Social movements on display

by Lauren Ostberg '07

Every class at Kenyon arguably immerses students in the "real world," but Jan Thomas's course called Social Movements looks directly at efforts to change lives and transform societies. The campus community can share in the course's discoveries and insights next week, when Thomas's students present their final projects on social movements from around the world.

The presentation will take place on Thursday, December 9, during Common Hour in the Old Bank Building. Cider and cookies will be available.

The student projects embrace movements on all points of the political spectrum. Topics include gay rights, white supremacy, reproductive rights, pro-life activism, the Catholic Workers Movement, the Cuban revolution, child-labor issues in India, and the Radical Afghan Women's Association. The projects take various forms: some feature timelines, for example, while others incorporate artifacts.

"The first time I incorporated these projects into the course, the displays that the students put together were so great that I decided we should share them with the wider community," says Thomas, an associate professor of sociology. "Viewers can get a quick glimpse of many social movements, some old and some new."

The projects offer students an opportunity to explore topics beyond the American social movements to which most of the course is devoted. As part of the course, students also complete a service project, in order to learn about social change at the local level.