Analysis of New Social Movement Theory Essay

Our individual characteristics and traits are what initiates change and drives society, yet in our society in which individuality doesn’t seem to exist these days. where is an individualist is something what we call an outcast or not normal. In two articles by Kenji Yoshino "Preface" and "The New Civil Rights Movement", Yoshino discusses how he believes that people “cover” or hide their real identity so they will fit into the so called “norms” of our society. Yoshino supports his argument by ethos, he also uses his own personal experiences, he also uses pathos, and he uses examples, facts and data to get his point across. It is this individuality that fuel society and is present in every aspect of it. Culture, a significant part of society,

Social movements are one of the primary means through which the public is able to collectively express their concerns about the rights and wellbeing of themselves and others. Under the proper conditions, social movements not only shed light on issues and open large scale public discourse, but they can also serve as a means of eliciting expedited societal change and progress. Due to their potential impact, studying the characteristics of both failed and successful social movements is important in order to ensure that issues between the public and the government are resolved to limit injustices and maintain societal progress.

Chan's article (2016) talked about how identity, efficacy and anger help legitimize and support the activities of social movements. First, according to social identity theory, if individuals categorized themselves into the groups they belong to, they would be more motivated to support the group and act in accordance with the internal goal. In other words, "Higher levels of group identification with the in-group is related to a greater likelihood of engagement (Kelly, 1994)." Based on this theory, we decided to expose messages that made our audiences feel like the sharply decreasing oyster population is closely related to their daily life. For example, oysters are beneficial to their health, water environment and plants. Second, Chan suggests higher group efficacy is a stronger predictor of collection actions. For our campaign, we tried to make our audiences feel like they are an indispensable part of our campaign. According to this principal, we also tried to response to our follower's comments as quickly as possibly, in order to make them feel like they are the most important part of our campaign. We also kept them updated about our campaign progress. For instance, we sent out a live streaming invitation ahead of time to encourage them to join us. Third, anger with the general social environment also predicted higher levels of

When one looks back on the frenetic 1960s, conservative sentiments aren’t usually the first thing to come to mind. Yet, while the New Left and the radical counterculture were reshaping cultural ideals, it was the New Right who emerged from the 1960s as a viable political force. The New Left can be categorized as a broad, largely youthful, movement with the goal to challenge various social norms and to institute a “participatory democracy”. Moreover, the New Left was “New” in a sense that they differed from the labor-centered liberal elites at the time; insisting on creating larger, more radical changes to society. On the other hand, the New Right was a largely grassroots movement aimed to restore traditionalist values from the “Eastern Establishment.” The New Right was “New” in a sense that it revitalized conservative hope at a time when those hopes looked mighty bleak. When analyzing the wildly different outcomes of the two movements, it becomes apparent that the New Right’s political-oriented manner to achieve their goals proved to be the decisive factor in maintaining long-term stability; something the confrontational New Left did not have the resources to achieve from the outset.

The year 1968 was a significant moment in the postwar period as it witnessed the greatest social and political upheaval throughout the world. It is understood as a metaphor for the larger mobilization cycle that took place in the long Sixties and in the Seventies. The events of that year marked a turning point in the emergence of a cohort of young people comprising students and workers who had come confronting the established authority and social conventions. Embedded in anti-authoritarian and individualistic, libertarian and socialistic as well as democratic, anti-institutional, and anti-bureaucratic values, student groups and worker unions across organized protests and demonstrations against the established institutions of Western democracy,

These three movements are a big part of our history and each of the three show that when many people with a common goal work together, especially when a leader takes charge, that sometimes non-violent acts such as speeches and protests are more powerful than fighting and they successfully create big changes.

Eric Hoffer wrote ?The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements? in early 1950 when he offered insight about the current cultural phenomenon surrounding public movements. In his book, Hoffer discusses about the appeal of mass movements, the potential converts, united action and self-sacrifice, and finally the beginning and end of mass movements. This discussion draws upon examples from religious, social, and nationalistic movements.

