social movements and new social cleavages

collective behavior

involves a large number of people and frequently is controversial and sometimes dangerous. Varies from gossips and fads to riots to mass hysteria to social movements.

contentious politics

interactions in which actors make claims bearing on someone else’s interest in which gov. appear either as targets, initiators of claims, or third parties.

social movements

emerge at the intersection of collective behavior and contentious plitics. Relatively new phenomenom - industrial and post-industrial era. organized activity that encourages or discourages social change.

social movement life cycle

emergence, coalescence, bureaucratization, decline (but can sometimes resurface)

types of social movements

alternative, redemptive, reformative, revolutionary

alternative social movement example

Promise Keepers - evangelical movement, nuclear family model, anti-gay

redemptive social movement example

Alcoholics Anonymous

reformative social movement characteristics

progressive and/or reactionary

revolutionary social movements characteristics

affects everyone, means radically changing social structure for example anti-government militias

“old” social movements

industrial era, class-based, usually motivated by strictly economic issues, material goals and gains

“new” social movements

post-industrial era, identity based, motivated by post-material issues, rights, recognition, autonomy, self-expression

the line between new and old social movements, examples

much more blurred, the suffragets (rooted in industrial society but very identity based), chicano movements (class-based but in the post-industrial era)

theories on social movements

political-economy theory, deprivation theory, mass-society theory, structural-strain theory, resource-mobilization theory, culture theory, new social movements theory

political-economy theory

when economic systems and power dynamics produce inequality, exploitation, or marginalization.

deprivation theory

create social movements when they are deprived of something - can be material but also dignity (KKK but also the Civil Rights Movement). Tovqueville noticed that it’s about how when conditions slightly improve and the realization of a hope for a better life is created.

mass-society theory

suggests that social movements emerge when individuals feel isolated, disconnected, or alienated in large, impersonal societies. These movements provide a sense of belonging and identity, offering a way to reconnect with others and address feelings of powerlessness or discontent. But also implies that due to loneliness they are ready to be pressured or coerced into joining something. Based on fears of how nazis came to power, also communists (story not as simple).

structural-strain theory

social movements emerge due to some sort of strain, developed amid 20th c., mobilize, collective actions follows, can take over public spaces, or start rioting, carnivalesque sense of collapsing social norms and/or control.

resource-mobilization theory

explains social movements by emphasizing the importance of resources—such as money, leadership, networks, and organization—in their success. It argues that grievances alone aren't enough; movements succeed when they effectively acquire and use resources to mobilize support and influence change.

culture theory

focuses on cultural aspects of social movements, main focus on symbolic resources, it suggets that movements emerge when people create and spread cultural narratives that frame their grievances and inspire collective action

new social movements theory

It highlights the role of values, identity politics, and quality-of-life issues in post-industrial societies. Movements that emerged in 1960s and 70s. Sometimes called left-libertarian social movements. Questions of the use of nuclear energy, self-expression.

labor movement

industrial era, it couldn’t have happened in the pre-industrial era as workers had no way in contacting each other and realizing the low quality of work, they worked in separate places and buildings

segregationist/white supremacist movement [kkk]

post-civil war — created first in response to abolition of slavery

hippies

mainly based on experimentation on sex, drugs, building communes. in the 1960s.

Civil Rights Movement

1950s and 60s, Brown v. Board of Education (delcaring segregation in schools unconstitutional), 1963 March on Washington and MLK’s speech. until 1950s universities strongholds of conservatism, not the case after 1960/70s

second wave feminism

emerged in 1960s, focused on broader range of issues beyong women’s suffrage, which was adressed in the first wave. advoated for gender equality in areas like employment, education, reproductive rights, and sexual autonomy. Key elements — Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique”

counter movements

have emerged in response to various social movements, often aiming to preserve traditional values or oppose progressive changes.

counter movements examples

the anti-feminist movement, the religious right, the tea party, the silent majority

the anti-feminist movement

conservative movement whose face was Phyllis Schlafly.

the religious right

conservative movement that emerged due to secularizing trends of the 1960s, opposing abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, advocating for the preservation of Christian values in public life.

the tea party

a right-wing, populist movement that emerged in response to Obama’s policies, particularly his healthcare reform, and advocated for limited government, fiscal conservatism, and tax cuts.

the silent majority

reaction to civil rights movement, anti-war protests, hippies — largely made up of conservative, middle class americans who supported traditional values and opposed social change.reaction to civil rights movement, anti-war protests, hippies — largely made up of conservative, middle class americans who supported traditional values and opposed social change.

new movements

blm, metoo, alt-right