AAAS398A

This course is for people passionate about activism, community organizing, grassroots movement-building, social transformation, and struggles for liberation. We will read movement manifestoes, theories and histories of revolutionary struggles, mission statements of social justice organizations, and (auto)biographies of leaders. We will also watch and listen to footage of protests, documentary films depicting liberation struggles, and protest music scoring such struggles. The curriculum spans Abolitionism, Civil Rights, Second-Wave Feminism, Black Power, Gay Liberation, Anti-Colonialism, Third World Liberation, Reproductive Justice, Anti-Apartheid, Labor Rights, Occupy, Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, Palestinian Solidarity, and beyond emphasizing the roles of young people and students. Throughout, we will chart the histories of these movements, theorize their characteristics, and hone our own strategies for collective resistance and liberation.