Wentworth Institute of Technology                                                                                             Dr. George Katsiaficas

Spring 2006                                                                                                                                   Office # 8‑410

e-mail: katsiaficasg@wit.edu                                                                                                             telephone: 989-4384

 

SOCIOLOGY 410: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

 

Required Reading:

 

Henry Scott-Stokes and Lee Jae-eui, editors, The Kwangju Uprising: Eyewitness Press Accounts of

     Korea’s Tienanmen (M.E. Sharpe, 2000).

 

Course Book from Kinko’s Copy (325 Huntington Avenue, 617-536-4600).

 

Recommended Reading:

 

Lee Jae-eui, Kwangju Diary: Beyond Death, Beyond the Darkness of the Age  (UCLA Press, 1999).

 

Gi-Wook Shin and Kyung Moon Hwang, editors. Contentious Kwangju: The May 18 Uprising in Korea's Past and Present (Rowman and Littlefield: 2003).

 

Choi Jungwoon. The Gwangju Uprising: The Pivotal Democratic Uprising that Changed Modern Korean History (Homa and Sekey Books, 2006).

 

George Katsiaficas, The Imagination of the New Left: A Global Analysis of 1968 (South End Press, 1987).

     

Course Requirements:

 

We will be investigating Asian democracy movements from 1980 to the present, especially in South Korea. In 1980, the city of Gwangju rose up against the military dictatorship and drove troops out of the city, holding it for a week as a democratic zone with spontaneously created organs of dual power.  Gwangju began a wave of democratic uprisings in East Asia. Some of these movements were more or less successful; others were horrifically repressed. In South Korea, Gwangju inspired the great June uprising of 1987 which won direct presidential elections and increasing democracy.

 

During the semester, students will become acquainted with East Asian history, culture and current politics.  In addition to the responsibility for the assigned reading and attendance, students are required to take the midterm and final exams and write a paper on a topic described later in this syllabus. In addition to your research paper, there are also a critical analytic presentation based on it and field research.

 

The final grade will consist of the results of the two exams, the term paper, the presentation, the field research and an additional component comprising classroom participation. For extra credit, students may choose to do an extra field research report as described below or a power point presentation on their term paper. All written work submitted for this course must meet the standards for English 1. Poorly written papers will be returned to you, without a grade, for revision. Students are encouraged to utilize the new Writing Center Facility for help polishing their papers.

Grading Formula

 

Midterm                = 25%

Final                      = 25%

Paper                    = 30%

Field Research       = 10%

Participation         = 10%

Research Paper

 

The most important component of your grade is your research paper, which should be a combination of research and critical analysis. You must document your research with footnotes, which can be formatted in any style so long as Prof. K can decipher your sources of information. When you come across articles of great utility, print out a copy and turn it in with your paper. This paper cannot be less than 10 pages and is due no later than April 18. You may turn it in earlier. An outline including the topic, the specific focus, and the references that will be used (no encyclopedias) is due at or before the midterm exam. Select a topic and give an outline to your instructor ASAP. You may submit an outline of your proposed research at any time before the deadline. The sooner you submit your outline, the sooner you can get it back with comments and begin your work. Your outline should include:

 

    * Statement of your research question (your topic)

    * What your specific focus will be: for example: Topic: The South Korean Movement for Democracy;                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Focus: The June 1987 Uprising

    * How you will go about gathering your data (your sources of information). You need a minimum of 3 sources                   of information. These can be books, articles, web pages or interviews.

