GLCb1014 Social Movements: Multidisciplinary Approach
Lecture 1: Introduction: conceptualizing social movements


Social movements: a sociological concept
•Broader social change/revolution?
•Gathering in the street?
•Demonstration?
•Protest participation?
•NIMBY mobilization?
•GOOD guys?
•Radicals?
•Civil society?
•Vs. political science (interest groups, advocacy groups)

Classic conceptualization (Charles Tilly)



Standard conceptualization (Snow & Soule)



Social movements: a concept (Melucci, Diani)



Relational re-conceptualization (Diani)
•Object? Process? Representation?
•Organization? Event? Network?
•Sociology: a processual phenomenon, consisting of various mechanisms
•Boundary de/activation
•Resource sharing

Processual, network-oriented concept



Social movements: different puzzles
•How movements emerge? How it connected to social conflict?
•What do movements culturally represent? How are problems identified as potential objects of
collective action?
•How values, interests and ideas turn into the collective action?
•How particular contexts affect collective action?
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Recent mega-trends
•Class transfromation – new middle classes in capiotalist societies after 1970s?
•Decline of material struggles?
•Rise of post-materialist movements?
•New movements representing structural conflicts?
•Examples: abortion rights, climate crisis, Great Recession,