SAM1050E

SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND THE NEW DIGITAL SOCIETY

Bachelor in Religion and Social Science (180 credits/ ECTS)

See the Norwegian course description by clicking here.

  • Campus: HLT Oslo
  • Language: English
  • Application deadline Please see Admissions page for information
  • Commencement: Please see semester plan

  • Please contact admission@hlt.no if you have any questions.

Assessment:

Students must:

  • Attend 75% of the classes
  • Submit a 4 hours school exam. Counts as 100% of the final grade. Graded A-F.

Scope:

36 hours

Additional requirements:

Submit an oral video presentation of one social movement.

Course Description

The course SAM1050E provides a unique introduction to the challenges and opportunities that are created when various global social movements meet in a new and partly globalized and digitized public sphere. The course provides an introduction to how social movements arise and spread. The student will be introduced to methods and hermeneutical keys to study social movements and ask important questions such as: What visions of the future do they represent? How are they organized, and how do they use different media to create unity and spread their message? Social movements such as the feminist movement, the environmental movement, and various movements focusing on global justice will be presented. The course will also analyze the globalization of various Muslim movements, and Christian movements such as the Pentecostal movement. The student will also be presented with various models for how to develop a good open-minded society and a good public conversation. The student will have the opportunity to reflect on how they can balance the commitment to their own affairs with regard to others and to the common good.

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Learning Outcomes

A student who has completed the course of SAM1050E Social Movements and the New Digital Society should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence.

KNOWLEDGE

The student:

  • has knowledge of social science concepts such as political activism, political spaces, citizenship and identity politics.
  • can demonstrate knowledge of selected global social movements such as feminism, the environmental movement, and various movements that focus on global justice.
  • exhibit knowledge of religious movements such as the Pentecostal movement, and various Muslim movements. has acquired knowledge of the problems and opportunities that a high-tech and multicultural society represents in relation to social integration and public debate.
  • understand theories about bourgeois public and about the challenges and opportunities the new digital society represents for such theories.

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SKILLS

The student:

  • has developed awareness of the Norwegian political landscape in terms of religious and secular worldviews.
  • demonstrate the ability to understand and analyze social movements, in writing and orally.
  • exhibit proficiency in presenting and analyzing digital sources for scientific studies and research.
  • reflect on religious hospitality and political tolerance as civil virtues.

 

GENERAL COMPETENCE

The student:

  • display the ability and willingness to demonstrate reflective engagement with social issues one perceives as important.
  • demonstrate the ability to balance one’s own commitment with regard to others and the common good in a pluralistic society.
  • reflect on personal attitudes toward social movements of which one is not a part.

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Modes of Instruction

The program consists of a combination of interactive lessons, reading of the required reading, active digital learning, and writing an assignment. In this course the identification and use of relevant digital sources will be an important part of the learning process. The course consists of 32 teaching hours. This includes lectures, work with cases, group discussions, and analysis of film and digital sources. Some of the lessons can be replaced by participation in research at HLT.

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Required Reading

Almeida, P. (2019). Social Movements: The Structure of Collective Mobilization (1st ed.). University of California Press, pp. 80-98 (18 pp.)

Campbell, Heidi (2012). “Understanding the Relationship between Religion Online and Offline in a Networked Society.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, mars 2012, vol. 80, nr. 1, p. 64–93 (30 pp.)

Chow, A. (2023). “What Has Jerusalem to Do with the Internet? World Christianity and Digital Culture.” International Bulletin of Mission Research, 47(1), 23–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/23969393221101349

Gripsrud, Jostein, Moe, Hallvard (2010). The Idea of the Public Sphere. A Reader. Lexington Press 2010, s. 235-37, 247-310 (65 pp.)

Ebaugh, H.R. (2009). The Gülen Movement: A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement. s.23- 46 (23 pp.)

Etter, M., & Albu, O. B. (2021). Activists in the dark: Social media algorithms and collective action in two social movement organizations. Organization, 28(1), 68-91. (23 pp.)

Fuchs, C. (2021). “The Digital Commons and the Digital Public Sphere: How to Advance Digital Democracy Today”. Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 16(1), 9–26. (17 pp.)

Fuchs, Christian (2015). “Social media and the public sphere” . TripleC: Open Access Journal for a Global Sustainable Information Society, 12 (1). pp. 57-101 (44 pp.)

Furseth, Inger (ed. (2018). Religious Complexity in the Public Sphere: Comparing Nordic Countries. (Ser. Palgrave studies in religion, politics, and policy) Palgrave MacMillan. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. Cap. 1-6.

