extension. If you do not receive an extension from the instructor, assignment will be marked down a half grade (e.g., from B+ to B) for each day late.

4.  Honor Code: The honor code applies to this and all courses taken at UF: “We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity. On all work submitted for credit by students at the university, the following pledge is either required or implied: On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment” (https://archive.catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/1617//advising/info/student-honor-code.aspx).
The university specifically prohibits cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation, bribery, conspiracy, and fabrication.  Any student(s) demonstrated to have cheated, plagiarized, or otherwise violated the Honor Code in any assignment for this course will fail the course.  In addition, violations of the Academic Honesty Guidelines may result in judicial action and sanctions, as specified in the Student Conduct Code (https://sccr.dso.ufl.edu/process/student-conduct-code/).
5.  Accommodation for Disabilities: Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office.  The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student, who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.

6.  Counseling and Emergency Resources: Please let me know if you need support facing challenges that affect your academic performance.  There are many resources available for students, and I will be glad to help you get the assistance you need in order to thrive at UF. Some resources include: 
a. University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575, personal and career counseling; 
b. Student Mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, personal counseling; 
c. Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS), Student Health Care Center, 392-1161, sexual counseling;
d. Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career development assistance and counseling. 
e. For security issues, please contact the University Police Department: 392-1111, or 911 for general emergencies.

7.  Software Use:  All faculty, staff, and students of the University are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use.  Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator.  Because such violations are also against University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.
8.  COVID policies: In response to COVID-19, the following recommendations are in place to maintain your learning environment, to enhance the safety of our in-classroom interactions, and to further the health and safety of ourselves, our neighbors, and our loved ones.
	* If you are not vaccinated, get vaccinated. Vaccines are readily available and have been demonstrated to be safe and effective against the COVID-19 virus. Visit one.uf for screening/testing and vaccination opportunities.
* Given the recent rise in COVID infections, I encourage you to wear appropriate (N-95) masks in the classroom and all UF buildings. This will help protect you and your fellow students and instructors, many of whom may have or live with people who have conditions that make them particularly vulnerable. Due to state law, I cannot require you to wear masks in the classroom, but I can and do require masks in my office.
	* If you are sick, stay home. Please call your primary care provider if you are ill and need immediate care or the UF Student Health Care Center at 352-392-1161 to be evaluated.
	* Course materials will be provided to you with an excused absence, and you will be given a reasonable amount of time to make up work.  

III. ASSIGNMENTS, READINGS, AND SCHEDULE

Readings
All required readings will be available on our course Canvas site or online. 

If possible, I recommend that your purchase Paul Almeida, Social Movements: The Structure of Collective Mobilization (California, 2019), which is an excellent introduction to the study of social movements. I have posted the required chapters on Canvas, but I think you will find the rest of the book very helpful if you are able to read it.

Required Assignments
1.  Active, informed participation in class discussions, in both the lecture sections on Mondays and Wednesdays and the discussion sections on Fridays.

2.  Two short essays based on the readings (1000 words min each), due Sun. 9/25 and Sunday 11/13; 30% of total grade each. Rough drafts of the first essay are due in class on Friday 9/23 so that you can benefit from peer review in class. 

Assignments 3-5 will be based on your engagement with a specific movement.
Working in small groups, students will choose an organization or religious community to study. We will select movements to study in discussion sections on Oct. 7. You will conduct primary research to the extent possible, including analysis of primary documents and social media, interviews, and participant-observation to the extent possible given the requirements of social distancing. Your research will support several assignments, both individual and collective:

3. Annotated Bibliography and class presentation (group project): As a group, develop an annotated bibliography of articles, both scholarly and journalistic.  Choose appropriate readings for the class day which will be devoted to your movement during Module 5. Develop a short presentation on the reading(s), highlighting themes we have discussed throughout the class. Due Sunday, Nov. 6 by midnight. 10% of total grade.

4.  Poster (group project) about the movement, addressing the origins, strategies, and goals, due December 6. 10% of total grade. 

5.  Research report/reflection paper (individual project).  Write a report on your experience researching a contemporary movement (about 750-1000 words), due by midnight on Sunday, December 11. 20% of total grade. 

Schedule

Introduction to the Class
Wed. 8/24	Introduction to the class

Friday 8/26	Discussion sections
		Getting to know you

Module 1: Understanding Social Movements
Mon. 8/29	James Ormrod, “Practicing Social Movement Theory in Case Study Groups”

Wed. 8/31	Gunder Frank and Fuentes, “Nine Theses on Social Movements.” Economic and Political Weekly 22, No. 35 (Aug. 29, 1987): 1503-1507; 1509-1510
					
Fri. 9/2		Discussion sections: In small groups, make a list of all the contemporary social movements you can (collectively) think of. Then analyze these movements, drawing on “Nine Theses on Social Movements.” Use terms and categories from the article, e.g. goals, impact, composition, ideology, membership, tactics.

