Gawdddddd..just to think this VOMIT *ITCH from HELL has a good chance of becoming our next prez makes me utterly sick to my stomach! They are very smart and clever to start her campaign this early, WE MUST BE JUST AS SMART and start our anti-HITLERY campaign AGAINST her as well!! God forbid if she becomes the next C-in-C!! UGHHHHHHHHHH!
He is bstudied:
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Social Action Spring 2002 | St. Martin’s College
David Price
SOC 395 Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays 11:00 – 11:50 AM
Office, Old Main Room 309, Phone: (360) 438-4295
Office Hours Monday, Wednesday, Friday 1:30-2:30 PM (and by appointment)
dprice@stmartin.edu
Social Action examines theories and methods employed by individuals and groups desiring to bring about planned social change. The course begins with an assessment of theories of social action and change and then examines instances and case studies in which change was effected by working either within or outside of “the system”. Various themes of social justice are also examined in the readings and lectures.
To some degree this class was designed as a reply to the question, “why do we just study social theory, and learn nothing about social action and activism?”—a perennial question from the best students in my SOC 350 Social Theory class. As one alert student once sarcastically wrote on an overly cerebral SOC350 midterm examination: “too much theory and not enough action makes Jack a dull boy.” This course is designed to go beyond the study of theory to study action and to this end it identifies and explores the principles of past and present successful campaigns to bring about specific changes in society. It also examines the consequences suffered-by, and rewarded-to individuals who brought about these changes.
Social Action examines the premise that as scholars and citizens our task is not just to understand the world, but to also change it. As long as I’ve been a student or instructor I’ve always liked this sentiment because it suggests there could be a worthwhile outcome behind all the mechanical and laborious components of the educational process. This class is designed as an effort to expand students’ awareness of the range of social problems we face, the history of these problems, as well as the history of various solutions and attempted solutions. As a group the class will methodically examine how others in the past and present have approached these problems.
The general flow of the week will be as follows: Mondays will generally be lectures relating to class readings. Wednesdays will be a mixture of seminar discussions, guest speakers, lectures, and workshops. On many Friday’s we will either seminar or watch videos dealing with different aspects of social action—many of these videos last longer than the 50 minute class period so students are encouraged to bring their lunch and stay for the remainder of the film during the noon lunch period (I understand that not everyone can do this, so its fine with me if you leave, but I encourage you to watch the ends of these films on your own).
All students are required to write response papers to the videos and fieldtrips, as well as complete the four specified writing assignments (two of which are directly tied to course readings, while the other two consist of working on techniques of letter writing and op ed composition). Each student will write a seven page final paper reporting on a specific past or present social action campaign of their choosing. Students are free to choose any social action campaign to evaluate, and they are free to adopt any political framework of analysis for the projects, discussions and assignments of this class, but students must tie their work into the relevant scholarly literature discussed and read in this class.
Our class will go on some observational fieldtrips including attending a variety of public meetings (e.g. city council, county commissioners, or school board meeting), public rallies etc. Each fieldtrip will have a linked writing assignment requiring that student-ethnographers observe and evaluate some theoretical principle discussed in class readings and lectures.
Social Action will use three texts (Alinsky; Brecher et al.; Freire) to critically examine a variety of methodological and theoretical approaches to bringing about social change. We will then read two texts (McNeal; Murolo et al.) as case studies that both compliment and contradict the views and information put forth in the three works of theoretical principles.
Sol Alinsky’s Rules For Radicals provides a look at a radical framework for working to bring about change both within and outside-of existing power structures. Jeremy Brecher, Tim Costello and Brendan Smith’s Globalization From Below examines the formation of the recent anti-globalization movement. Palo Freire’s classic Pedagogy of the Oppressed critically examines the ways that education is used to maintain the status quo, and provides a framework for grassroots social change movements.
Patricia McNeal’s Harder Than War: Catholic Peacemaking in Twentieth-Century America contains a series of biographical cases studies of individuals who struggled for peace during the wars of the past century. Priscilla Murolo, A.B. Chitty and Joe Sacco’s From the Folks Who Brought you The Weekend is an excellent overview of the various techniques used by the labor movement in the United States from the colonial period to the present. The case histories found in these two books (McNeal & Murolo et al.) will be used to examine the motives, methods, successes and failures contrasted with the principles discussed in Alinsky, Brecher et. al. and Freire.
