Course Description
This course examines women's protest movements and other forms of collective action by women in the late 20th and first quarter of the 21st centuries. It focuses on the conditions under which such movements emerged, their organizational forms, mechanisms for mobilizing participants, public communication strategies, interactions with state institutions, and their impact on social, political, and cultural processes.
Particular attention is paid to the influence of digital technologies and social media on the development of contemporary social movements, the expansion of opportunities for transnational coordination, the formation of new repertoires of collective action, and the expansion of protest campaigns beyond national borders.
The course examines the diversity of contemporary women's protest movements, including campaigns aimed at changing legislation, protecting reproductive rights, combating sexualized violence, as well as movements questioning traditional family models and gender roles.
Prerequisites
Students are encouraged to have a basic understanding of political sociology, social movement theory, contemporary social history, gender studies, or related disciplines. A prior familiarity with the key concepts of collective action, social mobilization, and social movements is recommended.
Learning Goals
Developing a systemic understanding of contemporary women's protest movements as a type of social movement.
Developing skills in analyzing the emergence of protests, their organizational forms, mechanisms of collective action, and social consequences.
Using modern concepts of political sociology, social movement theory, and gender studies to analyze contemporary movements.
Introduction to the mechanisms for the formation of transnational networks of social mobilization, various models of interaction between protest movements, state institutions, and society.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of this course, graduates
will be able to analyze specific public protest campaigns, including women's protests, in terms of mobilization mechanisms and potential for influencing the state and society.
will be able to apply various theoretical approaches to the analysis of social movements, including concepts from political sociology, collective action theory, resource mobilization theories, political opportunity theories, and gender studies approaches.
Class topics
Session 1. The Icelandic Women's Strike of 1975 and its Impact on Contemporary Feminist Movements
Session 2. "Black Protest" (#czarnyprotest) – Lessons for Feminist Movements from the Polish Prohibition Protest
Session 3. The International Women's Strike of 2017–2018 – From Country-Specific Protests to the General Women's Strike
Session 4. #MeToo: Digital Mobilization, Public Response, and Institutional Consequences
Session 5. The 4B Movement as an Example of Protest Mobilization in South Korea: Origins, Spread, and Public Response
Assessment
The course assessment is conducted through a public defense. To participate, you must submit a presentation of 5-7 slides in PPT format and a 1.5-2 page abstract in Word or PDF format.
Examples of thesis topics
International Women's Strike: Transnational Coordination of Contemporary Women's Protest Movements
#MeToo as a Digital Social Movement: Mechanisms of Mobilization, Public Response, and Institutional Consequences
The "I'm Not Afraid to Speak" Campaign: Characteristics of Social Mobilization in Post-Soviet Countries
Social Media and Digital Platforms in the Development of Contemporary Women's Protest Movements
The Khachaturyan Sisters' Case as a Subject of Public and Legal Discussion on Domestic Violence
Women's Protest Movements in Armed Conflicts
Women's Protest Movements in the Context of Emigration and Transnational Mobility