The Emergence of Social Movements: A Pilot Study

University Of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA

Investigators

Abstract

SES-0316436 Kathleen Blee University of Pittsburgh This project examines the formation of groups that propose collective action for social change or emerging social movement groups. Using the framework of time-geography and its applications in the study of place, this study analyzes the processes that underlie the emergence of social movements in the U.S. today. In most studies, a social movement group is selected for study when it is fairly unified, at the stage when it is most visible to researchers. At this point, a group generally has some coherence: a shared range of ideas or ideologies, interpersonal routines, and a definable organization. In contrast to the standard focus on established groups, this project examines ESMGs. Among ESMGs, the question of how the group will be made is unresolved. The principles that the group stands for, its outward presentation of beliefs, the degree to which members are permitted to challenge leaders, who counts or is sought as members, and many other issues are in flux. This project collects comparative data on the universe of ESMGs over a one-year period in Pittsburgh and intensive, contemporaneous, longitudinal data for another year on a purposive sample of these ESMGs. Data are gathered through ethnographic observation of group events and meetings, together with structured and unstructured interviews with movement participants, potential participants, and defecting members. The goals of this project are: (1) to identify the social processes within emerging social movement groups; and (2) to develop a set of testable propositions for future comparative research on social movement formation. Specifically, (1) it explores the mechanisms that underlie civic participation and civic disengagement by analyzing what happens in groups that attempt to organize to challenge existing authorities; (2) it is responsive to recent calls for longitudinal data on social movements, for multiple case studies within a single political field, for the inclusion of conservative and right wing social movements along with the traditional focus on progressive social movements, and for attention to the internal dynamics and tensions of social movement organizations. The broader impacts of this study are: (1) a contribution to methodology and scientific knowledge about the internal processes of emergent social movements; (2) an enhancement of student training and research through the incorporation of undergraduate interns, the development of a graduate seminar and an undergraduate course using data collected in this study, and the distribution of data on local emergent social movements for student papers, theses, and dissertations; and (3) the dissemination of findings to both academic and non-academic audiences interested in understanding how to stimulate robust and diverse involvement in movements for social change.