Mon. 9/5	Labor Day - no class

Wed. 9/7	Paul Almeida, “Chapter 1: Social Movements: The Structure of Collective Action” and “Chapter 2: How to Study Social Movements,” in Social Movements: The Structure of Collective Mobilization (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2019).

Fri. 9/9		Discussion sections: Continue your analysis of movements from last week. What comparisons and contrasts do you find? Can you see patterns? 

Mon. 9/12	Almeida, “Chapter 3: Theories of Social Movements”

Wed. 9/14	Almeida, “Ch. 4: Social Movement Emergence” and “Ch. 5: “The Framing Process” 

Fri. 9/16	Discussion sections
		What methods and theories are most helpful for studying social movements? How do methods and theories account for religion – or not? What is a theory supposed to do, anyway?

Mon. 9/19	James Downton and Paul Wehr, “Persistent Pacifism: How Activist Commitment 		Is Developed and Sustained.” Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 35, No. 5 (Sep. 			1998): 531-550.

		Recommended: Almeida, “Chapter 6: Individual Recruitment and Participation”

Wed. 9/21 	Gregory Wiltfang and Doug McAdam, “The Costs and Risks of Social 				Activism: A Study of Sanctuary Movement Activism.” Social Forces 69, 				No. 4 (June 1991), pp. 987-1010.

		Recommended: Almeida, “Ch. 7: Movement Outcomes”

Fri. 9/23	Paper rough drafts due in class – bring a print copy
Discussion sections: Peer review of rough drafts 

Sun 9/25	First paper due at midnight

Module 2: Understanding Religion’s Role in Social Movements
Mon. 9/26	Gene Burns and Fred Kniss, “Religion in Social Movements,” The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements, ed. David Snow, Donatella della Porta, Bert Klandermans, and Doug McAdam. Blackwell, 2013 (8 pp) 
Jack Delehanty, “How We Think about Religion and Why it Matters for Social Movements.” Mobilizing Ideas blog.  

Wed. 9/28	Rhys H. Williams, “Religion as Political Resource: Culture or Ideology?” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 35, No. 4 (Dec. 1996), 368-378.

Fri. 9/30	Discussion sections: List as many possible relationships of religion to social change as you can, with examples for each. Look at your list of movements from last week. After thinking more about religion, do you want to change any of your categories? 

Mon. 10/3	Charles Peek et al., “Religion and Ideological Support for Social Movements: The 
		Case of Animal Rights.” Journal for the Social Scientific Study of Religion 36, no.
		3 (Sep. 1997): 429-439.

Wed. 10/5	Rachel L. Austin and Clifton P. Flynn, “Traversing the Gap between Religion and Animal Rights: Framing and Networks as a Conceptual Bridge.” Journal of Animal Ethics, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Fall 2015): 144-158.
		
Fri. 10/7	Discussion sections: Break into small groups and select topics for final project

Mon. 10/10	Andrea Rottman, “God Loves Them as They Are: How Religion Helped Pass 			Gay Rights in Wisconsin.” The Wisconsin Magazine of History, 99, No. 2 				(Winter 2015–2016): 2-13. 

Wed. 10/12	Laura Leming, “Church as Contested Terrain: Voice of the Faithful and Religious 		Agency.” Review of Religious Research, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Sep. 2006), pp. 56-71.
		
David Crary, “Three of the Nation’s Biggest Religious Denominations in Turmoil over Sex Abuse, LGBT Scandals.”  PBS NewsHour (March 3, 2019).
		
Fri. 10/14	Discussion sections: Working with your group, develop interview questions. To prepare, please read:
Research Methods: The Ethnographic Interview
 	Asking the Right Questions in the Right Ways
 	Interviewer Strategies
 
Module 3: “Traditional” (Face to Face) Organizing 
Mon. 10/17	Saul Alinsky, “13 Rules for Organizing”

		Watch: Interview with Saul Alinsky, “I’d Organize Hell”
	
Wed. 10/19	Dennis Jacobsen, Doing Justice: Congregations and Community Organizing 			(Fortress Press, 2001), Ch. 3-4.

Fri. 10/21	Discussion sections: Ethics Café 

Mon. 10/24 	Richard Wood, “Faith in Action: Religious Resources for Political Success in Three Congregations.” Sociology of Religion, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Winter, 1994): 397-417.

Wed. 10/26	Amy Hay, “A New Earthly Vision: Religious Community Activism in the Love 			Canal Chemical Disaster,” Environmental History 14, No. 3 (July 2009), pp. 			502-526.

Fri. 10/28	Discussion sections 
Watch:  The Accidental Environmentalist 

Sun 10/30	Second short essay due by midnight
	
Module 4: New modes of organizing 
Mon   10/31	Jonathan A. Obar, Paul Zube and Clifford Lampe, “Advocacy 2.0: An Analysis of 		How Advocacy Groups in the United States Perceive and Use Social Media as 			Tools for Facilitating Civic Engagement and Collective Action,” Journal of 			Information Policy 2 (2012), pp. 1-25

		Listen: Online Social Change: Easy to Organize, Hard to Win

Wed. 11/2	Erica Lizza, “Race, Religion, and Black Lives Matter.” Berkley Center (April 23, 			2018). 