Protests have long been an essential part of American life, employed to to draw attention to critical issues,events, and injustices. Ranging from peaceful marches to powerful acts of civil disobedience, not only in the United States but in Central American countries such as Nicaragua. This being said, civil protests and peaceful demonstrations were not necessarily more successful in exuding change than pieces of legislation but moreso acted as a catalyst for social change, leading towards legislation that would positively impact those who protested. The concept of civil disobedience and peaceful demonstration acting as a catalyst can be examined mainly through the protests during the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. and the Sandinista

Eric Hoffer wrote ?The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements? in early 1950 when he offered insight about the current cultural phenomenon surrounding public movements. In his book, Hoffer discusses about the appeal of mass movements, the potential converts, united action and self-sacrifice, and finally the beginning and end of mass movements. This discussion draws upon examples from religious, social, and nationalistic movements.

The ostensive purpose of framing in social movements is to advance the acceptance of the cause. Framing helps accomplish this in several ways. First, it identifies the problem and locus of attribution. The “larger the range of problems covered by the frame, the larger the range of social groups that can be addressed with the frame and the greater the mobilization capacity of the frame” (Gerhards and Rucht 1992:580). Second, frames can vary in terms of their flexibility and rigidity and their inclusivity and exclusivity. Purportedly, the more flexible and inclusive the collective action frame used, the greater the potential appeal of the frame to the public. Third, frames vary in their interpretive scope and influence. If they are fairly expansive in their scope they function as “master frames” (Snow and Benford 1992). Master frames have broad appeal to the population increasing the movement’s appeal. Examples of master frames include democracy, victimization, and individual rights frames. Fourth, frames

To start, the Idle No More social movement has shown a variety of social movement theoretical approaches. Approaches such as the collective behaviour approach, relative deprivation approach, and the political process approach are all approaches that can be easily identified within this social movement. “Idle No More” is a protest social movement that began in 2012 that included he First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples and their non-Aboriginal supporters in Canada, in order to fight back against the economic, social and spatial inequalities of first nations people in Canada . The first theoretical approach that can be closely affiliates with the “Idle No More” movement is the collective behaviour theory. The collective behaviour theory which closely relates to the pluralist theory states, “Individuals who try to emotionally react to situations outside

In many ways, it is a new type of social movement all together. It is a manifestation of the two periods of revolution Latin America. Influenced by the Cuban Revolution and movements like it in the 1960s, as well as movements in modern times, the EZLN has blended the two to in many ways create their own unique movement. Perhaps because of all the changes that have occurred around the world in the period between the 1970s-1994, the EZLN does not neatly fit into any social movement theory paradigm. The movement’s own change over time has mean that it does not it fit into a social movement theory. As a result of existing for so long it saw changes in what its members wanted to accomplish. In the beginning it began as a classical Marxist movement which was very reflective of the ideals the Cuban Revolution inspired. As time went on this changed it became more in line with modern movements with its focus on

15). Without understanding certain historical processes that shape notions of an idyllic citizen, like those discussed in the previous paragraph, we cannot understand the current exclusions that lead to activism. Specifically, Kennelly argues that the constraints of neoliberalism are reinforced differently through what she calls the “habitus.” The habitus is a system of dispositions that create certain conditions for youth activism (p. 75). In this chapter of the book, Kennelly interviews several participants to understand how the habitus acts as an influencing agent. For example, by growing up in a home that emphasizes social justice (i.e. having activist parents), an individual could be predisposed to the importance of activism (p. 79). At the same time, certain predispositions may also encourage activism. Along various racial, cultural and ethnic fault lines, activism may be encouraged for the sake of equality. Among many examples, Kennelly uses the example of Sanna, a “Kenyan-Canadian” who feels the need to explain she is more than just “Canadian” based on her appearance (p. 85). In this aspect, the both habitus examples conflict in origin, yet both create a sense of social justice. This paragraph largely relies on Pierre Bordieu’s notion that every “field” contains a certain

Cantril, Hadley. The Psychology of Social Movements,. New York: J. Wiley & Sons, 1941. Print.

Non- violent movements are a way for groups of people to achieve change and create an impact in the society. The labor, African American, and Vietnam anti-war peace movements were significantly successful in abolishing harsh working conditions, gaining civil rights for blacks, and withdrawing from the Vietnam War (Upchurch). Non-violent and violent movements have been used throughout history to evoke change in the society, obtain equality, civil rights, and peace. While violent protest result in the same changes, non-violent methods can ultimately go beyond local violent protest, spread nationally through movements, and protest without requiring violence. These events because of the non-violent