Social movements have shaped the world we live in and are one of the most important sources of social change. They often organize to address issues of inequity, oppression or prejudice in local, regional, national and transnational spheres. They arise to address factual situations: the number of people without health care, levels of air pollution, racial profiling, unemployment or deaths in war. However, facts alone are not sufficient to create social change. Narratives are needed to provide the stories that inspire, give meaning and unite motivation, strategy and action. Course participants will investigate understandings of social movements, organizing models and the role of narratives in these efforts. Students will work with the Coalition for a Livable Future to record oral histories of local social movements in a way that creates narratives that connect past and present, and which furthers their equity-based regional work.
