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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "CMS 312"
COURSE NAME: "Social Media, Social Movements, Social Change"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Summer Session II 2016
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Nicholas Boston
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MTWTH 9:00AM 10:45AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisite: COM 220
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course examines the technological capabilities, organizational structures, social effects, and ethical implications behind the use of social media platforms –Twitter, Facebook and others-- in recent social movement organizing. The course will investigate how social media have been utilized and rendered effective by a variety of social movements and in a diversity of contexts and interests, from the Arab Spring, to Black Lives Matter, to It Gets Better. Students will be offered a broad overview of the affordances of social media for mobilizing for social change or political action. Students will consistently engage with critical concepts from both classic social theory and new media studies put forward both by scholars and organizers.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Social media have been widely utilized and extremely influential in social movements over the past decade in a diversity of contexts and interests, from the Arab Spring, to Occupy Wall Street, to Black Lives Matter, to It Gets Better. This course examines hashtag activism – the technological capabilities, organizational structures, social effects, and ethical implications behind the use of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, etc., in recent social movement organizing. Students will acquire a broad overview of the affordances of social media for mobilizing for social change or political action. We will take sustained looks at specific case studies of social movements or campaigns such as the ones named above, exploring their chosen platforms, organizational strategies, ideological standpoints, and human outcomes. We will look into the past at how earlier incarnations of the same or similar movements utilized the traditional media of print, broadcast, radio, and even recorded music, in order to better understand the ways in which social media practices have created or expanded possibilities. We will also consider the dystopian perspectives about the political uses of social media, particularly the exercise of state power to quash resistance movements by shutting down or monitoring social media. To guide our thinking, we will consistently engage with critical concepts from both classic social theory and new media studies put forward by scholars and organizers themselves (Kang), including such concepts as the digital public sphere, the networked society, networked publics, and the digital divide.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
* Identify the major debates, controversies, dilemmas and conflicts in media
studies.
* Debate the ethical dilemmas of contemporary media practice.
* Apply multidisciplinary theoretical perspectives to specific media case
studies.
* Critically assess institutional and individual media practices.
* Interpret representation in media texts.
* Demonstrate competency in media literacy (information, visual,
technological and textual).
* Communicate effectively in a variety of formats (oral, written and
multimedia).
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TEXTBOOK:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
| It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens | boyd, danah (sic) | Yale University Press | 0300199007 | | | | | |
| Social Movements: An Introduction | Della Porta, Donatella and Mario Diani | Wiley-Blackwell | 1405102829 | | | | | |
| Tweets and the Streets: Social Media and Contemporary Activism | Gerbaudo, Paulo | Pluto Press | 074533248X | | | | | |
| Out in the Country: Youth, Media, and Queer Visibility in Rural America. | Gray, Mary | NYU Press | 0814731937 | | | | | |
| Democracy's Fourth Wave?: Digital Media and the Arab Spring | Howard, Philip K. | Oxford University Press | 0199936978 | | | | | |
| The Social Media Handbook | Hunsiger, Jeremy and Theresa Senft | Routledge | 0415714419 | | | | | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments |
| “Behold the Power of #Hashtag Feminism.” | Bennett, Jessica | Time.com | | | Access online @ http://time.com/3319081/whyistayed-hashtag-feminism-activism/ |
| "#Ferguson: Digital Protest, Hashtag Ethnography, and the Racial Politics of Social Media in the United States.” | Bonilla, Yarimar and Jonathan Rosa. | American Ethnologist | | | |
| “The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere.” | Everett, Anna | Social Text | | | |
| “Small Change: Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted.” | Gladwell, Malcolm | The New Yorker | | | |
| “Hashtag Feminism and Twitter Activism in India.” | Losh, Elizabeth | Social Epistemology Review and Reply Collective | | | |
| "Virtual Communities and Translation into Physical Reality in the 'It Gets Better' Project” | Muller, Amber | Journal of Media Practice | | | |
| “How Black People Use Twitter.” | Manjoo, Farhad | Slate.com | | | Access online @ http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2010/08/how_black_people_use_twitter.html |
| “’Our Demand Is Simple: Stop Killing Us’: How a group of black social media activists built the nation’s first 21st-century civil rights movement.” | Kang, Jay Caspian | New York Times | | | Access online @ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/magazine/our-demand-is-simple-stop-killing-us.html?_r=0
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| “#Bringbackourgirls, #Kony2012, and the complete, divisive history of ‘hashtag activism’.” | Dewey, Caitlin | Washington Post | | | Access online @ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/05/08/bringbackourgirls-kony2012-and-the-complete-divisive-history-of-hashtag-activism/ |
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments |
| The Rise of the Network Society | Castells, Manuel | Wiley-Blackwell | 1405196866 | | |
| Dude, You're a Fag: Masculinity and Sexuality in High School | Pascoe, C.J. | University of California Press | 0520271483 | | |
| Twitter: Social Communication in the Twitter Age | Murthy, Dhiraj | Polity Press | 0745652395 | | |
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Discussion Forum (3) | From Week #2 to Week #4 there will be a weekly discussion forum, graded out of 10, for a total of 40 percent of the final grade. Students will be required to respond to a discussion forum question related to the week’s readings, which extends in-class discussion. Posts should be at least 600 words in length and made in essay writing format (analytical development; quotes and references from bibliographic sources; correct grammar and composition). For each forum, in addition to their own post, students will be expected to respond to at least two of their classmates’ posts in a brief but substantive comment, informed by the readings.
| 30% |
| Team Project | Students, in pairs or small groups, will select or be assigned a specific movement to follow along the length of the course, and will deliver a comprehensive report on it as a final project.
| 25% |
| Attendance and Participation | Attendance is mandatory. Students must inform the professor of any unavoidable absences at the beginning of the term. After the second unexcused absence a student's grade automatically drops one grade.
Students are expected to regularly contribute to classroom discussion. | 10% |
| Midterm quiz | | 15% |
| End of term quiz | | 20% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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| Session | Session Focus | Reading Assignment | Other Assignment | Meeting Place/Exam Dates |
| WEEK I | Introduction to Networks and the Public Sphere
| Excerpts from Castells, boyd | | |
| | Introduction to Social Media
| Excerpts from Albarran; Dewey; Gibson; Hunziger and Senft.
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| WEEK II | Introduction to Social Movements
| Excerpts from Della Porta and Diani,
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| | Historical Developments
| Excerpts from Anderson, Tufekci. | Moodle discussion forum #1 goes live | |
| WEEK III | Social Movements Addressing Global Challenges | Excerpts from Gerbaudo, Gladwell, Shirkey | **Part I of Final Project** Selection or assignment of social movement to follow. By Tuesday of this week, students submit brief description to instructor for immediate approval. Planning and research of projects commence.
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| | Social Movements Combatting Institutional Racism
| Excerpts from Everett; Kang; Manjoo, Yarimar and Rosa
| Moodle discussion forum #2 goes live | |
| WEEK IV | Feminist Social Movements | Excerpts from Bennett, Loiseau and Nowacka, Losh
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| | Social Movements Supporting At-Risk Youth | Excerpts from Gray, Muller | Moodle discussion forum #3 goes live | |
| WEEK V | Revolutionary Social Movements | Excerpts from Howard, et al. (TBA) | Part II of Final Project: Presentations and class peer review. | |
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