Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-22T19:20:55.599Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Appendix: a survey of social movement theories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2009

Stephen M. Engel
Affiliation:
Bates College, Maine
Get access

Summary

If collective behavior was the theoretical response to the socio-political climate of the 1930s, and if the RM framework was the theoretical response to the socio-political climate of the 1960s, it remains to interpret the socio-political climate of the 1990s and to reformulate social movement theory in ways which will enlighten us about this new historical moment .

Steven M. Buechler, “Beyond Resource Mobilization”

To comprehend and appreciate more fully the robust quality of the political process model and the importance of multifaceted analysis, we must more carefully examine the utility and disadvantages of theories which remain confined to one evaluative sphere or to the overlap of only two such spheres. The field of social movement analysis is complex, and the language used to elucidate competing theories can be quite tangled and tricky. Therefore, as I evaluate the theories throughout this appendix, I will attempt to tie the theory with some concrete examples drawn from the civil rights movement and the gay and lesbian movement. However, before we apply these real-world examples, it might be easier to begin with a simplistic hypothetical model of collective action. Let's suggest that this particular instance of collective action is at a college campus where a group of students have mobilized in front of the administration building to protest against the distributor which supplies food to the dining hall. Perhaps the students are acting on behalf of migrant farm workers who supply produce to the distributor, but are underpaid, not offered health insurance, and are generally exploited. They may be demonstrating solidarity with university dining employees who contend that they are underpaid and subjected to poor working conditions.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Unfinished Revolution
Social Movement Theory and the Gay and Lesbian Movement
, pp. 167 - 186
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2001

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×