Understanding Liberation Struggles: The US Civil Rights and South African Anti-Apartheid Movements

Two of the most consequential social movements of the 20th century are the African American Freedom Struggle in the U.S. and the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa. There are extensive literatures on both movements, but rarely have these two movements been studied comparatively. What are the similarities and differences between the two struggles? And how well to theories of social movement origins account for the two movements? In this course, we will review the history of the two movements and then compare their emergence, subsequent development and ultimate impact through the lens of social movement theory. We will then bring the course to a close with a sobering look at the legacies of both movements as well as the state of contemporary racial politics in the U.S. and South Africa.