Social Studies
98
Practicing
Democracy:
Leadership,
Community, and Power
Instructor:
Marshall Ganz
Hauser Center Conference
Room
Tuesday,
Spring 2004
Faculty Assistant:
Jessica Mele,
"In democratic countries, knowledge of how to combine
is the mother of all other forms of knowledge;
on its progress depends that of all the others." de
Tocqueville
A. OBJECTIVES:
Fulfilling the democratic promise of equity, inclusion and
accountability requires the participation of an "organized" citizenry
with the power to articulate and assert its interests effectively. Unfortunately, in the
In this seminar students explore these and other questions
by learning to “practice” democracy by taking responsibility for their own organizing
projects as an “intern” with an advocacy organization in the Greater Boston
area. Examples include: Boston-Area Youth Organizing Project (BYOP), Citizen
Schools, Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO), Health Care for All,
Harvard Living Wage Campaign, Oxfam
As reflective practitioners, students will learn to analyze
their experience as data from which they can gain insights into their own
leadership skills, the workings of their organization, the issues it addresses,
and the community within which it operates.
Students will create “social maps” of the world within which their
organization works, learn how to develop leadership, build relationships,
motivate participation, devise strategy and mobilize the resources to create
organizations and win campaigns.
B. PARTICIPATION:
Although
developed from organizer training sessions, this course has been redesigned for
students interested in bringing a democratic approach to policymaking, service
provision, advocacy or electoral politics. Although there are no prerequisites,
students with a strong a commitment to the community, organization, or goals on
behalf of which they are working will be most successful.
C.
REQUIREMENTS:
a) Students base class work on volunteer service leading an "organizing project" of their own choosing that requires an average of 10 hours per week. Students may initiate their own project or serve with one of various community or campus organizations. They may continue an existing project or start a new one. An “organizing project” requires mobilizing others to join you in achieving a clear outcome by the end of the semester.
b) Getting Started. The course is front-loaded to give students the opportunity to form relationships and acquire skills that will be useful in their organizing projects.
• One-to-One
Meetings. To facilitate the selection of organizing projects. students will
meet one-to-one with the instructor for 10 to 15 minutes during the first week
of class.
·
Community Night.
On Wednesday, February 11, students are
invited to a Community Night with representatives of organizations interested
in hosting interns. Community Night begins at
·
Facilitator Training. To acquaint you with the skills of
facilitating meetings that you will need in your project, you are required to
attend a 1.5 hour facilitator training session on Thursday, February 19th
from
·
Action Skills Session.
To acquaint you with a range of organizing skills useful in your projects, you
are required to participate in an Action Skills
Session on February 21, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM in Taubman ABC (Taubman Building, Fifth Floor), Kennedy School.
3. Seminar meets for 2 hours, once a week for twelve weeks. You will learn to use an organizing praxis drawn from reading and discussion to reflect critically on your experience in your project. In each session, time is divided between discussion of the reading and of student projects. You are required to attend all sessions, do the reading and take an active part in discussions.
4.
5.
Students will keep field notes on the basis of
which they submit "reflection papers" of approximately 2 pages each
week in which they analyze their experience of their own organizing project. At
the end of each week's readings we pose questions to stimulate reflection. After the first two reflection papers - which
are required - any two may be missed with no excuse, but the rest must be
turned in. Reflection papers are to be submitted via email on the day before
class by
6. Each student will prepare a 15-minute class presentation during the semester. It will include an introduction of the presenter, the project, and a discussion of how the project relates to the topic of the week. Presentations conclude with questions for class discussion. A sign-up sheet for the presentations will be distributed during the second week of class.
7. At the end of the reading period, each student will submit 20-page final paper in which they will make an argument as to whether their project “worked” or not, if so, why, and if not, why not. Students are evaluated not on whether their project is a “success”, but on their demonstrated ability to analyze what happened and why. Final grades will be based on seminar participation (40%), weekly reflection papers (30%) and final report (30%).
E. MATERIALS:
The five books
required for this course are available for purchase at the COOP and the
Divinity School Bookstore and are on reserve at the Lamont,
(1) Ellen Langer, Mindfulness, (New York: Addison-Wesley, 1990);
(2) Saul Alinsky, Reveille for
Radicals,
(3) Saul Alinsky, Rules for
Radicals,
(4) Kim Bobo, J. Kendall and S. Max, Organizing
for Social Change: A Manual for Activists,
(5) E.F. Schattschneider, The Semisovereign People, Orlando: Harcourt, Brace, Janovich, 1975.
The other required readings can be found in the PAL-177 reading packet available for purchase at the Kennedy School Course Materials Office (CMO—ground floor of Belfer), copies of which are also on reserve at each library. Three recommended books can be purchased at the COOP:
(1) Jacqueline B. Mondros and Scott
M. Wilson, Organizing for Power and Empowerment,
(2) Mark Warren, Dry Bones
Rattling:
(3) Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres, The Miner’s Canary, Harvard University Press, 2002.
The following is the schedule of class meetings and reading assignments. The number of pages/week is indicated in italics beside the date. Special due dates are noted in italics. Letters to the right of each reading indicate whether the focus is theoretical (T), practical (P) or historical (H).
Welcome. This week we get acquainted, offer an overview of
the course, set goals, answer questions, and schedule interviews to discuss
internships. Welcome. "What is Organizing" summarizes our organizing
praxis. Aristotle, Bellah, de Tocqueville, and Schattschneider help locate organizing
within a broader context of democratic politics. McKinght and Alinsky
distinguish between service provision and organizing. Guinier and Torres
challenge us to look deeply at structural divisions such a race, class, and
gender and how they interact with organizing.
