Topic: Social Movement and Social Justice
Paper details:
Part I: Answer 4 out of the 8 concepts.
In one or two paragraphs for each question, define the following concepts, and provide a brief example that elaborates the concept. Each question is worth 2 points.
Disruptive Power and Disruption (Piven)
Social Movements from Above (Nilsen and Cox)
Social Movements from Below (Nilsen and Cox)
Structure of Political Opportunities (McAdam)
Movements as “Fields of Argument” (see Barker)
Social Control Response to Insurgency (McAdam)
Oligarchization (McAdam)
Broken Windows Policing (Vitale)
Part II. Answer one of the essay questions below. (12 points).
Doug McAdam quotes the political scientist E.E. Schattschneider who famously wrote that “All forms of political organization have a bias in favor of the exploitation of some kinds of conflict and the suppression of others because organization is the mobilization of bias. Some issues are organized into politics and others are organized out.”
Using McAdam’s concept of the “Structure of Political Opportunities” and his case study of the civil rights movement, explain how the issue of black rights, in the two periods he covers, were organized out of the US political system and then subsequently organized back in.
The role of the police, as an institution, in society, including their relationships with social movements, is a central issue in contemporary American life. Are they a neutral force who defend and protect the interests of the entire society?
What is Alex Vitale’s thesis with regard to this question and provide and elaborate on at least five pieces of evidence concrete historical examples from chapters 2 and 10, and at least one from chapters 3 or 9—he uses to back up his claim.
Finally, in one paragraph, at the end of your essay, provide your perspective on whether he made a convincing case to support his central claims.
