STPEC 101 | Radical Visions of Social Thought and Political Economy
TuTh | 11:30am – 12:45pm
Shemon Salam
3 credits
This course will familiarize new students with the program and its vision. STPEC is a rigorous, democratically run, interdisciplinary academic program. STPEC is also a community of students, staff, instructors, alumni, and friends that will help you navigate your time at UMass. Ideally this course will also familiarize us with each other.
The content of this course is organized around concepts students will encounter in their other STPEC requirements, as well as in the STPEC community and the greater world. It will provide an introduction to social theory, political economy, race and ethnicity, gender, masculinities and femininities, globalization and inequality in the Global North and the Global South. Assignments facilitate exploration of these and related topics. Students will have the opportunity to learn the value of social theory and how to make an argument; communicate for effective dialogue, and how to begin to identify social justice issues.
STPEC 101, like STPEC's core classes, is seminar-style. This means small groups with an emphasis on discussion and reflection.
This class is open to STPEC and other majors.
STPEC 291X | STPEC Executive Committee
Time TBD
Toussaint Losier
1 credit
Students enrolled in this course serve as representatives of the Student Executive Committee (SEC). The SEC was designed to incorporate student participation in the governance of the STPEC major. Students are for example asked to propose potential guest speakers, offer feedback on curriculum, participate in hiring decisions and deliver weekly announcements to the STPEC courses in which they are enrolled. Each cohort is also encouraged to develop projects or events of their choosing and then work in partnership with the department to bring it to fruition. Past committees have for example organized STPEC zines, movie nights, surveys and trainings.
This course is open to STPEC majors only. This course will be scheduled at a mutually agreed upon time.
STPEC 320 | Writing for Critical Consciousness
M | 4:00pm – 6:30 pm
Boone Shear
3 credits
Junior Year Writing
The STPEC Junior Writing Seminar focuses on individual development of voice. We will weave this theme through standard essay assignments, weekly response papers, cover letters and resumes, and a research paper with a theme of your choosing. I encourage integration of ideas from your other courses and experiences. Be prepared to think critically and examine texts carefully. We will be sharing our writing with each other – be ready to give and receive constructive feedback. This course meets only once a week; attendance is crucial.
Enrollment is limited to 15 students. STPEC and Education majors only. Prerequisite: College Writing or equivalent.
STPEC 391H | Radical Theory and Movements from the Age of Revolutions to the Global 1960s.
TuTh | 2:30pm – 3:45pm
Shemon Salam
4 credits
This course looks at the Black Radical Tradition and racial capitalism from the 15th century to World II. Through these two frameworks and methods we will analyze gender, inequality, nationalism, and struggles of the oppressed. This is a student driven course where classroom discussions, presentations, self-reflections, and group work are central to the daily functioning of the class.
Enrollment is limited to 15 students. This course is open to STPEC and other majors.
STPEC 392H | Radical Theory and Movements from the Global 1960s to the Fourth Industrial Revolution
TuTh | 1:00pm – 2:15pm
Shemon Salam
4 credits
This course focuses on the development of social struggles, political economy, and theory from the 1960s to the present. Continuing our analysis of racial capitalism and empire, Core II will explore how these formations changed due to economic crisis, national liberation, and class struggle. We will research the connections between race, class, gender, sexuality, disease, and other axes of oppression under racial capitalism. A major research paper of the student's choosing will be produced over the course of the semester allowing students to more deeply engage with a topic, and to practice applying the critical methodological and theoretical tools developed in the STPEC curriculum.
Enrollment is limited to 15 students. This course is open to STPEC and other majors.
STPEC 491H | STPEC Focus Seminar I
Tuesday | 4:00 - 6:30pm
Stellan Vinthagen
4 credits
Preparations and trainings for Civil Resistance
Trainings in “civil disobedience” and “nonviolent direct actions” have been used by activists since the 1960s and the Civil Rights Movement. Trainings normally consist of combinations of lectures from experienced activists, role-plays or sociodrama in which situations are rehearsed (e.g., arrests or police interrogations), and practical exercises with strategy development for campaigns. Recently, specialized trainings and new approaches have emerged, e.g., anti-fascist workshops, self-defense from surveillance or digital forms of mass trainings.
This course is focused on the pedagogics of trainings and the practical skills of conducting such preparations for resistance. We will read handbooks and research papers, watch training videos, and we will invite and talk with experienced educators that do very different kinds of trainings. In the classroom we will test exercises and learn how to lead a training session. The type of workshops and trainings we will explore will be relevant for many different kinds of movements, e.g., feminist, queer or reproductive justice struggles, climate justice, or antimilitarism. Two main written papers will also be part of the examination of the course: one paper that reviews a handbook and one paper that critically evaluates a type of training or a resistance campaign that utilized trainings.