Woliver provides a snapshot of the mechanics of community organizing and
Skocpol locates organizing in debates about civic engagement. The charts
distinguish different ways in which people “combine.”
a)
Marshall Ganz,
"What is Organizing" 2002. (T)
b)
Charts and
Questions (T)
c)
Aristotle,
Politica, Book 1, Chapter 1-2 (pp.1127-1130). (T)
d)
Robert Bellah,
et al, The Good Society,
"Introduction: We Live Through Institutions," (p.3-18) (T)
e)
Alexis De
Tocqueville, Democracy in
f)
E. E.
Schattschneider, The Semisovereign
People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America, "Introduction"
xii-xvii; “The Contagiousness of Conflict", 1-19. (T)
g)
Saul Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals, Chapter 1,
(pp.3-23). (P)
h)
John McKnight,
"Services are Bad for People," (pp.31-35). (T)
i)
Lani Guinier
and Gerald Torres, The Miner’s Canary,
“Political Race and Magical Realism, Chapter 1”, (pp.11-33) (T).
j)
Laura R.
Woliver, "Mobilizing and Sustaining Grassroots Dissent," Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 52, No.
1, 1996, (pp.139-51). (P)
k)
Theda Skocpol,
"The Tocqueville Problem: Civic Engagement in American Democracy," in
Social Science History, Vol. 4, No.4,
Winter, 1997. (pp. 455-477). (H)
Taubman ABC (5th
Floor)
Students are invited to meet representatives of
organizations
hoping to host interns and former students who will share
their experiences of learning through an organizing project.
Week 2:
Learning to Practice: The Organizing Tradition
(2/17) (198 pp)
We call our approach to learning the practice of
organizing “reflective practice”. This
week we both explore “how” we will be learning over the course of the semester
and reflect on the tradition in which that practice is rooted. Thich Nhat Hanh
reflects on uses and abuses of theory in learning practice. Fiske and Taylor
explain how we form theories, how they shape our learning, and how they inhibit
learning. Langer challenges us to engage
critically with our own theories. Kierkegaard reminds us that learning practice
requires emotional resources, as well as cognitive and behavioral ones. Schon
spells out the meaning of “reflective practice.” And Merriam explains related
social science methods of participant observation.
a)
Marshall Ganz,
“Notes on Learning to Organize” 2004 (T)
b)
Helpful Hint
#1
c)
Thich Nhat
Hanh, Thundering Silence: Sutra on
Knowing the Better Way to Catch a Snake, "The Raft is Not the
Shore," (pp.30-33). (P)
d)
Susan Fiske
and Shelly E. Taylor, Social Cognition,
Chapter 6, "Social Schemata," (pp.139-42, 171-81). (T)
e)
Ellen Langer, Mindfulness, Chapter 3, "The Roots
of Mindlessness," (pp.19-35); Chapter 4, "The Costs of
Mindlessness," (pp.43-55); Chapter 5, "The Nature of
Mindfulness," (pp.61-77); Chapter 7, "Creative Uncertainty,"
(pp.115-129). (P)
f)
M.S. Kierkegaard, “When the Knower Has to
Apply Knowledge” from “Thoughts on Crucial Situations
in Human Life”, in Parables of
Kierkegaard, T.C. Oden, Editor. (P)
g)
Donald Schon, The Reflexive Practitioner, Chapter 2,
“From Technical Rationality to Reflection-in-Action” (pp.49-69). (T)
The popular, civic, and religious currents of the organizing
tradition can be found in the
a)
The Bible,
Exodus, Chapter 2-6, (pp.82-89). (H)
b)
Robert
Middlekauff, The Glorious Cause,
Chapter 11, "Resolution," (pp.221-239). (H)
c)
Sidney Tarrow,
Power in Movement: Social Movements, Collective Action and Politics, Part I,
(pp. 31-61). (H)
d)
Taylor Branch,
Parting the Waters, Chapter 5,
"The Montgomery Bus Boycott," (p.143 -205) (H)
e)
Articles on
GBIO, BYOP, Harvard Living Wage Campaign, SEIU, Voice of the Faithful, New
Hampshire Dean Campaign.
For those interested in exploring diverse currents of the
organizing tradition further, you may choose among the following OPTIONAL
readings:
a.
Dennis Dalton,
Gandhi, Chapter 4, "Civil
Disobedience: The Salt Satyagraha" (pp.91 -138). (H)
b.
Mark Warren, Dry Bones Rattling, Chapter 2, “A
Theology of Organizing”, (p. 40-70). (H)
c.
Timothy Garton
Ash, The Polish Revolution: Solidarity
1980-82, Introduction, Chapter 1 "Inside the Lenin Shipyard,"
(pp. 1-67). (H)
d.
National
Conference of Catholic Bishops, Economic
Justice for All: Pastoral Letter of Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S.
Economy, 1986 (pp.32-63) (H)
e.
Margaret Keck
and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond
Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics, Chapter 1,
Introduction (pp. 1-38) (H)
f.
Howard Spodek
, “Review Article: The Self-employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in
g.
All students are
required to participate in this "skills session" to
acquaint themselves
with the basic leadership skills needed to make an organizing project work:
relationships, interpretation, and action
Week 3: Why
People Organize: Actors, Values and Interests (2/24) (74 pp.)
We begin by mapping the social world within which each
organizing project unfolds. Who are the actors? What do they want? What
resources do they have? Who are the leaders, the constituents, the
opposition? What needs, values, and
interests are in play? Alinsky challenges us to reflect on our reaction to
words like interest and power. Alderfer offers us a way to think about our
internal needs, Bruner locates the sources of our values in our cultures, and
Weber explains how we turn them into interests – all of which D’Andrade
integrates.
a)
Marshall Ganz.
“Notes on Actors, Values and Interests” 2004.
b)
Charts and
Questions
c)
Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals, “A Word About
Words,” (pp.48 –62). (P)
d)
Clayton
Alderfer, Existence, Relatedness and
Growth, Chapter 2, “Theory,” (p. 6-13). (T)
e)
Jerome Bruner,
Acts of Meaning, excerpt, Chapter 1,
“The Proper Study of Man,” (pp.24-30).
