1) An overview of an existing social movement that documents the general life-cycle of the
movement including:
the history of the emergence and coalescence of the movement, including the main
grievance/grievances or claims, and key social change goal(s) that generically reflect the
movement
the pre-existing networks or organizations that enabled the mobilization of the movement
a brief overview of the variety of social movement organizations within the movement
the basic strategies and tactics the movement utilizes to attempt to create social change
the basic outcomes of the movement, success, partial success (i.e., social changes created by the
movement), or failures and decline of the movement.
2) An in-depth analysis of a specific social movement organization, such as Moms Demand Change,
that includes:
the history of the creation and development of the social movement organization
a detailed description of how the social movement organization fits into a larger social
movement collective with similar social change goal or set of goals (i.e., getting
drunk/dangerous drivers off the road)
a brief organizational analysis of the social movement organization (how is it structured? How
large is its staff? What resources does it have financial, human, and cultural); 4) what
strategies and tactics are most commonly associated with the social movement organization
what success and failures have been associated with the social movement organization and its
role with the larger social movement collective.
Bibliographical Requirements
You must have at least 4 sources, including at least 1 academic type book on the subject, and at least
one peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles from a sociological or similar academic journal. Other
sources such as newspaper and magazine articles are fine as additional sources; and websites may be
used but be careful with them and be sure you document them fully so that the links can be found and
you do not get caught up in an accidental plagiarism situation.
Length and Format
The paper should be in Microsoft Word if possible, approximately 5-8 pages prior to the bibliography
page. It should be double-spaced with 10 or 12 pt. fontnumber your pages throughout.
While parenthetical citations with a bibliography at the end are preferred, citations/referencing may be
done in any of the main formats you are familiar with and comfortable with parenthetical, endnotes or
footnotes just stay consistent. Regardless of what style you use, please attach a bibliography
