Social Movements and the New Digital Society

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.

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.

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.

.

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.

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 (30s)

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. (pp.23)

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. Kap. 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. (pp.18)

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, i 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.)