(T)
f)
Max Weber, Economy and Society, Volume I, “Types of
Social Action,” (pp.24-26). (T)
g)
Roy G.
D’Andrade, Human Motives and Cultural
Models, Chapter 2, “Schemas and Motivation,”
(pp. 23-44) (T)
h)
Jack L.
Walker, Jr., Mobilizing Interest Groups
in
i)
Guinier and
Torres, The Miner’s Canary, Chapter
3, “Race as Political Space”, (pp. 67– 82).
(T)
j)
Mondros and
Week 4: Why People Organize: Actors, Resources and Power (3/2) (102
pp.)
How do people get the power to act on their interests? The
interplay of resources and interests among actors defines the power relations
among them: independence, dependency and domination, or interdependence. What
resources does you constituency need to act on its interests? Who controls
them? What are their interests?
Emerson views power as relational, emergent from interactions among actors’
interests and resources. Loomer and Miller argue these interactions can yield
the “power with” others or the “power over” others that Gaventa and Stone urge
we look for below the surface. Ho illustrates the relationship of “power to”
and “power over”. Thucydides challenges us to consider the links between power
and right. Use the “four questions to track down the power” to map the power
relations in which your project is situated.
a)
Marshall Ganz.
“Notes on Actors, Resources, Power” 2004.
b)
Charts and
Questions
c)
Richard
Emerson, “Power-Dependence Relations”, American
Sociological Review, 27:31-41. (T)
d)
Bernard M.
Loomer, “Two Kinds of Power,” The D.R. Sharpe Lecture on Social Ethics,
e)
Jean Baker
Miller, Women’s Growth in Connection:
Writings from the Stone Center, Chapter 11, “Women and Power,”
(pp.197-205). (T)
f)
John Gaventa, Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and
Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley, Introduction, (pp.3-32). (T)
g)
Clarence
Stone, Regime Politics: Governing
h)
Mimi Ho,
“Californians for Justice”, NYU Review of
Law and Social Change, Volume 27, 2001-2 (pp. 38–43). (H)
i)
Thucydides, The Peloponessian Wars, Book V, Chapter
7, “The Sixteenth Year – the Melian Dialogue,” (pp.400-408). (H)
j)
OPTIONAL:
Max Weber, “Class, Status, and Party” in From
Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, translated and edited by H. H. Gerth and C.
Wright Mills (
Week 5: How
Organizing Works: Developing Leadership (3/9) (121 pp)
Organizers mobilize communities by identifying, recruiting,
and developing leaders within those communities. Where do leaders come from?
How do we know one when we see one? What do they actually do? We build on Burns’ view of leadership as a
kind of relationship, as well as Heifetz’s emphasis on adaptive learning. The
selection from Exodus addresses the challenge of earning leadership by letting
other earn it. Hackman focuses providing effective leadership to team projects,
while McCollom focuses on the specific role of leaders in forming groups.
Freeman, Alinsky, King and Robnett challenge our assumptions about leadership
so we can learn to lead more effectively.
a)
Marshall Ganz.
“Notes on Leadership” 2004.
b)
Charts and
Questions
c)
Helpful Hint
#2
d)
James McGregor
Burns, Leadership, Chapter 1,
"The Power of Leadership," (p.9-28), Chapter 2, “The Structure of
Moral Leadership” (pp.29-46). (T)
e) Ronald Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers, "Values in Leadership," Chapter 1, (pp. 13-27). (T/P)
f)
J. Richard
Hackman, Leading Teams: Setting the Stage
for Great Performances, Chapter 7, “Imperatives for Leaders” (pp.199 - 232)
(T/P).
g)
Marion
McCollom, Groups in Context: A New Perspective
on Group Dynamics, edited by Marion McCollum and Jonathon Gillette. Chapter
2, “Group Formation: Boundaries, Leadership and Culture” in, Lanham MD:
University Press of
h)
Jo Freeman,
"The Tyranny of Structurelessness," Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 1970, (pp.1-8). (P)
i)
Saul Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals, Chapter 5,
"Native Leadership," (pp.64-75). (P)
j)
Dr. M.L. King,
Jr. A Testament of Hope, "The
Drum Major Instinct," (p.259-67). (H)
k)
The Bible,
Exodus, Chapter 18 (H)
l)
OPTIONAL:
Belinda Robnett, "African-American Women in the Civil Rights Movement,
1954-1965: Gender, Leadership and Micromobilization," American Journal of Sociology, Volume 101, Number 6 (May 1996),
(pp.1661-93). (T/H)
HOW ORGANIZING
WORKS: RELATIONSHIPS, INTERPRETATION, ACTION
Organizations are woven from three threads drawn from the
world within which they form: relationships, interpretation and action.
Organizers reweave relationships to make new communities possible. Through
processes of narrative and strategic deliberation they devise new
interpretations of what needs to be done and why. And organizers produce action
by mobilizing and deploying resources.
Week 6:
Mobilizing Relationships: Building Community (3/16) (105 pp)
Organizers build relationships to construct a “community of
interest”, a constituency. Through
relationships we come to understand our interests and develop the resources to
act upon them. Gladwell explains the power of relational networks – with people
“like us” and people not “like us” – in everyday life. Blau looks at
relationships as exchange while Goffman views them as performances.
a)
Marshall Ganz,
“Notes on Relationships” 2004.
b)
Charts and
Questions
c)
Malcolm
Gladwell, “Six Degrees of Lois Weisberg,” in The New Yorker,
d)
Peter M. Blau,
Exchange and Power in Social Life
“Introduction.” (pp.1-11). (T)
e)
Erving Goffman,
“On face-work: an analysis of ritual elements in social interaction,” in Interpersonal Dynamics, edited by
Bennis, et al. (pp. 175 – 189). (T)
f)
Richard
Kearney, On Stories, “Where do
Stories Come From” (pp.3-4). (T)
g)
Kevin Bradt,
S.J., Story as a Way of Knowing,
“From Storying to Printed Text” (pp. 10-19).
(T)
h)
Robert Eccles
and Nitin Nohria, Networks and
Organizations, “Face-to-Face: Making Network Organizations Work,” HBS, (pp.
288-308). (T)
i)
“People-Powered: In New Hampshire, Howard
Dean's Campaign Has Energized Voters”, Hanna Rosin, Washington Post,
j)
Robert Putnam,
Making Democracy Work, “Social
Capital and Institutional Success”, Chapter 6, (p. 163-185) (T)
k)
Kris Rondeau,
“A Woman’s Way of Organizing,” Labor Research
Review #18, (pp. 45-59). (H/P)
l)
Ian Simmons,
“On One-to-Ones,” in The Next Steps of
Organizing: Putting Theory into Action, Sociology 91r Seminar, (pp. 12-15)
1998. (P)
m)
Kim Bobo, et
al, Organizing for Social Change,
Chapter 10, “Recruiting,” (pp.110-117). (P)
n)
OPTIONAL: Mark
Granovetter, “The Strength of Weak Ties,” American
Sociological Review, 78:6 (pp. 1360-79). (T)
o)
OPTIONAL: Jim Rooney, Organizing the
Week 7:
Mobilizing Interpretation I: Motivation, Story, Celebration ( 3/23) (136 pp.)
We reinterpret our world – and our roles within it – as we
change it. As Bruner argues, we explain why
we should act, our motivations, as our story, while we explain how we
can act, our analysis, as our strategy.
Fiske and Taylor explain how we come to “frame” our
interpretations. Because how we feel
about things shapes what we think of them and our ability to act on what we
think, we focus first on links Jasper makes between emotions and action. Gamson
focuses on the unique motivational hurdles in challenging authority and Chong
identifies “prior conditions” that make movement participation “rational.” In
the scene from Henry V, Shakespeare allows us to experience the link between
emotion and action recognized by young King Henry.
a)
Marshall Ganz,
“Notes on Interpretation I: Story” 2004. (P)
b)
Charts and
Questions
c)
Jerome Bruner,
Actual Minds, Possible Worlds,
Chapter 2, “Two Modes of Thought”, (pp.11-14).
(T)
d)
Susan Fiske
and Shelly E. Taylor, Social Cognition,
Chapter 12, “Attitudes: Cognition and Persuasion,” (pp. 340-2, 344-9, 352-55,
359-68). (T)
e)
Daniel
Goleman, Working with Emotional
Intelligence, Appendix 2, “Emotional Intelligence” (pp. 317- 318), Chapter
2, “Emotional Competence” (pp.24-28). (T/P)
f)
Dennis Chong, Collective Action and the Civil Rights
Movement, Chapter 5, “Creating the Motivation to Participate in Collective
Action,” (pp. 90-102), Chapter 8, “Strategies of Collective Action,” (pp.
173-85). (T/H)
g)
Richard
Kearney, On Stories, “Narrative
Matters,” Chapter 11 (129-144; 149-156). (T)
h)
Joseph Davis, Stories of Change: Narrative and Social
Movements, “Narrative and Social Movements” (11-25) (T)
i)
William
Gamson, Talking Politics, from
“Collective Action Frames,” (pp.6-8).
(P)
j)
Jordon
Peterson, Narrative Chart, Figure 4, “Neuropsychology and Mythology of
Motivation for Group Aggression,” Encyclopedia
of Violence, Peace and Conflict, Volume 2, 1999, (p. 542). (T)
k)
William
Shakespeare, Henry V, Act IV, Scene
3, “We Happy Few,” (pp. 140 –149). (H)
l)
Marshall Ganz,
from “The Power of Story in Social Movements”, unpublished paper (pp. 1-7). (H)
m)
Saul Alinsky,
Chapter 6, Reveille for Radicals,
“Community Traditions and Organizations,” (p.76-88). (P)
n)
Mario Cuomo, “
Two Cities,” Keynote Address to
Democratic National Convention,
o)
Ronald Reagan,
“First Inaugural Address,”
p)
OPTIONAL: David Snow,
et al, “Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization, and Movement
Participation,” American Sociological
Review, 51, August 1986. (pp. 464-81) (T).
Week 8: Mobilizing Interpretation II: Analysis,
Strategy, Deliberation (4/6) (121 pp.)
Strategy is how we turn what we have into what we need to
get what we want. It is both analytic and imaginative, figuring out how we can
use our resources to achieve our goals. We reflect on a “classic” tale of
strategy recounted in the Book of Samuel: the story of David and Goliath, a
tale that argues resourcefulness can compensate for lack of resources by
developing “strategic capacity”.
Mintzberg’s view that strategy is a “verb” is drawn from business while Kahn’s
view comes from organizing. Alinsky and Bobo offer some “how to’s” for
organizing strategy and tactics. Because effective deliberation can help good
strategizing, DiMaggio explains deliberative thinking, while Freire focuses on
the challenge of power in deliberation. Bobo spells out how to make
deliberation work by holding good meetings.
c)
Marshall Ganz.
“Notes on Interpretation II: Strategy” 2004. (P)
d)
Charts and
Questions
e)
Helpful Hint
#3
f)
The Bible,
Book of Samuel, Chapter 17, Verses 4-49. (H)
g)
Henry
Mintzberg, “Crafting Strategy,” Harvard
Business Review, July 1987, (pp.66-74). (T)
h)
Si Kahn, Organizing, Chapter 8 “Strategy,”
(pp.155-174). (P)
i)
Marshall Ganz,
from “Why David Sometimes Wins: Strategic Capacity in Social Movements” in Rethinking Social Movements (pp. 1-10).
