Social Movement Essay

Prompt

For this assignment, you will be researching a social movement in the United States, either historical or ongoing, that sought to or seeks to address a social problem. The social problem should be related to unequal treatment based on race, gender, class, and/or other similar demographic categories, such as age, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. You will explain what successes and/or failures the Movement has had in changing society. Then, you will research a similar social movement in another country and explore its successes or challenges. This social movement should be one that you are interested in, have participated in, or have some prior knowledge about so that you can offer your personal opinions after you have conducted some research.

This essay consists of 4 written sections plus a reference page, and should be about 1500-2000 words long, not including the separate reference page at the end:

Description of the Movement (300-600 words)

Write a brief history of the movement. Include such topics as:

• In response to what social problem did the movement emerge?
• When and where did it begin?
• Who were the primary individual(s) that first began speaking about it and why?
• What were the actions that people took to get others to join their cause?
• What coverage did the movement receive in the media or on social media?

Social Changes (300-600 words)

Explain social changes that resulted from this movement:

• Did the movement manage to cause any changes in society (such as changes in or the enactment of laws or changes in public opinion)? If they did not succeed, explain what the goals were.
• Did the movement meet some goals and fail to meet others? In what ways?
• Based on what a researcher has said about this movement, why do they meet with success or failure?
• Is the movement still ongoing or has it concluded?

International Context (approx. 300 words)

Compare an international movement:

• Find an example of the same social problem in another country and a movement that addresses it.
• Explain the similarities and differences between this movement and the one in the United States.
• Did this movement take inspiration from the successes or learn from the failures of the one in the United States, or did this movement influence the one in the U.S.? In what ways?

Analysis (approx. 300 words)

Give your opinion:

• Based on what you have learned in this class, what could both the US-based and the international movements do or could have done differently to achieve greater success in their goals?
• What would you tell someone to convince them to participate?

Reference Page

Include a reference page in APA format with all sources you used

Formatting & Sources

Please write your paper in APA format. You may refer to the course material for supporting evidence, but you must also use five sources and cite them using APA format. Please include a mix of both primary and secondary sources, with at least one source from a scholarly peer-reviewed journal. Primary sources can include websites that formally represent the social movement, biographical or autobiographical accounts of organizers or participants, and magazine or newspaper articles that contain news coverage. The scholarly peer-reviewed journal article should be from a sociology journal about the movement you have chosen. If you use any Study.com lessons as sources, please also cite them in APA (including the lesson title and instructor’s name).

• Primary sources are first-hand accounts such as interviews, advertisements, speeches, company documents, statements, and press releases published by the company in question.
• Secondary sources come from peer-reviewed scholarly journals, such as the American Journal of Sociology. You may use sources like JSTOR, Google Scholar, and The American Sociological Association to find articles from these journals. Secondary sources may also come from reputable websites with .gov, .edu, or .org in the domain. (Wikipedia is not a reputable source, though the sources listed in Wikipedia articles may be acceptable.)

If you’re unsure about how to use APA format to cite your sources, please see the following lessons: