Soc 61.6 Social Movements

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According to Tilly, social movements have historically played an important role in the development of democratic practices. At the same time, we must remind ourselves that not all social movements are on the political left, or even pro-democracy. Nonetheless, it does seem to be the case that collective action has expanded the repertoire of democratic practices in most places. How does this come about?

On Tuesday, May 13, 1:30-3:30PM, the BC Anti-War Coalition and the BC PSC will co-sponsor an anti-war rally, Rock Against the War. It will be a concert on the Quad with speakers, including some Iraq War veterans, and a puppet parade. It will be an afternoon of fun with a purpose. Join us!

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Social movements are rarely completely successful — that is, achieving all of their claims. Whether or not a movement considers itself successful depends, in large part, on the extent to which its core claims are achieved. Core claims are generally harder to achieve because they involve more fundamental social change. Thus, social movements generally have to deal much more with failure than success. (Or, rather, with something in between, partial success.)

1. Theorizing success: politics and culture

2. Public policy
   
   1. access

   2. agenda
   3. policy
   4. output
   5. impact
3. Democracy

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I just learned this morning that Charles Tilly, one of the most important social movement theorists, died yesterday. No one has done more important or more engaging scholarly work on the history of protest than Tilly. He influenced a generation of sociologists. He will be sorely missed.

UPDATE
Here is the obituary from Columbia University:
The Columbia University community mourns the loss of one of its beloved
members, Charles Tilly, the Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social
Science, who passed away on April 29 after a long battle with cancer. He was
78.

The opportunity structure for social movements is primarily shaped by the state, as we have discussed. But there are two other important institutions that greatly influence how social movements develop. Because social movements involve claims-making, they are actors in the political spectacle dominated by political parties. Social movements have long been seen by politicians as political opportunities — whether for or against. Movements also need attention, not only from politicians and other power-holders, but also from mass society.

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