		Vincent Lloyd, et al. “Religion, Secularism, and Black Lives Matter.” The 			Immanent Frame (Sept. 22, 2016).  

		Alejandra Molina, “BLM is a ‘Spiritual Movement,’ Says Co-Founder Patrisse 			Cullors.” Religion News Service (June 15, 2020).  

		Hebah Farrag, “The Spirit in Black Lives Matter: New Spiritual Community in 			Black Radical Organizing.” Transition, no. 125 (2018), pp. 76–88. 

		Watch: The Black Church and Black Lives Matter

Fri. 11/4	Discussion sections 
Activity (with your research group): How does your movement use social media?

Annotated bibliographies due by Sunday, 11/6

Mon. 11/7	Dewey M. Clayton, “Black Lives Matter and the Civil Rights Movement: A 			Comparative Analysis of Two Social Movements in the United States.” Journal of 		Black Studies Vol. 49, no. 5 (2018): 448-480.

		Listen: Interview with John Lewis 

Wed. 11/9	Ryan Gallagher et al., “Divergent discourse between protests and counter- protests: BlackLivesMatter and #AllLivesMatter.” PLOS One (April 18, 2018).

Fri. 11/11	Veterans’ Day. No class.

Module 5: Case Studies 
Readings and activities for the last module will focus on the movements we selected as the focus for small group research. The instructor will use the annotated bibliographies from each group to develop the reading assignments for this module.

Mon. 11/14	Case study: Labor movement

Readings:
Fones-Wolf, Ken. “Religion and Trade Union Politics in the United States, 1880-1920.”
International Labor and Working-Class History, no. 34, 1988, pp. 39–55. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/27671769. Accessed 6 Nov. 2022.

CBSNewsOnline. “Undercover in a Bangladesh Clothing Factory.” YouTube, YouTube, 22 May
2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1mvcFuiTts. 

Wed. 11/16	Case study: Women’s rights in Islam

Readings:
Ahmadi, F. (2006). Islamic Feminism in Iran: Feminism in a New Islamic Context. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 22(2), 33–53. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20487863
Chotiner, Isaac. “How Iran's Hijab Protest Movement Became so Powerful.” The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2022, https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/fatemah-shams-how-irans-hijab-protest-movement-became-so-powerful.

Fri. 11/18 	Discussion sections 
		Work on poster with your group

Mon. 11/21   Case Study: Climate change

Readings:
Sellers, Samuel, et al. “Climate Change, Human Health, and Social Stability: Addressing
Interlinkages.” Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 127, no. 4, 15 Apr. 2019, pp.
1–10., https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp4534.

Morrison M, Duncan R, Parton K (2015) Religion Does Matter for Climate Change Attitudes
and Behavior. PLOS ONE 10(8): e0134868.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134868

Jenkins, W., Berry, E., & Kreider, L. B. (2018). Religion and Climate Change. Annual Review of
Environment and Resources, 43, 85–108.

Wed. 11/23	Thanksgiving holiday. No class

Fri. 11/25	Thanksgiving holiday. No class.

Mon. 11/28	Case study: Opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline

Readings:
LaPier, Rosalyn. “Understanding Native American religion is important for resolving the
Dakota Access Pipeline crisis.” Intercontinental Cry, 14 Nov. 2019,
https://intercontinentalcry.org/understanding-native-american-religion-is-important-for-resolvin
g-the-dakota-access-pipeline-crisis/.

https://indianlaw.org/undrip/Standing-Rock-Sioux-Tribe-Takes-NODAPL-to-the-United-Nations 

Campbell, Peter. “'Those Are Our Eiffel Towers, Our Pyramids': Why Standing Rock Is about
Much More than Oil.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 May 2017,
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/may/15/those-are-our-eiffel-towers-our-pyrami
ds-why-standing-rock-is-about-much-more-than-oil.

Wed. 11/30	Case study: Anti-vaccine movement and gun reform
Readings: 
Vaccination resistance in historical perspective. The American Historian. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.oah.org/tah/issues/2015/august/vaccination-resistance/

Benoit, S. L., & Mauldin, R. F. (2021, November 17). The "anti-vax" Movement: A quantitative report on vaccine beliefs and knowledge across social media - BMC public health. BioMed Central. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-12114-8

Garcia, L. L., & Yap, J. (2021). The role of religiosity in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Journal of public health (Oxford, England), 43(3), e529–e530. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdab192

Fri. 12/2	Discussion sections 
		Work on poster with your group

Mon. 12/5	Informal presentations of group projects

Wed. 12/7 	Informal presentations of group projects		

Sun. 12/11	Research report due

RUBRICS AND GRADING SCALE – attached