In light of “abundant” problems and recent political movements such as the Resistance and the March for Our Lives, the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia is offering a new course based on case studies of political mobilization.
Paul Martin, assistant professor of public policy, will teach “From Inequality to Action” this fall, as reported by The Cavalier Daily.
Martin’s thought process behind proposing the course “stemmed from watching student frustration with the state of the world around them,” and was prompted by fears and frustrations over climate change and police brutality.
“In an era where problems are abundant, where solutions are available, and action has stalled, this class grapples with the question of how and why actors with fewer economic or political resources have occasionally gained policy victories over their more powerful adversaries,” the course description reads. “We will read cases from the United States and abroad that highlight the lessons from both successful and failed efforts at promoting greater equity.”
The course is outlined in six sections, each representing quintessential examples of political mobilization in the nation’s history, including: “the civil rights movements in the United States, tax revolt movements in California in the 1970s, labor and union movements in coal mining regions of West Virginia, southern Virginia and Tennessee from the 1930s to the 1980s, Irish nationalist movements in the early 1900s and from the 1960s to the 1990s, the advocacy moment in Charlottesville post-Aug. 12 and the #MeToo movement.”
“I want students to feel empowered to make the kind of changes that these big problems demand,” Martin stated.
According to a biography for Martin on the UVA website, he “studies how and when political elites respond to the preferences of ordinary people.” He also served as an American Political Science Association Congressional fellow for Democratic Congressman David R. Obey from Wisconsin.
Martin’s end-of-semester goals include having students showcase their knowledge on issues in today’s political atmosphere.
“I wanted to introduce a course that offered a bit more hope that change was possible even in exceptionally difficult situations,” Martin expressed. “We have amazing cases of radical policy transformations that have transpired in our recent history. I think we can learn from looking at those cases.”
