HST 339 - Popular Protests: Parades, Riots, & Mass Movements in U.S. History

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR (students beginning prior to Fall 2024): Meets general academic requirement HU.
While American life has always had its critics and reformers, certain movements have gained mass appeal, sweeping large numbers of citizens into action (and into the streets). This course examines such social movements in order to think about both the issues that have stirred Americans and various modes of popular protest from speeches and parades to riots to marching on Washington. We will consider not just what Americans of various eras sought from their government and their fellow citizens, but also the language of protest and what it might tell us about citizenship, public space, community, belonging, and power. We will examine the contexts that have given rise to mass action and continuities across protest movements over time. Specific examples will be drawn from at least three periods of American history and may include abolitionism, women’s suffrage, labor movements, the Civil Rights and modern feminist movements, and others.