scholarly journals Onto the Street and Into the Movement: Understanding how Social Movements Expand their Reach through Large-Scale Protest Events

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana R Fisher ◽  
William Yagatich ◽  
Anya Galli Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Personal Networks ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
History Of ◽  
Movement Organizations

How do social movements broaden their societal reach and mobilize more participants? To date, research has focused on social networks, organizational coalitions, and computer-mediated communication to aid in mobilization, but most research assesses these mechanisms in relative isolation. This paper integrates these perspectives to explore the ways social movements expand their ranks through large-scale street demonstrations and marches. Analyzing data collected through random surveys of participants at two of the largest demonstrations in the history of the climate movement—the Copenhagen Climate March in 2009 and the People’s Climate March in 2014—we assess how the movement expanded. Consistent with the literature on protest mobilization, we show that the climate movement increased participation at these events via personal networks, organizational coalitions, and computer-mediated channels of communication. In addition, we find clear evidence that large-scale protest events like the People’s Climate March are bringing new people, including passive members of social movement organizations and disengaged sympathizers, to the streets and into the movement. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of our findings on social movement expansion through large-scale demonstrations and outlining opportunities for future study.

Reinventing the Concept of Civic Culture

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Lichterman
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Voluntary Associations ◽  
Civic Culture ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Religious Associations ◽  
Movement Organizations

This article proposes a new and better concept of civic culture and shows how it can benefit sociology. It argues that a better concept of civic culture gives us a stronger, comparative, and contextual perspective on voluntary associations—the conventional American empirical referent for “civic”—while also improving our sociologies of religion and social movements. The article first considers the classic perspective on civic culture and its current incarnations in order to show why we need better conceptual groundwork than they have offered. It then introduces the alternative approach, which is rooted in a pragmatist understanding of collective action and both builds on and departs in some ways from newly prominent understandings of culture in sociology. This approach’s virtues are illustrated with ethnographic examples from a variety of volunteer groups, social movement organizations, and religious associations.

scholarly journals THE RISE OF INEQUALITY: HOW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS SHAPE DISCURSIVE FIELDS*

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Gaby ◽  
Neal Caren
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
Wall Street ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome ◽  
Occupy Movement ◽  
Movement Organizations

Social movement scholars have considered several political and cultural consequences of social movements, but have paid limited attention to whether and how social movements shape discourse. We develop a theory of discursive eruption, referring to the ability of radical movements to initially ignite media coverage but not control the content once other actors— particularly those that can take advantage of journalistic norms—enter the discourse. We hold that one long-term outcome of radical social movements is the ability to alter discursive fields through mechanisms such as increasing the salience and content of movement-based issues. We examine the way movements shape discourse by focusing on newspaper articles about inequality before, during, and after the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement. We analyze changes in the salience and content of coverage as well as shifts in actor standing and influence. Using 7,024 articles from eight newspapers, we find that the OWS movement increased media attention to inequality, shifting the focus of the discourse toward movement-based issue areas (e.g., the middle class and minimum wage). Further, we find that compared to the pre-OWS period, the influence of social movement organizations and think tanks rose in discourse on inequality. In addition, the discourse on inequality became more highly politicized as a result of the Occupy movement. These findings highlight the importance of social movements in shaping discourse and indicate that social movement scholars should further consider discursive changes as a consequence of social movements.

Nethnography

2009 ◽  
pp. 1611-1628
Author(s):  
Adriana Andrade Braga
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Online Interactions ◽  
Ethnographic Approach ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
History Of

This chapter explores the possibilities and limitations of nethnography, an ethnographic approach applied to the study of online interactions, particularly computer-mediated communication. In this chapter, a brief history of ethnography, including its relation to anthropological theories and its key methodological assumptions is addressed. Next, one of the most frequent methodologies applied to Internet settings, that is to treat logfiles as the only or main source of data, is explored, and its consequences are analyzed. In addition, some strategies related to a naturalistic perspective for data analysis are examined. Finally, an example of an ethnographic study, which involves participants of a Weblog, is presented to illustrate the potential for nethnography to enhance the study of CMC.