PREREQUISITE: STPEC 391H
Enrollment is limited to 15. Sophomores who obtain permission to enroll from the instructor should contact Monica Garcia for an override. Students may take Focus Seminars to fulfill upper level requirements. See the Recommended Course list for this semester to find out which category this seminar will fulfill and ask Monica to apply that change on SPIRE.
STPEC 492H | STPEC Focus Seminar II
Tuesdays | 4:00pm – 6:30pm
Svati Shah
4 credits
Popular Struggles and Revolutionary Praxis in Brazil, South Africa and South Asia
By focusing on the cases of Brazil, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, this course will examine the popular struggles and revolutionary potential to reshape not only these countries of the Global South, but also the emerging world order more broadly. We will begin with the mid-20th century, examining how the Global South moved from independence and decolonization through the rise of the “Non-Aligned” Movement of the Cold War era to the present moment. Using films, fiction, historical texts and activist writing, this course will examine varying approaches to left politics, autonomous feminism, queer and trans rights, race, caste, and land rights. These will be treated as vibrant frames of reference shaping mass social movements. The course will then examine instances when these movements have converged, like the World Social Forum process of the early 2000s, as well as how they have mobilized against anti-sodomy law and for LGBTQ+ rights, as in South Asia and South Africa; how they have mobilized through struggles of land rights movements, as in Via Campesina in Brazil and the National Alliance for People’s Movements in India; and in the recent student-led revolts against autocracy in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. More broadly, this course will ask how movements have sought to resist fascism and authoritarianism, with an eye towards how those outside of the Global South can learn to further advance their own demands when the European experience of anti-authoritarian resistance is not our only historical referent for revolutionary struggle. Supplemental readings will be drawn from the Black Radical Tradition and from newer work in Trans Marxism.
PREREQUISITE: STPEC 391H Enrollment is limited to 15. Sophomores who obtain permission to enroll from the instructor should contact Monica Garcia for an override. Students may take Focus Seminars to fulfill upper level requirements. See the Recommended Course list for this semester to find out which category this seminar will fulfill and ask Monica to apply that change on SPIRE.
STPEC 494PI | Praxis
W | 11:15pm – 1:45pm
Shemon Salam
3 credits
Integrative Experience
This course tackles the latest developments in racial capitalism by analyzing social struggles and organizations since the economic crisis of 2007. Using the latest research on gender, class, race, empire, and sexuality this course looks at how crisis and struggle are simultaneously shaping the world. For the final project students will write a paper focusing on social struggles during the pandemic.
As an integrative experience (IE) course students are encouraged to draw on knowledge from prior courses, life experiences, and readings from outside the class. Praxis will be driven by applying theory to the real world. This course is highly student driven: composed of presentations, small group discussions, debates, and self-reflection.
This course satisfies the Integrative Experience requirement for BA-STPEC majors.
STPEC 498Y | Practicum – Exploring the Intersection of Theory and Practice
Toussaint Losier
3 credits
This course fulfills the STPEC internship requirement. Students in this course undertake an internship of 120 hours or more in an organization of their choice, and engage in critical reflection on their experience. Fieldwork placements are identified and arranged by each individual student and must be approved by the instructor. Students are encouraged to use this class as an opportunity to synthesize knowledge gained in the classroom and test its applicability to “real life” situations.
To enroll, submit a completed STPEC internship contract before the end of add/drop. Note: you must meet with Monica Garcia and get approval of your placement before you turn in your contract. She can be reached at @email.
STPEC 298: Practicum (1-12 credits, mandatory pass/fail)
STPEC 398: Practicum (1-12 credits, graded)
Note: The following courses do not fulfill any STPEC or University requirements
These two options are for students doing elective internships (i.e., this course does not fulfill the STPEC internship requirement). The primary differences between the courses are grading (STPEC 298 is pass/fail) and recommended final paper length: students in STPEC 298 write about 2-3 pages per credit, and students in STPEC 398 write about 3-4 pages per credit. Students in these courses receive one credit for every 40 hours of work that they complete in an organization of their choice. They must find a faculty sponsor who is willing to grade their written work and submit a grade. The STPEC Internship Advisor can provide assistance with finding placements and faculty sponsors, but this is ultimately each student’s responsibility. To register, speak with Monica Garcia, Director of STPEC’s Internship Program and complete a STPEC Internship Contract by the end of add/drop.