Research Paper Assignment: Societies in the World
This semester, you will write a research paper on a transnational social movement of your choice. Transnational social movements are groups of people who share a similar discourse and who are trying to remedy certain problems by mobilizing support. Transnational movements include the mobilization of people in different countries, and in this they are different from social movements that operate primarily within a single country.
Describe key historical, ideological, organizational, and/or cultural aspects of a transnational social movement from the following list (below). You will offer a brief history of the movement. When and where did the discourse emerge? Then consider the ways in which the issues, ideas and organizational activities of your movement in one place (like the US) intersect with those elsewhere (like Malaysia). You may discuss complementarities and similarities between movements/groups in these two regions, and/or focus on big differences and possible areas of competition, disagreement or even conflict.
Also, be mindful of differences in grassroots "civil society" movements, and movements that originate from charity organizations, which often have links to--or receive funding from politically and economically powerful groups such as political figures or corporations. You may wish to address in your essay how connections (or a lack of connections) to politically and economically powerful groups has influenced the history, discourse, agenda, and other aspects of your movement.
Transnational social movements often involve people from both the global north and the global south and this may lead to disagreements. Discuss these differences and efforts to overcome them. There are also well-known disagreements between different movements over goals, tactics and strategies. For example, the labor movement wants jobs but the environmental movement wants to protect the biosphere. Examine issues of this sort and efforts to overcome them to allow the movements to engage in cooperative action and to become effective in world politics.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.