WEEK 9 POLSOC (Social movements + gender/sexuality movements)

According to Charles Tilly, what are the three defining components of a social movement as a form of contentious politics?

Collective (involves many people), Conflict (inherently conflictual, conflicting with someone else's interests), and Change (pursues social change by influencing politics).

What are Tilly's three additional defining traits of social movements?

(1) Campaign – a sustained, organized public campaign making collective claims on authorities; (2) Repertoire – mass claim-making performances that are non-violent; (3) W.U.N.C. Displays – Worthiness, Unity, Numbers, and Commitment.

What does the W.U.N.C. acronym stand for in the context of social movements?

Worthiness (respected individuals, collective well-being), Unity (matching costumes, marching in ranks, singing), Numbers (headcounts, petitions, filling streets), and Commitment (braving bad weather, visible participation by old and young, resistance to repression, ostentatious sacrifice).

What is Mass Society Theory's view of social movements, and who was an early influential theorist?

It suggests irrational, primitive, violent urges promote social movements, viewing them as bad aberrations or breakdowns in public order. Gustave Le Bon was an early influential theorist, influenced by Durkheim.

What did Theodore Gurr's Why Men Rebel (1970) argue about the causes of social movements?

It proposed frustration-aggression theory: strain caused by social change prevents people from meeting expectations, causing frustration and aggression that pushes them to participate in collective movements—especially when they are close to meeting expectations but don't.

How do structural explanations of social movements differ from mass society theory?

(1) They view social movements positively, as helping make better societies; (2) They believe motives are widespread but that resources and political openings are limited—making resources and openings, not motives, the key to understanding movement success.

What are the four types of mobilizational resources identified in Resource Mobilization Theory?

Human Resources (labor, experience, skills, knowledge), Material Resources (money, transportation, offices), Communication Resources (media, telephones, internet), and Moral/Cultural Resources (legitimacy, inspiration, symbols).

What is the difference between a Social Movement Organization (SMO) and a Social Movement Industry (SMI)?

An SMO is an organization that identifies its goals with a social movement and mobilizes people to participate (e.g., Sierra Club). An SMI is the complex of SMOs for a particular movement (e.g., the environmental movement includes Sierra Club, Greenpeace, WWF, etc.).

According to Aldon Morris, what two organizations were vital resources that made possible the Civil Rights Movement, and what types of resources did they provide?

Churches and Universities. They provided human resources (ministers as talented speakers, students with leadership skills), moral resources (legitimacy and trustworthiness), cultural resources (intertwining Christianity and movement, framing via history of slavery), and material resources (financial support, safe environments).

According to Political Process Theory, what two things does the political environment shape regarding social movements?

(1) Openings – the political environment affects whether openings exist for social movements (democracy is necessary, with rights to assemble, free speech, rule of law); (2) Character – the character of politics shapes the repertoires and character of social movements (e.g., democracy promotes non-violence and focus on numbers/public good; closed regions produce more radical movements).

What is the main argument of Social Constructivist Theory?

Cognitive processes are essential to understanding social movements. People must perceive, interpret, and develop feelings toward social and political issues before they are motivated to participate.

How do Structural and Social Constructivist theories differ?

• Structural: Focuses on how resources and institutional environments affect social movements.

• Social Constructivist: Focuses on why movements occur, emphasizing individual mental processes, motives, and emotions.

• Structural theory is more common in the US, while Social Constructivist theory is more common in Europe.

What are the three main cognitive elements of Social Constructivist Theory?

• Framing: How movements communicate problems and proposed solutions.

• Identity: How individuals identify with a movement.

• Emotions: How feelings motivate people to participate.

What is framing, and how does it contribute to social movement success?

Framing is the process through which movements communicate their interpretation of a problem (diagnosis) and what should be done about it (prognosis). Effective framing resonates with the public and can also make popularizing a particular perspective a movement's goal.

How do gender and sexuality movements demonstrate the importance of identity?

They use identity in three ways:

• Identity for empowerment: Unifying activists and empowering individuals.

• Transforming identity: Challenging stigma and oppressive categories while demanding recognition.

• Identity deployment: Using identity to spark debate and criticize existing social norms.

What is emotion management, and why is it important in gender and sexuality movements?

Emotion management involves controlling or managing emotional expression to avoid reinforcing gendered stereotypes. For example, women and gay men may feel pressure to control their emotions to be taken seriously rather than dismissed as overly emotional.

What is the collective action problem according to Mancur Olson?

It is the problem that individuals have little rational incentive to contribute to producing public goods because they can benefit from them without contributing (free-riding). If everyone free-rides, the public good will not be created.

How does James Jasper explain how social movements overcome the collective action problem?

Jasper argues that emotions motivate participation. People are willing to incur personal costs and make sacrifices because of emotional connections to a cause, even when participation is not individually rational.

How do emotions contribute to the creation and maintenance of social movements?

Emotions:

• Motivate people to join movements.

• Encourage individuals to disregard personal costs.

• Sustain participation over time.

• Help movements mobilize support through emotionally powerful framing.

What are collective emotions, and how do they encourage participation in social movements?

Collective emotions are feelings connected to group identity, such as love and concern for the in-group or anger and fear toward an out-group. They encourage participation through:

• Identity affirmation: Participation reinforces collective identity and self-worth.

• Alleviation: Collective participation reduces negative emotions and creates hope, pride, and optimism.

• Obligations: Individuals feel responsible toward their group and may experience shame if they do not contribute.