Zea

Question: What makes a group of people turn into a mob? Audience: KIS social studies teachers

Reading Plan: 1. "The Lynch Mob Mentality" by Glenn Greenwald (journal article) - http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/02/05/lynch_mobs It's online so I don't have to acquire it, but I plan to use it in that I will examine how modern mob behaviors mimick past mob behaviors using the examples given in the article about the war on terrorism and the Salem witch hunts. I will examine if in fact, modern day government actions cause mob behaviors (is the U.S. mood about terrorism a mob mentality or simply just a reasonable fear?).

2. "Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution" by Howard Rheingold (book) - http://www.amazon.com/Smart-Mobs-Next-Social-Revolution/dp/0738208612/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299993879&sr=1-1 I plan on getting the e-book copy which I can do at any time and then just reading it on my e-book reader. This book is all about how modern technology allows people to act together even if they don't know each other. Not only does it challenge what exactly a mob is (any given group that acts in the same way? or does it imply violence as I though it did?), but it also shows how technology could be changing exactly how mobs are formed.

3. "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations" by Clay Shirky (book) - http://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Everybody-Organizing-Organizations/dp/0143114948/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299993879&sr=1-3 I plan on getting the e-book copy for this as well. It's my backup for in case I can't find the "Smart Mobs" book. It is pretty much the same as the other book, but by a different author. It's about how technology is affecting group/mob interactions.

4. "Mob Mentality: The Good, the Bad, and the just plain silly" (journal article) - http://everything2.com/title/Mob+mentality%253A+The+good%252C+the+bad%252C+and+the+just+plain+silly It's online so I don't have to acquire it. This article points out that mobs actually can be good which makes me think that I should change my view on what mobs are.