(T)
j)
Marshall Ganz.
“Resources and Resourcefulness: Strategic Capacity in the Unionization of
California Agriculture, 1959-1966”, American
Journal of Sociology, January 2000, (pp.1003-1005; 1019-1044).(T/H)
k)
Saul Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals, Chapter 4, “The
Program” (pp.48-54). (P)
l)
Paul DiMaggio,
“Institution and Agency” from “Culture and Cognition” in Annual Review of Sociology, 1997, (pp.268-72). (T)
m)
Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Chapter 2,
(pp. 57-74). (T)
n)
Kim Bobo, Organizing for Social Change, Chapter 4
“Developing a Strategy” (pp.30-47), Chapter 5, “A Guide to Tactics,”
(pp.48-61); Chapter 12, “Planning and Facilitating Meetings,” (pp.128-139). (P)
· Reflection
Paper #6
Week 9: Mobilizing Resources: Action ( 4/13) (120 pp.)
Organizers mobilize and deploy resources to take action
based on the commitment they can call forth from others. Some draw most of
their resources from a single constituency, while others draw from multiple
constituencies. Bobo suggests some grassroots ways to mobilize money. Some
organizers deploy resources to provide services; others, to make claims. Oliver
and Marwell link mobilizing resources to deploying them. Alinsky gives us a
“feast” of action tactics, while Levy shows how to knit them together
strategically. The “Orange Hats” case focuses on neighborhood self-help, “Cold
Anger” on city-wide claims making, and the UFW on a national campaign. Read one
of these two starred (***) items.
McKenney shows how action can motivate further action. Gordon offers an
example of how to combine services and claims-making in organizing new
immigrants.
a)
Marshall Ganz.
“Notes on Action” 2002.
b)
Charts and
Questions
c)
Jacques Levy, Cesar Chavez, Prologue, (pp. xxi-xxv).
(H)
d)
Pamela Oliver
and Gerald Marwell, “Mobilizing Technologies for Collective Action,” Chapter
11, (pp 251-271), in Frontiers in Social
Movement Theory, edited by Morris and Mueller. (T)
e)
Kim Bobo, Organizing for Social Change, Chapter 7,
“Designing Actions,” (pp.70-79), Chapter 21, “Grassroots Fundraising,” (pp.
276-286). (P)
f)
Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals, Tactics, (p. 126-36,
148-55, 158-61). (P)
g)
Jacques Levy, Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa,
“Boycott Grapes” (pp.263-271) and “The Miracle of the Fast”, (pp.272-293). (H)
h)
Ruth McKenney,
Industrial Valley, “The Beginning”
(pp.25-32), “The First Sit Down,” (pp.251-271). (H)
i)
*** Kennedy
School Case C16-91-1034, “Orange Hats of Fairlawn: A Washington DC Neighborhood
Battles Drugs,” (pp.1-18). (H)
j)
*** Mary Beth
Rogers, Cold Anger, Chapter 11,
“Leave Them Alone. They’re Mexicans,” (pp. 105-126). (H)
k)
OPTIONAL: Jennifer
Gordon, “We Make the Road by Walking: Immigrant Workers, the Workplace Project,
and the Struggle for Social Change,” Harvard
Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, Vol.30, #2, Summer, 1995, (pp.
407-450). (H)
Week 10:
Communities in Action: Campaigns and Organizations (4/20 (155+
pp)
Organizers conduct campaigns to build organizations,
building organizations capable of conducting campaigns. Campaigns are rhythms
of activity targeted on specific outcome
based on a foundation, that begin with a "kick-off", gather
momentum, and culminate in a peak moment of mobilization when the campaign is
won or lost. Gersick explains "rhythms" of organizational
development. Sitkin argues the value of "intelligent" early failures.
Levy recounts how the farm workers’ campaign “peaked” after five years, while
Meryson focuses on a shorter – but more recent – campaign. Successful
organizing campaigns create organizations. But creating organizations requires
facing dilemmas of balancing unity and diversity, inclusion and exclusion,
responsibility and participation, leadership and accountability. Kahn focuses
on the nuts and bolts of organization. Moreland identifies specifics of how to
enable a group to work together. Smith and Berg identify dilemmas that any
organization must manage. Janis points to the danger "too much" unity
can suppress needed dissent.
a)
Marshall Ganz.
“Notes on Campaigns” and “Notes on Organizations” 2004.
b)
Charts and
Questions.
c)
Connie
Gersick, "Pacing Strategic Change: The Case of a New Venture," Academy of Management Journal, February
1994 (pp. 9-14, 36-42). (T)
d)
Sim Sitkin,
"Learning Through Failure: The Strategy of Small Losses", Research in Organizational Behavior,
Vol.14, 1992, (pp. 231-266). (T)
e)
Jacques Levy, Cesar Chavez: Autobiography of La Causa,
Book IV, Book V, "Victory in the Vineyards," Chapters 6-14,
(pp.294-325). (H)
f)
Harold
Meyerson, “A Clean Sweep”, The American
Prospect, Volume 11, No. 15, June 19, 2000 (pp.24-29). (H)
g)
Si Kahn,
Organizing, Chapter 3, "Organizations," (pp. 55-77). (P)
h)
Richard L. Moreland,
"The Formation of Small Groups", in Group Processes, edited by Kendrick, C. (1987), (pp. 80-105). (T/P)
i)
Kenwyn Smith
and David Berg, "A Paradoxical Conception of Group Dynamics", Human Relations, Vol. 40:10, 1987, (pp.