My policy concerning the acceptance of late work is as follows: I will accept late work from students for reduced credit. Please be warned that past trends indicate that work not turned in when due can easily be set aside and lost by me. I reserve the right to lose any and all work turned in late. Regions of my office are an abyss; please turn assignments in on time so that they won’t wander unaccompanied into the abyss.
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have medical and/or safety concerns to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible. I will be happy to work out whatever accommodations are needed.
Required Texts:
Alinsky, Sol
1989 Rules for Radicals: A Practical Primer for Realistic Radicals. Vintage Books.
Brecher, Jeremy, Tim Costello & Brendan Smith
2000 Globalization From Below. Boston: South End Press.
Freire, Paulo
2000 Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Continuum.
McNeal, Patricia
1992 Harder Than War: Catholic Peacemaking in Twentieth-Century America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Murolo, Priscilla & A. B. Chitty
2001 From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend: A Short Illustrated History of Labor in the United States. New York: The New Press.
Week One: (Jan. 16, 18) Theories of Social Action and Social Change
Alinsky xiii-62
Week Two: (Jan. 23, 25) Moving Beyond Theory to Action
Alinsky 63-124
Friday Film: Erin Brockovich
Week Three: (Jan. 28, 30, Feb. 1) Resistance to Change: Change is the Enemy
Alinsky 125-196
Freire 1-40
Friday Film: Norma Rae
Week Four: (Feb. 4, 6, 8) Working Within the System
Freire 43-86
First Writing Assignment Due Feb. 8th
Week Five: (Feb. 11, 13, 15) Working Outside of the System: Rewards & Punishments
Freire 87-183
Friday Film: Brazil
Week Six: (Feb. 20, 22) Talking ‘Bout Revolution, Pt 1: Armed and Dangerous
Brecher, Costello & Smith ix-46
Friday Film: Reds
Week Seven: (Feb. 25, 27, M. 1) Talking ‘Bout Revolution, Pt 2: Unarmed and Dangerous
Brecher, Costello & Smith 47-90
Second Writing Assignment Due March 1st
Friday Film: Ghandi
Week Eight: (March 4, 6, 8) Getting Organized
Brecher, Costello & Smith 91-126
Week Nine: (March 11, 13, 15) Quelling Change: State Monopolies on Violence
Murolo & Chitty xi-84
Friday Film: This is What Democracy Looks Like
Week Ten: Spring Break As Fieldwork
Week Eleven: (March 25, 27th) Censorship, Thought Control and Social Action
Murolo & Chitty 85-191
Friday Film: Cradle Will Rock
Week Twelve: (April 3, 5) Turning the Personal into the Global
Murolo & Chitty 192-275
Friday Film: Born on the Fourth of July
Week Thirteen: Catholic Peacemaking, Social Justice & Taking Risks
(April 8, 10, 12)
Murolo & Chitty 276-332
Read: The Rule of Saint Benedict
McNeal 1-48
Third Writing Assignment Due
Week Fourteen: (April 15, 17, 19) Religion as Opiate v. Religion at the Vanguard of Social Justice
McNeal 49-130
Friday Film: Malcolm X
Week Fifteen: (April 22, 24, 26) Presentations
McNeal 131-258
Week Sixteen: (April 29, May 1) Presentations
Week Seventeen: Final Project’s due May 7th
Google is so handy:
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MIYAMOTO'S PUBLIC RELATIONS RESOURCE
STRATEGIC PUBLIC RELATIONS
Alinsky's Rules for Radicals
(This is an expanded version of the 2000 Third Quarter issue of Public Relations Strategies, a quarterly publication of Miyamoto Strategic Counsel)
To paraphrase some sage advice, "keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer." If your business or organization ever becomes a target of radical activists, it will be extremely helpful to know what strategies of attack will used against you. Short of having spies infiltrate their organization - a practice that is sure to be found out and exposed to your discredit - it would help to study their methods.
