Do we have an obligation to obey the state? And, if not, what forms of disobedience are permissible - and what happens when the state responds? In this course, we examine why individuals and communities protest, how protests seek to transform the real conditions of political and legal life, and whether the operations of state power can expand, contract, or otherwise impact the realization of protesters' goals. In undertaking this examination, we will also consider how the assumed tensions between concepts like civility and incivility, nonviolent and violent direct action, orderliness and disruption, authority and anarchy, and individuality and solidarity influence how a protest is framed under prevailing political orders. We will do this work through an engagement with both scholarly literature and first-person narratives, and we will explore a variety of protests and social movements within and outside of the United States - explorations that will ultimately prompt us to assess whether, and under what circumstances, protests can relieve experiences of oppression and foster conditions of justice.