Overview
Sociology 288 is designed to introduce students to the study of social movements, with a practical focus on the tools and techniques useful for successful social-movement organization. Sociology 288 and its companion course Sociology 287 provide a full-year introduction to the study of sociology at the university level.
Outline
SOCI 288 comprises the following six units.
- Unit 1: A Rock-and-Roll Introduction to Social Movements
- Unit 2: Ideas
- Unit 3: Ideology
- Unit 4: Competition and the Manufacture of Consent
- Unit 5: Global Mirrors and Local Issues
- Unit 6: Final Paper and What You Have Learned Assignment
Evaluation
To receive credit for SOCI 288, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least a D (50 percent). You must submit all the course assignments and complete them to the satisfaction of your tutor. Note that there is no final exam in this course, only a final assignment. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| Five Unit Assignments (Units 1–5) | 50% |
| Research Paper Proposal | 5% |
| Research Paper | 10% |
| Final Assignment | 20% |
| Self-Reflection: What You Have Learned | 15% |
| Total | 100% |
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Shiva, V. (2000). Stolen harvest: The hijacking of the global food supply. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Bainbridge, C. (Dir.). (2017). Rumble: The Indians who rocked the world. Montreal: Rezolution Pictures.
Collier Hillstrom, L. (2019). The #me too movement. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Kohn, A. (1992). No contest: The case against competition (rev. ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Kralovec, E., & Buell, J. (2000). The end of homework: How homework disrupts families, overburdens children, and limits learning. Boston: Beacon Press.
Miller, D., & Dinan, W. (2008). A century of spin: How public relations became the cutting edge of corporate power. London: Pluto Press.
Other Materials
SOCI 288 presents an online Study Guide and makes extensive use of a Digital Reading Room.