Protest, Social Movements, and Spaces for Politically Oriented Consumerist Actions—Nationally, Transnationally, and Locally

2018 ◽  
pp. 68-88
Author(s):  
Francesca Forno
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
Predatory Lending ◽  
Grassroots Organizations ◽  
Political Consumerism ◽  
Consumer Organizations ◽  
Ethical Criteria ◽  
Movement Organizations ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter discusses the relationship between social movements and political consumerism. Besides traditional consumer organizations that seek to protect customers from corporate abuse (such as unsafe products, predatory lending, or false advertising), political consumer practices have become increasingly employed to achieve diverse political and social goals. Calls to citizens to take action in their role as consumers have been made by social movement organizations of various types, either to build up transnational awareness so as to step up pressure on corporations or to facilitate the purchase of goods/services that meet specific ethical criteria. Along with large-scale boycotting and global fair trade initiatives, market-based actions have entered the repertoire of a number of local grassroots organizations seeking bottom-up solutions for sustainable development, within which the act of shopping moves beyond a form of individuals taking responsibility to become a tool for constructing collective, citizenship-driven alternative styles of provisioning.

Writing Change: Diglossia and Popular Writing Practices in Egypt

Arabica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 324-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Takvam Kindt ◽  
Jacob Høigilt ◽  
Tewodros Aragie Kebede
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Writing Practices ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
Popular Language ◽  
Popular Writing

Arabic is considered a paradigmatic case of diglossia, where written language is regarded as largely the domain of fuṣḥā. Presenting the results of a large-scale survey of language attitudes and practices in Cairo, we argue that this view should be reconsidered. A representative majority of Cairo’s literate population in fact report writing predominantly in the vernacular (ʿāmmiyya), and also regard it as a legitimate written variety, contradicting common assumptions about popular language attitudes. At the same time, fuṣḥā retains its position as an idealized prestigious variety. These surprising results are explained by rising levels of literacy and the growth of computer-mediated communication. The results encourage a rethinking of the language situation in the Arab world, supporting the view that diglossia is a social and cultural resource rather than a problem. L’arabe est considéré comme un cas paradigmatique de diglossie, dans lequel la langue écrite est largement perçue comme le domaine de la fuṣḥā, ou arabe standard moderne. En présentant les résultats d’une enquête à grande échelle sur les attitudes et pratiques langagières au Caire, nous estimons que ce point de vue devrait être reconsidéré. Une majorité représentative de la population éduquée du Caire écrit principalement en langue vernaculaire (ʿāmmiyya) pour rapporter des informations, et perçoit cette langue comme une variante légitime d’écrit, contredisant les affirmations sur les attitudes populaires vis-à-vis de la langue. Dans le même temps, le fuṣḥā garde sa position de variante prestigieuse et idéalisée. Ces résultats s’expliquent par différents niveaux d’alphabétisation et par le développement de la communication informatique. Les résultats invitent à repenser la situation linguistique du monde arabe, en soutenant l’idée que la diglossie est une richesse sociale et culturelle plutôt qu’un problème. This article is in French.

Joining the Cocktail Circuit: Social Movement Organizations at the European Union

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Lahusen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Movements ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Level Structure ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Single European Act ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Movement Organizations

Although social movement organizations have established themselves successfully on the European level, there is dispute whether the European Union is conducive or detrimental to movement politics. One view is that the EU's particular opportunity structures and styles of policy making subvert unconventional forms of action and participation, thus transforming social movements into a fragmented field of individual interest groups and lobbies. This article critically assesses this perspective. It traces these processes, showing that they were indeed part and parcel of the gradual Europeanization of social movements during the 1970s and 1980s. It then presents evidence that, in the aftermath of the Single European Act of 1986, the European movement sector began moving towards a more integrated multi-level structure. Data drawn from interviews with Euro-level movement activists and EU functionaries present a picture of this new interorganizational structure and multi-level action forms with reference to the European groups working on environmental protection, and human and social rights. It is argued that the present developments stress sectorial and cross-sectorial networking, self-regulation, and common policy deliberation.

