Social and Political Movements in a Globalising World
(6PIRS017W)
Length – 1500 words; weighting – 40%; due – 13.00, 13 November 2019
Research Report
For the research report you will be reporting on research done by someone else. You will assess critically a published academic article that applies social movement theory and/or concepts to social movement activism. Your task is to describe, analyse and evaluate this application of theory/concepts to practice.
To find the article open the folder ‘Assessment Details’ on Blackboard. Then open the folder ‘Research Report articles’. You will see three folders, each of which corresponds to one of the topics covered in Classes 3, 4 and 5:
– Organization, structure, decision-making
– The targets of social movements
– Politics and Protest.
Choose ONE article in ONE of these three folders.
You may know straight away which article/chapter you want to write your report on. Or you may want to read two or all three few of the articles before choosing one.
The research report should start with the following:
• A heading: the title of the article and the name of the author. Nothing more.
• An opening paragraph that consists of a very brief statement of the author’s argument (two or three sentences). State what theoretical approach or concepts the author is using and the social movement (or aspect of a social movement) to which this approach/the concepts are being applied.
The body of the research report should contain the following (in whatever order you think is right):
• An outline of the movement or type of activism the author is writing about.
• An outline of the key elements of the theoretical approach or the concepts the author is using.
• A presentation of the conclusions that author reaches.
• An analysis and evaluation of the author’s argument and conclusion. How persuasive is the author’s argument?
You must use other academic sources for the research report: see the reading list on Blackboard for the relevant topic. You must provide a bibliography of all texts that you have consulted.
Article to Critique
Shaming the Corporation:
The Social Production
of Targets and the AntiSweatshop Movement
Tim Bartleya and Curtis Childb