                     

Examples of acceptable topics include the following uprisings:

--Gwangju, South Korea May 18-27, 1980

--Philippines February 22-25, 1986  

--South Korea June 10-19, 1987

--Taiwan 1987

--Burma 8/8/88

--Tibet 1988

--China June 1989

--Nepal April 1990 (7 weeks)

--Thailand May 17-20, 1992

--Indonesia March-May 1998  esp. May 14

 

The above list is an indication of possibilities—a list from which you can choose in a variety of ways. You could choose to investigate connections between these movements, or alternatively, US and/or corporate policy with respect to them. You could do a comparative/historical analysis of these uprisings; you could write about their context, US attitude and action to them, or historical antecedents; or you could write about other democracy movements from 1975 to the present. The final two pages of your paper should be your view, and therefore you should begin your section with a phrase like “In my opinion…” or “I think…” Be careful not to write about a social problem (crime, poverty etc.) but to write about social movements—long-term, popular attempts to transform norms, values and institutions.

 WEEKLY READINGS AND TOPICS

Note: Readings should be done before the date listed.

Week of:              Topic:                                                                                                                                Readings:

1/17                         Introduction to Theories of Social Movements

 

1/23                         Post World War 2 Korea                             “Impressions of North Korea” (in course book)

 

1/30                         Gwangju Uprising                                              Scott-Stokes and Lee 1-127

 

2/6                            Gwangju Uprising                                              Scott-Stokes and Lee 128-232

 

2/13                         Gwangju Uprising                                                “Remembering the Kwangju Uprising”

                                                                                                                                    “A New Perspective on the Gwangju Peoples Uprising”                                                                                                                           “Comparing the Paris Commune and Gwangju Uprising”

                                                                                                                                    “Korean Community Politics in Los Angeles: The

                                                                                                                                            Impact of the Kwangju Uprising”

2/20                         MIDTERM EXAM--OUTLINES DUE     

 

2/27                         Overview of East Asia                                                      MFA visit

                                    FIELD RESEARCH DUE

 

3/6                            SPRING BREAK

 

3/13                       Philippines                                                                                   Unarmed Insurrections pp. 68-81

 

3/20                         The June 1987 Uprising in South Korea         “Social Movement Organizations

                                                                                                                                                                      and the June Uprising”

                                    Workers Movement in South Korea                   “The Great Labor Offensive”

 

3/27                         Burma, Tibet                                                                             “Burma’s Revolution of the Spirit”

                                                                                                                                                Burma In Revolt, pp. 338-368

                                                                                                                                                Circle of Protest excerpts

 

4/3                            Taiwan, China                                                                         “The 1989 Chinese Movement”

                                                                                                                                                    The Perils of Protest excerpts

                                   

4/10                         Nepal, Thailand                                                                      “Black May”

                                                                                                                                                    “Challenging Monarchies and Militaries”

 

4/17                         Indonesia                                                                                       “Last Days of President Suharto” pp. 41-81

                                    TERM PAPERS DUE

 

4/24                         Review and the Future                                                       “China’s Youth Look to Seoul for Inspiration”

 

5/1                            *******************FINAL EXAM***************

SOCIOLOGY 410: SOCIAL MOVEMENTS

FIELD WORK:   HANDS-ON OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS

 

We are quite fortunate to have the resources of the Boston metropolitan area with which to learn about politics.  Each student should submit one two-page (double-spaced, typed) writing assignment based upon one of the following. This paper is due the first class in the week of March 27 and constitutes 10% of your semester grade. The two-page write-up should be typed and contain a description of what happened and what you think about what happened (about a page each). Be sure to include your critical comments.

 

I will pass around schedules of talks at various institutes. The two most popular are: The Institute Of Politics, Kennedy School Of Government, Harvard University (last building on your right before the river as you walk from the Harvard Square subway stop to the river on JFK Street—telephone 617-495-1100) and MIT’s Center for International Studies, 292 Main Street (building E38) in Cambridge near the Kendall Square Subway stop (phone 617-253-3121 or 253-8093).

 

You may also find your own off campus event with the approval of Prof. K. A schedule of events is in the Thursdays Calendar section of the Boston Globe. OR you could interview a member of a social movement group like Greenpeace, National Organization of Women or a politically involved person from your local religious or civic group.  Attend a social movement event.  Write up your experiences and discuss the issues you encounter.