633-54) (T)
j)
Irving Janis,
"Groupthink", in Perspectives
on Behavior in Organizations, edited by J.R. Hackman, (1983) (pp. 378-384)
(T)
Choose one of the accounts by Mandela, Chen, Medoff and
Sklar, or Halcli to see how similar the temporal dynamics are of very different
campaigns. Warren focuses on the challenge of building organizations across
racial, religious, and economic lines.
a)
***Nelson
Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The
Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, Chapter 14 (pp. 121-140). (H)
b)
***Martha
Chen, "Engendering World Conferences: the International Women's Movement
and the United Nations", Third World
Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 3, 1995, (pp. 477-491).
c)
***Peter
Medoff and Holly Sklar, Streets of Hope,
Chapter 3, "Don't Dump On Us: Organizing the Neighborhood,"
(pp.67-87). (H)
d)
***Abigail
Halcli, “AIDS, Anger and Activism, ACTUP as a SMO” in Waves of Protest: Social Movements Since the Sixties, edited by Jo
Freeman and Victoria Johnson, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999,
(pp.135-150). (H)
e)
Mark Warren, Dry Bones Rattling, from “Four, Bridging
Communities Across Racial Lines” (98-100; 114-123) and “Five, Deepening
Multiracial Collaboration” (124-132; 152-155).
(H)
·
Reflection
Paper #8
Week 11:
Becoming a Good Organizer (4/27 (120 pp.)
This week we reflect on organizing as a craft, art, and
vocation: why do it, what makes us good at it, what about the rest of our
lives, how can we continue to grow? Heifetz discusses the challenge of
accepting responsibility for leadership. Langer reflects on how to work
"mindfully." Addams, Chavez,
Alinsky and Mandela describe how they came to terms with these challenges.
Coles discusses some personal and political consequences of responding to the
"call to service."
a)
Ronald
Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers,
Chapter 11, "The Personal Challenge," (pp. 250-271). (P)
b)
Ellen Langer, Mindfulness, Chapter 8,
"Mindfulness on the Job," (pp.133-148). (P)
c)
Jane Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House, Chapters
4-5, (pp. 60-89). (P)
d)
Cesar Chavez,
"The Organizer's Tale," Ramparts
Magazine, July 1966, (pp. 43 - 50). (P)
e)
Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals, "The Education
of the Organizer," (pp.63-80). (P)
f)
Nelson
Mandela, 1994 Inaugural Speech, Excerpt.
(H)
g)
Robert Coles, The Call of Service, Chapter 8,
"Consequences," (pp. 254-84). (P)
h)
OPTIONAL: Mondros and
Wilson, Organizing for Power and
Empowerment, Chapter 2, "The Organizers," (pp.11-35). (P)
Week 12:
Conclusion, Evaluation Where Do We Go From Here? (5/6) (189 pp.)
Note: Class will be scheduled for 3 hours.
So what does organizing contribute to public life?
After reflecting on the “big picture” today, we’ll hear from everyone about
what they learned from their participation in the course. Did we meet individual and group goals? How
could the course be improved. Alinsky's
call for broader participation in democratic governance is as timely now as
when it was written in 1946. Putnam,
Skocpol, Grieder, Weir and I argue a need for greater participation. Judis
describes a world of advocacy without participants, while Reed describes his
organizing successes. Keck and Sikkink point to the promise of transnational
social movement organizing. Barber argues corporate scandals are due to a
“failure of democracy” while Skocpol suggests future directions.
a)
Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals, Chapter 11 (p.
190-204) (P).
b)
Robert Putnam,
"Bowling Alone, Revisited," The
Responsive Community. Center for Policy Research. Spring 1995. (pp.
18-33). (H)
c)
Theda Skocpol,
"Unraveling From Above," The
American Prospect, March, 1996 (pp. 20-25). (H)
d)
Margaret Weir
and Marshall Ganz, "Reconnecting People and Politics," in The New Majority: Toward a Popular
Progressive Politics, (pp. 149-171). (H)
e)
Ralph Reed, Politically Incorrect, Chapter 13,
"Miracle at the Grassroots," (pp. 189-202); Chapter 17, "What is
Right about America: How You Can Make a Difference," (pp.249-267). (H).
f)
William
Greider, Who Will Tell the People?,
Chapter 10, "Democratic Promise," (p. 222-241). (H)
g)
John B. Judis,
"The Pressure Elite: Inside the Narrow World of Advocacy Group
Politics," The American Prospect,
#9, Spring 1992, (pp. 15-29). (H)
h)
Margaret Keck
and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond
Borders, Chapter 6, “Conclusions” (pp.199-217). (T)
i)
Benjamin
Barber, “Failure of Democracy,” New York
Times, 2002. (H)
j)
Theda Skocpol,
Diminished Democracy: From Membership to
Management in American Civic Life, Chapter 7, “Reinventing American Civic
Democracy” (pp. 254-293).
FINAL PAPER
due Friday, May 19 at 4 pm in the Hauser Center.
1.
Saul Alinsky, Reveille for Radicals, Vintage, 1960.
2.
Ellen Langer, Mindfulness, Addison-Wesley, 1990.
3.
Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals, Random House, 1971.
4.
Kim Bobo, Jackie Kendall and Steve Max, Organizing for Social Change,
Midwest Academy Manual for Activists, Seven Locks, 2001.
5.
E.E. Schattschneider, The Semisovereign People, Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1975.
6.
PAL 177 Readers, available at KSG Course Materials Office.
7.
PAL 177 Organizing Notes, available at KSG Course Materials Office.
i.
Jacqueline B. Mondros and Scott M. Wilson, Organizing for Power and
Empowerment, New York: Columbia University Press, 1994.
ii.
Mark Warren, Dry
Bones Rattling: Community Building to Revitalize American Democracy,
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001.
iii.
Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres, The Miner’s
Canary, Harvard University Press, 2002.
C. Lifetime
Reading
The following are accounts of organizing campaigns in a
variety of settings recommended as background reading for those with particular
areas of interest - or as a lifetime reading list.