Karim, M. F. (2017). Integrating European Muslims Through Discourse? Understanding the Development and Limitations of Euro-Islam in Europe. Journal of International Migration and Integration, 18(4), 993–1011. (18 pp.)

Knox, Paul L. and Sallie A. Marston (2016). Human Geography: Places and Regions in Global Context. 7th ed. Global Edition. Pearson Education p 369-418 (50 pages)

Miller, D. E., & Yamamori, T. (2007). Global Pentecostalism: The New Face of Christian Social Engagement (1st ed.). University of California Press.s.16-38 (pp.22)

Moghadam, V.M. (2012). Globalization and Social Movements: Islamism, Feminism, and the Global Justice Movement. Lanham Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. s.1-30, 99 -132 (63 pp.)

Smith, J. K. A. (2010). Thinking in Tongues: Pentecostal Contributions to Christian Philosophy. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Kap. 2.

Sisler, Vit (2011). Online Fatwas, Arbitration Tribunals and the Construction of Muslim Identity in the UK, in Information, Communication & Society vol. 14 no. 8, 2011. s. 1136-1159 (23 pp.)

Staggenborg, S. (2021). Social Movements. New York: Oxford University Press. (ca. 220 pp.)

Recommended Reading

Bretherton, L. (2011). Christianity and Contemporary Politics: The Conditions and Possibilities of Faithful Witness. Wiley-Blackwell.

Cahn, M.A., and O’Brien, R. (1996). Thinking About the Environment: Readings on Politics, Property and the Physical World. Armonk, N.Y: Routledge.

Calvert, J. (2010). Sayyid Qutb and the Origins of Radical Islamism. New York: Columbia University Press. Special Issue: The Mediatization of Religion. Culture and Religion, vol. 12, no. 2, (2011)

Gbowee, Leymah and Mithers, Carol (2011). Mighty Be Our Powers: How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War. Beast Books. 46

Goodwin, Jeff, Jasper, James M. (2014). The Social Movements Reader: Cases and Concepts. Chichester, West Sussex, UK ; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Guinness, Os. (2013) The Global Public Sphere. Religion and the Making of a World Safe for Diversity. IVP (around 120 pages)

Hoffman, A.J. (2015). How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate. Stanford, California: Stanford Briefs. Information, Communication & Society vol. 14 no. 8, 2011, Special Issue: Religion and the Internet: Copping the online–offline connection

Ramadan, T. (2003). Western Muslims and the Future of Islam. Oxford University Press.

Sandel, M. (2007). Justice: A Reader. New York: Oxford University Press

Shepperd, J. W. (2002). “Sociology of World Pentecostalism,” in The New International Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, edited by Stanley M. Burgess and Ed M. Van der Maas (pp. 1083-1090)

Smith, C. (eds) (26 Nov. 2010). Pentecostal Power: Expressions, Impact and Faith of Latin American Pentecostalism, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.

Smith, J.K.A. (2014). How (Not) to Be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Steigenga, T. and Cleary, E., eds. (2007). Conversions of a Continent: Contemporary Religious Change in Latin America. Ithaca, NY: Rutgers University Press (ca. 150s)

Tee, C. (2016). The Gülen Movement in Turkey: The Politics of Islam and Modernity. I. B. Tauris.

Yong, A. (2010). In the Days of Caesar: Pentecostalism and Political Theology. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

Yong, A. (2015). Hospitality and the Other: Pentecost, Christian Practices, and the Neighbor ORBIS.

Wall, D. (1993). “Green History: A Reader” in Environmental Literature, Philosophy and Politics. London: New York: Routledge.

Walters, M. (2006). Feminism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wariboko, N. (2014). The Charismatic City and the Public Resurgence of Religion: A Pentecostal Social Ethics of Cosmopolitan Urban Life. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan

Fulltidsstudier

Normalt studieløp med 30 studiepoeng pr semester hvor du følger all undervisning som normalt.

Deltidsstudier

Et studieløp med færre fag pr semester enn fulltid. Du kan justere opp eller ned antall fag fra semester til semester i studieløpet.

Fulltid / deltid med redusert undervisning

Et alternativ der du bare deltar i om lag halvparten av undervisningstimene, hvor det gis en oversikt over det mest sentrale i pensum. Til gjengjeld leveres en ekstra oppgave i faget som vurderes til «Bestått»/«Ikke bestått». Du kan velge redusert undervisning både som fulltidsstudent og på deltid.