A field report of a social protest (15%). See document “Field Report Guidelines” posted on the course website. Find a protest beforehand, then go to observe the key elements of the event. Interview participants and organizers if possible. Event example: Women’s March 2019 on January 19, https://www.womensmarch.com/2019/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Please share information about protest events you know of with the class. Send emails to Professor Su, who in turn will announce it to the class Alternatively, write a report on a long-term social movement by interviewing its activists and organizers. First-hand information is key here; that is, you cannot just write a report based on information gathered from Internet. Group work is encouraged. A group should not be more than three people. Length: 4 pages minimum, double space, if an individual project; 6 if a group project. Submit a clean hardcopy. For a group project, also submit an electronic version that used track-change history. It is used to assess each group member’s contribution to the writing process. The group may also hand in a short memo documenting other aspects of the cooperation.
Guidelines for Research Paper 1
Field Report on A Protest Event
Go to the site of on-going protest event, and complete a field report. You may form research group of two or three people. The course website will open a chat room to share information as to where to find a protest event.
The report is 6-page long (4 pages if doing it individually), double-spaced. It consists of two main parts. The report is required to be written as a research paper with fluent narratives. It cannot be a list of bullet-point answers. The paper consists two main sections.
Observation Section, with content that answers at least 8 of the following questions. Brief summary of the event (where, when, who and what) Size Claims (Targets) Organizations Elem; Queuing; Collective locomotion; Vocalization; common tempo/substance) Summary of the signs, slogans Content of speeches What do protesters do to show they are worthy? What do protesters do to show they are united? What do protesters do to show they are committed? What do protesters do to show they are numerous? Violence (from protesters) Violence (from police) Countermovement protests Others
Interview Section, answering at least 6 of the following questions Brief bios of the interviewees Brief summary of the movement’s history Leaders, organizations, participants, and websites Were activities rather than protest such as fund raising, workshops, voting registrations? Perceived problems and injustice Their theories Suggested changes Goals Allies in the government Allies in other social movements and organizations Others
Notes on Group Project Mechanics Fill free to use email and the chat room to find partners The group size can be no more than three people. To ensure cooperation, the submission includes a track-change history file of your writing, a memo outlining the cooperation, as well as the final and clean copy. If a group breaks up midway in the quarter before the final paper is completed, each member of the group has to submit a paper individually.
Notes on Finding Protest Event Searching the websites of social movement organizations will lead to announcements A course chat room is set up at Canvas. Some links are already available Please share your information with the entire class. Post the link to the announcements in the chat room. If a very meaningful contribution is worth 1% of course credit. Email Professor Su to claim it.
Useful References (Posted in the Course Files) McPhail and Wohlstein 1983 Couch 1968
