In this course we examine the roles of political ideology, ethnic and racial identities, gendered identities, and nationalist identity in engaging in or
mobilizing for political action in the 21st Century. The class has four parts. We begin the course by weighing the concept of identity and
different forms and venues in which it shapes political engagement. We follow this segment with a look at the mobilization of ultra-nationalist politics in
domestic and international settings in order to understand the different social and political threads associated with nationalist identities. We then turn to
exploring the more widely cited theories that explain the mechanics of political mobilization and movements. Finally, we look at a series of politically
engaged groups that have strong identity elements in order to assess their similarities and differences domestically and internationally across the 21st
century. This latter stage entails substantial group work to build the cases. Note: This course counts towards the undergraduate Comparative Politics subfield.
Course Attributes: EN S; AS SSC; AS WI I; FA SSC; AR SSC