Whose Memories? Whose Victimhood? Contests for the Holocaust Frame in Recent Social Movement Discourse

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 519-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlene Stein
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
World War ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Social Movement Framing ◽  
Symbolic Resource ◽  
Gay Movement ◽  
Movement Organizations

Fifty years after the end of World War II, the Holocaust is being utilized as a symbolic resource by US social movements. This article investigates social movement “framing” processes, looking at the use of Holocaust rhetoric and imagery by social movement organizations and actors. I explore how competing movements, the lesbian/gay movement and the Christian right, battle over the same symbolic territory, and how the Holocaust frame is deployed by each. Two forms of symbolic appropriation in relation to the Holocaust are documented: metaphor creation and revisionism.

scholarly journals Sowing seeds of hope in California's fields of resistance to Pharm rice and Frankenfish

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dustin Mulvaney ◽  
Anna Zivian
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
Wild Salmon ◽  
Safety Risks ◽  
Genetically Engineered Organisms ◽  
Movement Organizations ◽  
Important Site

California has been an important site of governance on risks from genetically engineered (GE) organisms. This paper reviews California's efforts to govern the ecological and food safety risks from GE salmon and GE pharmaceutical rice. We explain how a political constellation of actors emerged to pursue precautionary policies, and we discuss the prospects for similar policies elsewhere. We find that regulation of particularly risky objects is possible in some places, particularly where social movement organizations are mobilized and the possible consequences are severe, such as with impacts to wild salmon runs or pharmaceutically contaminated foods. But such regulations may only emerge when they are inconsequential to, or aligned with, the market concerns of dominant economic interests.Key Words: genetically engineered organisms, social movements, biosafety, California.

scholarly journals Computer-Mediated Communication in Adults With and Without Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Survey of Social Media Use (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily L Morrow ◽  
Fangyun Zhao ◽  
Lyn Turkstra ◽  
Catalina Toma ◽  
Bilge Mutlu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Computer Mediated Communication ◽  
Social Connection ◽  
Mediated Communication ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Computer Mediated ◽  
History Of

BACKGROUND Individuals with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) report fewer social contacts, less social participation, and more social isolation than noninjured peers. Cognitive-communication disabilities may prevent individuals with TBI from accessing the opportunities for social connection afforded by computer-mediated communication, as individuals with TBI report lower overall usage of social media than noninjured peers and substantial challenges with accessibility and usability. Although adaptations for individuals with motor and sensory impairments exist to support social media use, there have been no parallel advances to support individuals with cognitive disabilities, such as those exhibited by some people with TBI. In this study, we take a preliminary step in the development process by learning more about patterns of social media use in individuals with TBI as well as their input and priorities for developing social media adaptations. OBJECTIVE This study aims to characterize how and why adults with TBI use social media and computer-mediated communication platforms, to evaluate changes in computer-mediated communication after brain injury, and to elicit suggestions from individuals with TBI to improve access to social media after injury. METHODS We conducted a web-based survey of 53 individuals with a chronic history of moderate-to-severe TBI and a demographically matched group of 51 noninjured comparison peers. RESULTS More than 90% of participants in both groups had an account on at least one computer-mediated communication platform, with Facebook and Facebook Messenger being the most popular platforms in both groups. Participants with and without a history of TBI reported that they use Facebook more passively than actively and reported that they most frequently maintain web-based relationships with close friends and family members. However, participants with TBI reported less frequently than noninjured comparison participants that they use synchronous videoconferencing platforms, are connected with acquaintances on the web, or use social media as a gateway for offline social connection (eg, to find events). Of the participants with TBI, 23% (12/53) reported a change in their patterns of social media use caused by brain injury and listed concerns about accessibility, safety, and usability as major barriers. CONCLUSIONS Although individuals with TBI maintain social media accounts to the same extent as healthy comparisons, some may not use them in a way that promotes social connection. Thus, it is important to design social media adaptations that address the needs and priorities of individuals with TBI, so they can also reap the benefits of social connectedness offered by these platforms. By considering computer-mediated communication as part of individuals’ broader social health, we may be able to increase web-based participation in a way that is meaningful, positive, and beneficial to broader social life.

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