Sociology: Chapter 11 - The Power of the People

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key concepts of social movements, collective action, and power dynamics from Lisa Wade’s 'Terrible Magnificent Sociology' Chapter 11.

Social change

Shifts in our shared ideas, interactions, and institutions.

Collective action

The coordinated activities of members of groups with shared goals.

Social movement

Persistent, organized collective action meant to promote or oppose social change.

Frances Fox Piven

A scholar whose work challenges the notion that everyday people are powerless by highlighting the masses' ability to bring the machinery of society to a halt.

Interdependent power

The power of noncooperation, rooted in the fact that social institutions are dependent on the predictable interactions of the masses.

Charles Tilly

The sociologist who coined the term "repertoire of contention" to describe shared activities recognized as expressions of dissatisfaction.

Repertoire of contention

Shared activities widely recognized as expressions of dissatisfaction with social conditions, such as sit-ins, boycotts, and rallies.

Social construction of social problems

The two-step process of defining a state of affairs as harmful and claiming it requires a cultural or institutional solution instead of a personal one.

Insurgent consciousness

A recognition of a shared grievance that can be addressed through collective action.

Moral shock

An event that shakes us to the core and can spark the adoption of an insurgent consciousness.

Collective action problem

The challenge of getting large groups of people to act in coordinated ways.

Rosa Parks

A seamstress whose arrest in $1955$ for refusing to give up her bus seat sparked a protest that led to the Supreme Court ruling bus segregation unconstitutional.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

A social movement action where $40,000$ people refused to use the bus system for $381$ days to fight racial segregation.

Aldon Morris

The sociologist who described Black churches as the "institutional center of the modern civil rights movement."

Organizational strength

A combination of strong leadership, human and material resources, social networks, and physical infrastructure.

Political networks

Webs of ties that link people with similar political goals, providing movements with fundraising and voice.

Standing

The authority to speak credibly on a particular topic.

Frame

A succinct claim as to the nature of a social fact, used to convince listeners that a fact is a specific kind of social problem.

Countermovements

Persistent, organized collective action meant to resist social movements.

Counter frames

Frames specifically designed to challenge an existing social movement’s frame.

Master frames

Culturally resonant frames that can be used across many different social movement causes.

Framing wars

Battles between opposing social movements over whether a social fact is a problem and how it should be defined.

Political opportunity structure

Characteristics of political systems, such as the degree of tolerance for activism, that shape the options available to social movements.

Cultural opportunity structure

Cultural ideas, objects, or practices that constrain or facilitate the positions activists can successfully take up.

Critical event

A sudden and dramatic occurrence that motivates nonactivists to become politically active.

Slacktivism

A derisive term for supposedly lazy forms of activism, such as participating in viral online moments.

Economic opportunity structure

The role of money and the economic vulnerability of industries in shaping the options available to activists.

Interest convergence

The alignment of the interests of activists and elites.