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Social Movements and Activism

Social Movements and Activism

Code	13196
Year	3
Semester	S2
ECTS Credits	6
Workload	TP(60H)
Scientific area	Sociology
Entry requirements	N/A
Learning outcomes	The objective is to raise awareness among students about the importance of social movements and activism in the current social context by understanding and analyzing their dynamics, causes, objectives, and impacts on society. It is equally an objective to raise awareness of the emergence of populist and anti-democratic regimes, which call into question freedoms and guarantees in the face of authoritarianism, intolerance, violence, disinformation, and exacerbated nationalism, contributing to an understanding of the complex relationship between individuals, groups, and society as a whole in the various processes of social change. Furthermore, it is an objective to provide valuable insights for the formulation of critiques in the promotion of a more just and egalitarian society.
Syllabus	I – Democracy, Citizenship, and Participation 1 – About Democracy and Who Threatens It 2 – Portugal and the Quality of its Democracy 3 – Democracy, Freedom, and Participation II – Social Movements 4 – Towards a Definition 5 – Theories of Social Movements 6 – Old and New Social Movements III – Civil Society and Associativism 7 – Origins and Definition 8 – Civil Society in Portugal IV – The Practice of Volunteering 9 – Voluntary Activism 10 – Volunteering in Numbers 11 – Types of Volunteers and Volunteering
Main Bibliography	Estanque, Elísio (2008), “Sindicalismo e movimentos sociais (I)”. Janus, 1, pp. 184-185. Fernandes, A. (2014), Para uma Democracia Pluralista e Participativa, Lisboa, Mundos Sociais. Fernandes, Tiago (2019), Cultura Política e Democracia, Lisboa, Fund.Francisco M. dos Santos Gohn, Maria da Glória (2011), “Sociologia dos movimentos sociais: um balanço das teorias clássicas e contemporâneas”, Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, 36(72), pp. 199-227. Monteiro, Alcides A., & Montez, Mário (2015), “Sentidos de mobilização e de desmobilização da ação coletiva”, Opinião Pública, 21(1), pp. 217-237. Nunes, Cristina (2014), “O conceito de movimento social em debate: dos anos 60 até à atualidade”, Sociologia, Problemas e Práticas, nº 75, pp. 131-147. Tarrow, Sidney (2005), “The New Transnational Activism”. Cambridge University Press. Tilly, Charles (2007), Social Movements. London, Paradigm Publisher Touraine, Alain (1996), O que é a democracia? Lisboa, Piaget
Teaching Methodologies and Assessment Criteria	Expository lectures, case studies, text debates, group and individual work. The course assessment will consist of critical analyses of texts in class, individual attendance, presentation and submission of group work, participation in debates and activities.
Language	Portuguese. Tutorial support is available in English.