Social Movements - by Paul Almeida (Paperback)

About the Book

"Social Movements cleverly translates the art of collective action and protest to the university classroom. Students will learn the core components of social movements, the theory and methods used to study them, and the conditions under which they lead, at times, to political and social transformation. This fully class-tested textbook is the first to be organized along the lines of the major subfields of social movement scholarship--framing, movement emergence, recruitment, and outcomes--providing comprehensive coverage in a single core text. Features include: use of real data collected in the U.S. and around the world; the emphasis on student learning outcomes; case studies that bring social movements to life; examples of collateral used in movements (flyers, pamphlets, event data on activist websites, illustrations by activist musicians) to mobilize a group; topics such as immigrant rights, transnational movement for climate justice, Women's Marches, Fight for $15, Black Lives Matter, and the mobilization of movements in the global South over issues of authoritarian rule. With this book, your students will deepen their understanding of movement dynamics, methods of investigation, and dominant theoretical perspectives, all while challenging them to consider their own place in relation to social movements"--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

Social Movements cleverly translates the art of collective action and mobilization by excluded groups to facilitate understanding social change from below. Students learn the core components of social movements, the theory and methods used to study them, and the conditions under which they can lead to political and social transformation.

This fully class-tested book is the first to be organized along the lines of the major subfields of social movement scholarship--framing, movement emergence, recruitment, and outcomes--to provide comprehensive coverage in a single core text.

Features include:

• use of real data collected in the U.S. and around the world
• the emphasis on student learning outcomes
• case studies that bring social movements to life
• examples of cultural repertoires used by movements (flyers, pamphlets, event data on activist websites, illustrations by activist musicians) to mobilize a group
• topics such as immigrant rights, transnational movement for climate justice, Women's Marches, Fight for $15, Occupy Wall Street, Gun Violence, Black Lives Matter, and the mobilization of popular movements in the global South on issues of authoritarian rule and neoliberalism

With this book, students deepen their understanding of movement dynamics, methods of investigation, and dominant theoretical perspectives, all while being challenged to consider their own place in relation to social movements.

From the Back Cover

"Readers can use this book to make sense of how, under what conditions, and to what ends socially excluded groups challenge institutions in power." --Veronica Terriquez, University of California, Santa Cruz

"An accessible introduction. Almeida expertly guides the reader, illustrating his presentation with inspiring examples of twenty-first-century protest movements."--Ruth Milkman, 2016 President of the American Sociological Association and author of On Gender, Labor, and Inequality

"Weaves together empirical case analyses with deep theoretical engagement to teach us how to identify, conceptualize, and study collective action." --Paul Y. Chang, Harvard University, author of Protest Dialectics

"This tour de force provides a thoughtful overview of the field and an excellent roadmap for future research--an indispensable resource for students and scholars alike."--Cecilia Menjívar, University of California-Los Angeles, author of Enduring Violence

Review Quotes

"Easy to read, this extensive review of social movements will benefit new scholars to the field as well as seasoned scholars interested in the organization of more recent movements."-- "American Ethnologist"

"For scholars of social movements in Latin America, this is a refreshing and valuable new textbook."-- "Latin American Politics and Society"

"This book is a welcome addition to the academic resources available in social work education, specifically community-based social work."-- "Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare"

"The book is well written and should be accessible to most readers new to the social movements field; Almeida is adept at explaining the sometimes confusing jargon that pervades the academic literature on movements."-- "Social Forces"

About the Author

Paul Almeida is Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of California, Merced. He is a two-time Fulbright Fellowship Recipient and received the 2015 Distinguished Scholarship Award from the Pacific Sociological Association.