1. International
a)
Transnational Social Movements and Global Politics:
Solidarity Beyond the State (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict
Resolution), ed. Jackie Smith, Charles Chatfield, Ron Pagnucco (Syracuse:
Syracuse University Press, 1997).
b)
Ma. Brenda S.
Batistiana and Denis Murphy, Rural
Community Organizing in the Philippines, (Quezon City: COTRAIN, 1996).
c) Bringing Transnational Relations Back in :
Non-State Actors, Domestic Structures and International Institutions (Cambridge Studies in International
Relations), ed. Thomas Risse-Kappen, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1995).
d)
Kreisi,
Hanspter, Ruud Koopmans, Jan Willem Dyvendak, and Marco G. Giugni, New Social Movements in Western Europe,
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1995).
e)
Margarita
Lopa, Singing the Same Song: Reflections
of Two Generations of NGO Workers in the Philippines.
f)
Mandela,
Nelson; Long Walk to Freedom: An
Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, (London, Abacus, 1994).
g)
Dalton,
Dennis; Mahatma Gandhi: Nonviolent Power
in Action, (New York: Columbia, 1993).
h)
Laba, Roman; The Roots of Solidarity: A Political Sociology of Poland's Working
Class Democratization; (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1991)
i)
Goodwyn, Lawrence;
Breaking the Barrier: The Rise of
Solidarity in Poland, (New York: Oxford University Press,1991).
j)
Scott, James
C.; Domination and the Arts of
Resistance: Hidden Transcripts; (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990).
k)
Ash, Timothy
Garton; The Polish Revolution: Solidarity
1980-82, (London, Jonathan Cape, 1983).
l)
Gandhi,
Mahatma; Autobiography; (Boston:
Beacon Press, 1957).
2. Labor Movement/Populism
a)
Organizing to Win: New Research on Union Strategies, ed. Kate Bronfenbrenner, Sheldon Friedman, Richard W.
Hurd, Rudolph A. Oswald, and Ronald L. Seeber, (Ithaca: ILR Press, 1998).
b)
Organizing Immigrants: The Challenge for Unions
c) Zieger, Robert; The CIO, 1935-1955. (Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 1995).
d) Geoghegan, Thomas, Which Side Are You On?: Trying to Be For
Labor When It's Flat on It's Back, (Plume, 1991).
e) Cohen, Lizabeth, Making a New Deal, (London: Cambridge
University Press, 1990).
f) Goodwyn, Lawrence; The Populist Moment, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1978).
g) Dubovsky, Melvyn
and Warren Van Tine, John L. Lewis, A
Biography, (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1977).
h) McKenney, Ruth; Industrial Valley, (New York: Greenwood
Press, 1939 ).
i)
Steinbeck,
John; In Dubious Battle, (Blue Ribbon
Books, New York, 1937).
3. Civil Rights Movements
a)
Branch,
Taylor, Pillar of Fire: America in the
King Years, 1963-65, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999).
b)
Wood, Dan,
ed. Friends
and Family: True Stories of Gay America’s Straight Allies (Los Angeles:
Alyson, 1999).
c)
Halberstam,
David, The Children, (New York:
Random House, 1998).
d)
Lewis, John; Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the
Movement, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998).
e)
Dittmer, John, Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights
in Mississippi, (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995).
f)
Payne,
Charles, I've Got the Light of Freedom:
The Organizing Tradition and the Mississippi Freedom Struggle, (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1995).
g)
Skerry, Peter,
Mexican Americans: the Ambivalent
Minority, (Cambridge: Harvard
University
Press, 1993).
h) Takaki, Ronald, Strangers from a Different Shore: A History
of Asian Americans; (New
York: Penguin,
1989).
i) Branch, Taylor, Parting the Waters: America in the King
Years, 1954-63, (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988).
j) Shilts,
Randy. And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic,
(New York: Penguin, 1987).
k) Morris, Aldon, Origins of the Civil Rights Movement: Black
Communities Organizing for
Change,
(New York: Free Press, 1984).
l) McAdam, Doug, Political Process and the Development of
Black Insurgency, 1930-1980 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1982).
m) Guinier, Lani and
Gerald Torres, The Miner’s Canary:
Enlisting Race, Resisting Power, Transforming Democracy, (Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, 2002.)
4. Political Movements
a) Skocpol, Theda. Diminished
Democracy: From Membership to Management in American Civic Life. (Norman:
Oklahoma University Press, 2003).
b) Civic Engagement in American Democracy.
Theda Skocpol and Morris P. Fiorina, eds. (DC: Russel Sage, 1999).
c) Clemens,
Elisabeth, The People's Lobby:
Organizational Innovation and the Rise of Interest Group Politics in the United
States, 1890-1925 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997).
d) Reed, Ralph, Politically Incorrect: The Emerging Faith
Factor in American Politics, (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1994).
e) Hertzke, Alan, Echoes of Discontent, (Washington: CQ
Press, 1993).
f) Gitlin, Todd; The Sixties; (New York: Bantam Books,
1989)
g) Klatch, Rebecca
E., Women of the New Right, (Temple,
1987.)
h) Crawford, Alan, Thunder on the Right, (Pantheon, 1980).
5. Women's Movements
a) Katzenstein, Mary
Fainsod, Faithful and Fearless: Moving
Feminist Protest inside the Church and Military, (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1998).
b) Feree, Myra Max, Controversy and Coalition: New Feminist
Movement (New York: Maxwell
Macmillan International, 1994).
c) Katzenstein, Mary
Fainsod and Carol McClurg Mueller, The
Women's Movements of the United States and Western Europe, (Philadelphia:
Temple University Press, 1987).
d) Mansbridge, Jane, Why We Lost the ERA, (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1986).
e) Luker, Kristin, Abortion and the Politics of Motherhood
(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984).
f) Gelb, Joyce and
Marian Lief Palley, Women and Public
Policies (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982).
g) Evans, Sara, Personal Politics (New York: Vintage,
1980).
