It should just be a paragraph or two explaining what the organization does and starting to analyze it through the lens of the five key course questions, which are listed on the syllabus.
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Communication 153 Spring 2024 MW 3:30-4:45 Teaching Assistant Julia Kuhlman Office: Zoom Office Hours: T 1:00-3:00 and by appointment Email: [email protected] |
Political Communication Professor Michael Stohl Office: SS&MS 4125 Office Hours: MW 12:00-1:30 and by appointment Email: [email protected] |
Overview: This course examines communication and global advocacy organizations with particular reference to two types of organizations, NGOs that advocate for human rights, and terrorist organizations. We begin by examining the concepts of human rights and terrorism. Next, we examine how global organizations concerned with human rights, both governmental and non-governmental, have developed, how they operate, and how they interact with governments and other organizations and, then explore the development and changes in terrorist organizations. We then explore how organizational strategies and developments concerning human rights and terrorism have interacted with communication technologies, political opportunities, and events to create networks of human rights and terrorist organizations. In the final part of the course, we will consider the management of these organizations and their continuing struggles to recruit, fund and sustain their activities.
Throughout we are interested in five key questions:
1. What are the most effective actors and institutions for communicating new ideas, new attitudes, and new behaviors
1. What factors determine an actor’s receptivity to new ideas, new attitudes, and new behaviors, do strategies and tactics vary across audiences, and do strategies and tactics change by actors?
1. What factors determine the capacity of an organization to promote its goals?
1. What are the most effective messages to promote new ideas, new attitudes, and new behaviors, and how do these messages change as norms change?
1. How do NGOs and Terrorist Organizations retain their credibility (with their supporters and prospective supporters) and how effective are they in using the resources they raise and command?
All the readings listed below will be found on the Canvas Course site.
Assessment
This course is one of four upper-division communication courses that satisfy the general education writing requirement and hence assessment will be through essay examinations and a term paper. There will be three short take home essay examinations due on April 29, May 20, and June 14 at 5:00 PM on Canvas and a term paper due on June 5 by 3:30 PM (before class) on Canvas. The term paper (approximately 4000 words) will focus upon a particular NGO or Terrorist Group and examine the organizational structures and strategies the organization has chosen for organizing, mobilizing, communicating with members, networking, and achieving its goals. You will find it useful to think about the five questions above and to consider the audience(s) with whom the organization communicates- publics, governments, and other organizations (e.g. terrorist groups, NGOs, political parties etc.), as well as its internal organizational audience, while evaluating their strategies.
A brief description of the organization chosen must be submitted for approval by May 1 by 3:30 PM on Canvas The paper is due on June 5 by 3:30 PM on Canvas.
No late exams or papers will be accepted and no make-up exams will be given unless there is a documented case of extreme emergency. The examinations and the paper will each constitute 25% of the grade.
You may choose either the APA or the Chicago Manual of Style as your bibliographic style as long as you are consistent throughout. If you have second (or third) language skills, you might consider examining organizations whose “home” base is not within the English-speaking world. This might prove very enlightening when thinking about global connections and communication strategies.
Schedule
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Date |
Topic |
Readings |
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1 |
April 1 |
Introduction |
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2 |
April 3 |
What are Human Rights and What is Terrorism |
Marks, Human Rights: A Brief Introduction Cooper, Terrorism: The Problem of Definition |
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3 |
April 8 |
Sovereignty, the State and the State System: Implication for Human Rights and Terrorism |
Huff and Kertzer, How the Public Defines Terrorism |
|
4 |
April 10 |
Three Generations of Rights |
Globalization 101, Human Rights |
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5 |
April 15 |
The Five Waves of Terrorism |
Rapoport, Four Waves of Modern Terrorism Auger, Right Wing Terror: A Fifth Wave? |
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6 |
April 17 |
Globalization |
Monge, Communication Structures and Processes in Globalization |
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7 |
April 22 |
Thinking about Global Organizations: Types, Growth Import, Impact |
Iriye, A Century of NGOS Werker and Ahmed, What do NGOS Do? |
|
8 |
April 24 |
Types of Human Rights and Terrorist Organizations |
Keck and Sikkink Transnational Advocacy Networks Buker A Motivation Based Classification of Terrorism Gofas 'Old' vs. 'New' Terrorism: What's in a Name? |
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9 |
April 29 |
First Exam |
Submit by 5:00 PM on canvas |
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May 1 |
Paper topic due |
Submit by 3:30 PM on Canvas |
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10 |
May1 |
Organizing for Rights: Protection, Provision, Promotion, Expansion |
Sikkink What Does and Doesn’t Work |
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11 |
May 6 |
Organizing terror: the problem of secrecy |
Asal et al Terrorism as Transnational Advocacy Stohl and Stohl Clandestine Hidden Organizations |
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12 |
May 8 |
Human Rights Organizations: Media Strategies, Messages, platforms and audiences |
Clark and Sikkink Information Effects and Human Rights Data De Bruycker Blessing or Curse for Advocacy? Gromping More Bang for the Buck |
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13 |
May 13 |
Terrorist Organizations Media Strategies, Messages, Platforms and Audiences |
Ly The Charitable Activities of Terrorist Organizations Weimann and Velante The Dead Drops of Online Terrorism |
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14 |
May 15 |
Regimes and Networks |
Risse and Sikkink The Socialization of Human Rights Norms into Domestic Practice Yanacopulos The strategies that bind: NGO coalitions and their influence |
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15 |
May 20 |
Second Exam |
Submit by 5:00 PM on Canvas |
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16 |
May 22 |
Managing Human Rights and Terrorist Organizations |
Krause Prioritization in Human Rights NGOs Shapiro and Siegel Moral Hazard, Discipline, And The Management Of Terrorist Organizations Helfstein Governance of Terror: New Institutionalism and the Evolution of Terrorist Organizations |
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17 |
May 27 |
Memorial Day |
|
|
18 |
May 29 |
Membership Dynamics |
Altier et al Terrorist Transformations: The Link between Terrorist Roles and Terrorist Disengagement Bean and Bukema Deconstituting al-Qa’ida: CCO Theory and the Decline and Dissolution of Hidden Organizations |
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19 |
June 3 |
Terrorism, Human Rights and Security: the tradeoffs |
Conte Human Rights Compliance While Countering Terrorism |
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20 |
June 5 |
Conclusions |
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June 5 |
Paper Due |
No later than 3:30 PM on Canvas |
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June 14 |
Third Exam |
No later than 5:00 PM on Canvas |
Diversity and Inclusion
The University of California at Santa Barbara is committed to promoting excellence through diversity and inclusiveness. The campus community, in keeping with the academic mission of the University of California to educate its residents, strives to create an environment that is welcoming for all sectors of our state's diverse population and that is conducive to the development of each individual's highest potential. In addition, our campus upholds the principle of equal opportunity for all since equal opportunity fosters the best conditions possible for the enhancement of research, creativity, innovation, and excellence.