Known as the "father of modern American radicalism," Saul D. Alinsky (1909-1972) developed strategies and tactics that take the enormous, unfocused emotional energy of grassroots groups and transform it into effective anti-government and anti-corporate activism. Activist organizations teach his ideas widely taught today as a set of model behaviors, and they use these principles to create an emotional commitment to victory - no matter what.
Grassroots pressure on large organizations is reality, and there is every indication that it will grow. Because the conflicts manifest in high-profile public debate and often-panicked decision-making, studying Alinsky's rules will help organizations develop counteractive strategies that can level the playing field.
Governments and corporations have inherent weaknesses. And, time and again, they repeat mistakes that other large organizations have made, even repeating their OWN mistakes. Alinsky's out-of-print book - "Rules for Radicals" - illustrates why opposition groups take on large organizations with utter glee, and why these governments and corporations fail to win.
Large organizations have learned to stonewall and not empower activists. In other words, they try to ignore radical activists and are never as committed to victory as their opposition is committed to defeating them. Result? They are unprepared for the hailstorm of brutal tactics that severely damage their reputation and send them running with their tails between their legs.
Some of these rules are ruthless, but they work. Here are the rules to be aware of:
RULE 1: "Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have." Power is derived from 2 main sources - money and people. "Have-Nots" must build power from flesh and blood. (These are two things of which there is a plentiful supply. Government and corporations always have a difficult time appealing to people, and usually do so almost exclusively with economic arguments.)
RULE 2: "Never go outside the expertise of your people." It results in confusion, fear and retreat. Feeling secure adds to the backbone of anyone. (Organizations under attack wonder why radicals don't address the "real" issues. This is why. They avoid things with which they have no knowledge.)
RULE 3: "Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy." Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety and uncertainty. (This happens all the time. Watch how many organizations under attack are blind-sided by seemingly irrelevant arguments that they are then forced to address.)
RULE 4: "Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules." If the rule is that every letter gets a reply, send 30,000 letters. You can kill them with this because no one can possibly obey all of their own rules. (This is a serious rule. The besieged entity's very credibility and reputation is at stake, because if activists catch it lying or not living up to its commitments, they can continue to chip away at the damage.)
RULE 5: "Ridicule is man's most potent weapon." There is no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force the enemy into concessions. (Pretty crude, rude and mean, huh? They want to create anger and fear.)
RULE 6: "A good tactic is one your people enjoy." They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They're doing their thing, and will even suggest better ones. (Radical activists, in this sense, are no different that any other human being. We all avoid "un-fun" activities, and but we revel at and enjoy the ones that work and bring results.)
RULE 7: "A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag." Don't become old news. (Even radical activists get bored. So to keep them excited and involved, organizers are constantly coming up with new tactics.)
RULE 8: "Keep the pressure on. Never let up." Keep trying new things to keep the opposition off balance. As the opposition masters one approach, hit them from the flank with something new. (Attack, attack, attack from all sides, never giving the reeling organization a chance to rest, regroup, recover and re-strategize.)
RULE 9: "The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself." Imagination and ego can dream up many more consequences than any activist. (Perception is reality. Large organizations always prepare a worst-case scenario, something that may be furthest from the activists' minds. The upshot is that the organization will expend enormous time and energy, creating in its own collective mind the direst of conclusions. The possibilities can easily poison the mind and result in demoralization.)
RULE 10: "If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive." Violence from the other side can win the public to your side because the public sympathizes with the underdog. (Unions used this tactic. Peaceful [albeit loud] demonstrations during the heyday of unions in the early to mid-20th Century incurred management's wrath, often in the form of violence that eventually brought public sympathy to their side.)
RULE 11: "The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative." Never let the enemy score points because you're caught without a solution to the problem. (Old saw: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Activist organizations have an agenda, and their strategy is to hold a place at the table, to be given a forum to wield their power. So, they have to have a compromise solution.)
RULE 12: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it." Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions. (This is cruel, but very effective. Direct, personalized criticism and ridicule works.)
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What flops as parents the senior Franks must have been to have produced Barney and Ann Lewis! Too bad abortion couldn't be retroactive!
Is it possible that this is why demorats are in favor of abortion and repubs are not?
Demorat children which are not aborted turn gay or fanatical.
Repub children grow to be solid upstanding citizens.