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Political Science Discussion Questions

1. How are various tactics used by different social movements?
2. Do you think the movement’s ideology, access to resources or social/political conditions determine the use of particular tactics?
3. What costs and benefits are there to working within the very organizations protesters hope to change?
   When does it make more sense to work from without?
4. What are the benefits and risks of having allies among prominent politicians or other celebrities?
5. To what extent was the farmworkers’ movement successful because of a shifting political environment?
   To what extent was its success a product of specific strategies?
6. Comparing Kent State to Tienanmen Square, to what extent did the reaction of the government help or hurt the cause of the protesters?  What influence do you believe the media had?

• Read Goodwin & Jasper: Introduction Part VI— “What Do Movements Do?” pp. 213-217
• Chapter 20 “Tactical Innovation in the Civil Rights Movement,” by Aldon Morris pp. 219-223
• Chapter 24 “The Emotion Work of Movements,” by Deborah Gould pp. 254-265

Also Read

• Read Goodwin & Jasper: Introduction Part VII— “How Do Movements Interact with Other Players?” pp. 283-286
• Chapter 26 “Farmworkers’ Movements in Changing Political Contexts,’ by J. C. Jenkins and C. Perrow pp. 287-301
• Chapter 30 “Global Corporations, Global Unions,” by Stephen Lerner 335-341