Academic Conduct
Students are expected to attend all classes and be active participants in class discussions, exercises, and all other academic activities. Diversity of opinions and free expression are encouraged while at the same time courtesy and respect for difference are essential aspects of the classroom climate.
(From UCSB Campus Regulations)
It is expected that students attending the University of California understand and subscribe to the ideal of academic integrity, and are willing to bear individual responsibility for their work. Any work (written or otherwise) submitted to fulfill an academic requirement must represent a student's original work. Any act of academic dishonesty, such as cheating or plagiarism, will subject a person to University disciplinary action. Using or attempting to use materials, information, study aids, or commercial "research" services not authorized by the instructor of the course constitutes cheating. Representing the words, ideas, or concepts of another person without appropriate attribution is plagiarism. Whenever another person's written work is utilized, whether it be a single phrase or longer, quotation marks must be used and sources cited. Paraphrasing another's work, i.e., borrowing the ideas or concepts and putting them into one's "own" words, must also be acknowledged. Although a person's state of mind and intention will be considered in determining the University response to an act of academic dishonesty, this in no way lessens the responsibility of the student.
Students are not allowed to use advanced automated tools (artificial intelligence or machine learning tools such as ChatGPT or Dall-E 2) on assignments in this course. Each student is expected to complete each assignment without substantive assistance from others, including automated tools.
You should be aware that I will report the violation to the Associate Dean of Students for possible referral to the Conduct Committee. That committee has the authority to impose a range of sanctions, including suspension.
Further information is available at:
http://www.hep.ucsb.edu/people/hnn/conduct/disq.html
Grading Scale
A+ = 97-100
A = 93-96
A- = 90-92
B+ = 87-89
B = 83-86
B- = 80-82
C+ = 77-79
C = 73-76
C- = 70-72
D+ = 67-69
D = 63-66
D- = 60-62
F = 0-59
Additional Campus Resources
If you experience difficulty in this course for any reason, please don't hesitate to contact your instructor. The following campus services might also be beneficial to you. Please use them as needed.
805.893.2000 | https://www.police.ucsb.edu/cso/safety-escorts
The CSO (Community Service Organization) Escort Program is a free service provided to all students, faculty, and community members during the evening and early morning hours. The objective of the escort service is to provide a safer mode of transportation through campus and Isla Vista. The escort service is based on the "buddy" system which is to simply provide another person to travel with you to your destination. The CSO Escort Service can be used by simply calling the Police Dispatch through the Escort Phone Line at 893-2000. Escorts can also be requested through the Red Emergency Phones located all over campus.
If you are facing any challenges securing food or housing, and believe this may affect your performance in the class, you are urged to meet with a Food Security and Calfresh Advocate, who is aware of the broad variety of resources that UCSB has to offer (see their drop-in hours at food.ucsb.edu ). You are also urged to contact the professor or teaching assistant if you are comfortable doing so.
Please visit food.ucsb.edu for additional resources including Calfresh, the AS Food Bank, and more.
Campus Learning Assistance Service
Location: Student Resource Building 3210 | 805.893.3269 | http://clas.sa.ucsb.edu/
CLAS helps students increase their mastery of course material through course-specific tutoring and academic skills development. The tutorial groups and drop-in tutoring schedules are posted on the website. CLAS also provides workshops and counseling in test- taking as well as paper-writing skills.
Location: Building 599 | 805.893.4411 | http://caps.sa.ucsb.edu/
Counseling Services offers counseling for personal concerns and crisis intervention, stress management, self-help information, and connections to off-campus mental health resources.
Location: Student Resource Building 1104 & 2260 | 805.893.4569 | http://osl.sa.ucsb.edu/
The Office of Student Life provides assistance with student emergencies, administrative withdrawals, and other unique academic situations and options.
Location: 2120 Student Resources Building | 805.893.2668 | http://dsp.sa.ucsb.edu/
The Disabled Students Program offers many services, such as reading services, notetaking assistance, test-taking accommodations, and registration assistance. For more information on these services, eligibility, and registration, please call or visit the Disabled Students Program office.
Location: Kerr Hall 1150 | 805.893.3457| http://ondas.ucsb.edu/
The OSC offers academic support, mentoring, special programming, and community for all UCSB students, especially first generation students.
Location: UCSB Library, First Floor, Ocean Side | http://www.transfercenter.ucsb.edu/
A space for transfer students to make connections, find academic support, mentoring, and special programs.