Youth Political Participation
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this survey of how young Americans have engaged in political activism over roughly 200 years. Each week covers a different historical period, from early republic organizing through 20th century movements, paired with a look at whether new technologies of the time, radio, music, automobiles, ready-made clothing, actually changed how youth mobilized. The course asks what is genuinely new about today's "new media" by testing it against these historical patterns of youth-driven political participation. Materials include a weekly syllabus organized by era and readings drawn from historical and media studies scholarship, aimed at drawing lessons for present-day activists from past successes and failures. As with other MIT OCW offerings, all course materials are free to access online under a Creative Commons license, though no certificate is offered.