Social Movements in the Post-1945 Democratic World

Admission to the course requires a Bachelor of Arts degree (or equivalent) in history, sociology, political science, history of ideas, economic history, or equivalent field.

Social movements have played a crucial role in driving political and socioeconomic change. Through collective action, individuals have forged shared identities, reshaped societal norms and values, influenced political decision-making and legal frameworks, and disrupted established institutional practices. The post-WWII world was especially influenced by movement politics, as democratic ideals clashed with the reality of inequality and an uncertain coexistence under the threat of nuclear warfare. Through the Cold War, people mobilized on the local, national, and international level to support or oppose decolonization and peace, civil rights and women’s rights, and many other political causes. This course seeks to deepen students’ analytical understanding of social movements by exploring their genesis, mechanisms of endurance, and potential trajectories of decline.

Focusing on examples from the democratic world in the period between the end of World War II to the end of the 20th century, the course introduces students to current methodological approaches and theoretical paradigms for examining the conditions under which individuals have mobilized to advocate for or resist change. Central to the course are a series of critical questions: What defines a social movement, and through what processes do such movements emerge and evolve? What material, symbolic, and organizational resources facilitate collective mobilization? In what ways do political, socioeconomic, and cultural contexts shape the contours and outcomes of movements? Students also explore under what circumstances movements achieve their objectives, and what factors contribute to success or failure as well as the actors—both participants and leaders—who animate these movements.

Knowledge and Understanding

• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the core theoretical frameworks in social movement research.
• Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the socioeconomic and historical contexts that shaped post-WW2 social movements in democratic states.
• Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of different conceptual and theoretical tools used to study national and international social movements.

Skills and Abilities

• Develop historical writing in terms of argument and style.
• Apply appropriate analytical concepts and theories to explain the formation, development, and de-mobilization of social movements.
• Critically engage with different kinds of sources that provide an understanding of social movements.

Judgment and approach

• Critically reflect on how social movements have shaped contemporary politics and society.
• Assess how contemporary concerns have shaped research on social movements.

The course is taught through lectures and seminars that require active student participation.

Language of instruction: English and/or Swedish.

The course is examined through written assignments and active participation in seminars. Seminars may be compulsory as they contain elements of examination. Those who miss any of these compulsory sessions will be given the opportunity to make up for them.

If a student who has been failed twice for the same examination element wishes to change examiner before the next examination session, such a request is to be granted unless there are specific reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6 Section 22 HF).

If a student has received a certificate of disability study support from the University of Gothenburg with a recommendation of adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment, an examiner may decide, if this is consistent with the course’s intended learning outcomes and provided that no unreasonable resources would be needed, to grant the student adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment.

If a course has been discontinued or undergone major changes, the student must be offered at least two examination sessions in addition to ordinary examination sessions. These sessions are to be spread over a period of at least one year but no more than two years after the course has been discontinued/changed. The same applies to placement and internship (VFU) except that this is restricted to only one further examination session.

If a student has been notified that they fulfil the requirements for being a student at Riksidrottsuniversitetet (RIU student), to combine elite sports activities with studies, the examiner is entitled to decide on adaptation of examinations if this is done in accordance with the Local rules regarding RIU students at the University of Gothenburg.

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The results of and possible changes to the course will be shared with students who participated in the evaluation and students who are starting the course.