6. Environmental Movement
a) Dowie, Mark, Losing Ground: American Environmentalism at
the Close of the 20th Century; (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1995).
b) Gottlieb, Robert. Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of
the American Environmental Movement. (Washington: Island Press, 1993)
c) Dunlap, Riley and
Angela G. Mertig, American
Environmentalism: the U.S. Environmental Movement, 1970-1990,
(Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis, 1992).
7. Neighborhood Organizing
a) Medoff, Peter and
Holly Sklar, Streets of Hope (Boston: South End Press, 1994)
b) Fisher, Robert, Let the People Decide: Neighborhood
Organizing in America; (New York: Macmillan, 1994).
c) Horwitt, Sanford, Let Them Call Me Rebel: Saul Alinsky;
(New York: Knopf, 1989).
8. Faith Based Organizing
a)
Gecan, Mike.
Going Public (Boston: Beacon Press, 2002).
b)
Osterman,
Paul. Gathering Power: The Future of Progressive Politics in America (Boston:
Beacon Press, 2003).
c)
Rooney, Jim, Organizing the South Bronx (New York: State University of New York,
1995).
d)
Rowbotham,
Sheila and Swasti Mitter, Dignity and
Daily Bread, (New York: Routledge, 1995)
e) Robinson, Buddy
and Mark G. Hanna, "Lessons for Academics from Community Organizing: A
Case Study - The Industrial Areas Foundation" in Journal of Community Practice, Volume 1(4), 1994, (pp.63-94).
f) Freedman, Samuel
G, Upon this Rock: The Miracles of a
Black Church; (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).
g) Rogers, Mary Beth,
Cold Anger : A Story of Faith and Power
Politics, (Denton: University of North Texas Press, 1990).
h) National
Conference of Catholic Bishops. Economic
Justice for All: Pastoral Letter of Catholic Social Teaching and the U.S.
Economy, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Catholic Conference, 1986).
i) Pierce, Gregory F.
Augustine, Activism That Makes Sense:
Congregations and Community Organization. Acta Publications. 1984.
9. Books About Boston
a) MacLeod, Jay, Ain't' No Makin' It: Aspirations and
Attainment in a Low Income Neighborhood, (Boulder: Westview Press, 1995)
b) O'Connor, Thomas
J., Building a New Boston, (Northeastern, 1993).
c) Levine, Hillel, Death of An American Jewish Community: A
Tragedy of Good Intentions , (NY:
Free Press, 1992)
d) Lukas, J. Anthony,
Common Ground: A Turbulent Decade in the
Lives of Three American Families, (NY: Vintage Books, 1986)
e) Gans, Herbert; The Urban Villagers: Group and Class in the
Life of Italian Americans, (New York: Free Press, 1982)
f) King, Mel; Chains of Change; (Boston: South
End,1981).
10. Organizing in General
a) Waves of Protest: Social Movements Since the
Sixties, ed. Jo Freeman and Victoria Johnson (Lanham, Md: Rowland and
Littlefield, 1999)
b) Langer, Ellen J., The Power of Mindful Learning, (New
York: Addison-Wesley, 1997).
c) Comparative Perspective on Social Movements,
edited by Doug McAdam; John D. McCarthy, and Mayer N. Zald. (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1996.).
d) Social Movements and Culture, edited by
Hank Johnston and Bert Klandermans. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press,
1995
e) Mondros, Jacqueline
B. and Scott M. Wilson, Organizing for
Power and Empowerment; (New York: Columbia University Press, 1994).
f) Gamson, William, The Strategy of Social Protest,
(Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing, 1990).
g) Gamson, William A.,
Bruce Fireman and Steven Rytina. Encounters
with Unjust Authority. (Homewood, Il: The Dorsey Press, 1982)
D.
Manuals/Guides
1. Bobo, Kim, J.
Kendall and S. Max, Organizing for Social
Change: A Manual for Activists in the 1990s. 1996. Seven Locks.
2. The Future is Ours: A Handbook for Students
Activists in the 21st Century, edited by John W. Bartlett, Henry Holt &
Co., 1996.
3. Pierce, Gregory F.
Augustine, Activism That Makes Sense:
Congregations and Community Organization. Acta Publications. 1984.
4. Kahn, Si, Organizing: A Guide for Grass Roots Leaders.
McGraw-Hill. 1982
5. Industrial Areas
Foundation Materials
6. AFL-CIO Organizing
Institute Materials
7. Campaign Materials
E. Some Films
1. Grapes of
Wrath, Ford, 1940.
2. Meet John Doe,
Capra, 1941
3. Salt of the Earth,
Bibberman, 1953
4. The Organizer,
Monicelli, 1963.
5. Encounter with Saul
Alinsky, National Film Board of Canada, 1967
6. Saul Alinsky Went
to War, National Film Board of Canada, 1968
7. Burn, Pontecorvo, 1969.
8. FIST, Jewison, 1978
9. Norma Rae, Ritt,
1979.
10. Northern Lights,
Nillson, 1979
11.
Gandhi,
Attenborough, 1982
12.
The Life and
Times of Harvey Milk, Epstein and Schmiechen, 1984.
13. Revolution,
Hudson, 1985
14. Eyes on the
Prize, Blackside, 1986.
15. Matewan, Sayles,
1987.
16. Streets of Hope,
Dudley Street, 1994.
17. Freedom on My
Mind, Fields, 1994.
18. Il Postino,
Radford, 1995.
19. The Fight in the
Fields, Paradigm, 1997.
20. The Apostle, 1998.
21. The Democratic
Promise: Saul Alinsky and his Legacy, PBS, 1999.
22. Bread and Roses,
2000.
23. A Force More
Powerful, PBS, 2000.