This page offers an overview of the possible units within each category. Remember 3330 usually consists of five units. 

Traditionally, this course in the COMM department is based in rhetoric, which by design is then assumed as the foundation of this unit. However, there is plenty of room for it to be taught through the lens of the instructor's area of expertise. Both rhetoric and social movements offer an array of inroads for instructors from Organizational Communication and Discourse Analysis, and instructors from other disciplines could think about it as "persuasion" rather than "rhetoric" to better mesh resources across sub-disciplines.

**Many thanks to Dr. Myles Mason for his work in Spring 2022 significantly contributing to the development of this template for future instructors, particularly the unit planning mapping** 

Foundations

pick 2

The course should start with two foundational units. One that offers an overview of the course and contexts on social movements (definitions, histories, etc.), and another that offers a focus on the methodological approach undergirding the rest of the semester. The latter unit, in theory, should reflect the instructor's area of expertise (rhetoric and culture, organizational comm, community and social interaction) to set the stage for the fourth unit that can reflect the instructor's interests. Should an instructor want to take a generalist approach, that is also welcome. 

To succeed in the class, students need to finish the first two units with the tools to (1) roughly define and identify a social movement, (2) define models of social justice, (3) offer broad explanations of social movements' communicative practices [this third one will be nuanced to the emphasis the instructor has chosen for unit 2].

Examples of possible units:  

• • • History of Social Movements
    • Rhetorical study of social movements
    • Social movements and organizational communication
    • Social movements and group interaction

Here are the details of what to include in the first two units of class, both of which are considered "Foundations" for the course and topic: Instructor Planning: Foundations Units Overviews + Options.  **This will take you to a new page, so I suggest reading this entire overview page before you dive into the specific unit planning pages.** 

Concepts

pick 1

Unit 3 should begin to narrow the concepts being covered within the course. This unit takes the broad understanding built in the foundations units and begins narrowing the scope of analysis. This unit, in contrast to application and praxis, is still more concerned with theory and definitions than nuancing specific case studies in-depth. As such, the concepts covered should work toward the content covered in the fourth (application) unit. Much of this unit will likely survey discrete bodies of social movements scholarship. For those interested in a generalist approach, the Theories of Social Movements unit option is the most general, followed by Identity and Social Movements.

Students should exit this unit with a firm grasp on a segment of social movement literature. Students, upon completing the unit, will be equipped to (1) compare and contrast areas of social movement literature [e.g. social movements 1.0 vs 2.0], (2) identify the area of literature best suited to contemporary social movements, (3) analyze social movement communication with an incisive focus (e.g. digital organizing), and (4) hone their focus more deeply for the next unit.

Units suggested within this template, alternates welcome:  

• • • Digital Social Movements
    • Social Movements and Social Media
    • Theories of Social Movements
    • Identity and Social Movements

Here are the details of what to include in the third unit of class: Instructor Planning: Concept Unit Overviews + Objectives

Application

pick 1

This is the fourth unit of the course and where the instructor has the most leeway to shape the course to their own interests. Again, Application is where the course begins to forefront the analysis and discussion of specific movements over theories of social movements. For example, a course offering interested in Digital Social Movements (from above), would then narrow to hashtag-based movements and assign readings devoted to Black Lives Matter, Say Her Name, and Trump 2020. As a note, this unit should also represent a range of viewpoints (e.g. both progressive and conservative movements, resistance and hegemonic response, etc.) as to not alienate students.

Students will have the tools, by the end of the unit, to (1) deeply discuss the communicative techniques of specific social movements, (2) define and identify multiple facets of social movements--specific to those selected in the unit--and (3) outline the ways the chosen unit emphasis (e.g. hashtag-based movements) differ from traditional social movements.

Units suggested within this template, alternates welcome:  

• • • Hashtag-based Social Movements
    • Social Movements and (Hegemonic) Resistance
    • Global Social Movements or Social Movements across the Globe
    • Social Movements and Corporations

Here are the details of what to include in the fourth unit of class: Instructor Planning: Application Unit Objectives + Overviews

Praxis

pick 1

This unit is largely meant to offer students ample time and resources for their final projects. Readings can be geared toward accomplishing the selected final project for the course, but should also offer some "real world" takeaways from the high theory and academic concepts covered throughout the semester. 

Units within this sandbox:

• • • The one already in the course lol.

Here are the details of what to include in the final unit of class: Instructor Planning: Praxis Unit Objectives + Overview

What to do from here? 

Plan big picture how you want to approach class methodologically, and then use the specific unit planning pages as a guide to enact that. Links for each unit planning page are above. 

Planning for Regular and Substantive Interaction (a reminder)

As you plan, be aware that distance education courses, such as this one, have Department of Education requirements that we are required to meet. If you want to "go down the rabbit hole" of what this means, here you go; otherwise, in general this means that students must have regular and substantive interaction with peers, the course material, and the instructor, in an ongoing manner. In short, as of July 1, 2021, for interactions to be considered Regular and Substantive Interactions (RSI), they need to meet the following characteristics:

• They should be mostly instructor-initiated
• They need to be regular, scheduled and predictable, and
• They must be substantive, i.e. focused on the course subject.
  
  • To be "substantive," at last two of these five activities must be included in course modules: 
    1. providing direct instruction (such as a lecture video or notes covering content that's also addressed in a unit activity or discussion)
    2. assessing or providing feedback on a student’s course work (FYI: auto-graded quizzes don't count, but are still useful tools)
    3. providing information or responding to questions about the content course or competency (FYI, non-course-content, such as talking about grad school options in office hours wouldn't count, but is still an important interaction for students) 
    4. facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency 
    5. or other instructional activities approved by the institution’s or program’s accrediting agency

Talk to Christy Maurer or your Instructional Designer if you want to explore this more. A solid resource covering options for what "counts" comes from SUNY Empire.