We are shifting gears for the next few weeks to consider social movement’s relationships with other entities and institutions. This week we are looking at the media and countermovements, and next week we will consider multiple ways that social movements engage with and interact with the State.
Our readings this week and next engage more explicitly with “political opportunities theory” within social movement studies more than our readings have so far this semester. Political opportunities theory examines how changes in political regimes or social disruption may help movements emerge and gain strength as well as how favorable (or unfavorable) political elites may enable or curtail movement activity. For instance, a Republican presidential administration may enable a pro-life social movement to make strides through the passage or enactment of anti-abortion policies. At the same time, however, a Republican administration may embolden the base or provide motivation for more leftist social movements in oppositional response to the administration’s policies.
Our first reading this week in our textbook by Amenta et al reads like a technical examination of media attention for social movements over the twentieth century. As such, the reading itself is a little dry, but it has important take-away points for how and why social movements gain media attention. This media attention (if you recall our reading about resource mobilization with the 10 hypotheses) is vital publicity for fledgling social movements looking to get more recruits and resources.
Our second reading in D2L by Fadaee examines the phenomenon of countermovements — or movements that emerge and organize in direct opposition to existing social movements. Some examples would be the pro-life and pro-choice movements, racial justice and civil rights movements and the alt-right, Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, and even the anti-vaxx and pro-vaccination movements. Not every social movement would have an equivalent countermovement, and at times, these countermovements do not necessarily fit the textbook definition of social movement, simply because they exist in opposition to a social movement. They are not their own standalone movement. While they may have their own goals, tactics, and framing, these are often in response to the original movement.
For your discussion post this week, I’d like you to reflect on the following questions:
1) Of the four determinants of media attention that Amenta et al identify, which one seems most relevant to your own social movement that you are examining for your topical paper? Compare and/or contrast your movement with the ones that the authors examine in this chapter. Do you have any evidence for how your movement engages with the media or examples of media attention that your movement has received? What would a political opportunities theorist have to say about the media attention that your movement has received?
2) Drawing explicitly from Fadaee’s discussion of countermovements, define and discuss any countermovement activity in relation to your social movement. How does your movement interact with or respond to its countermovement?
In reply to your classmates, I want you to choose one person and focus on replying to their discussion about the media and choose another person to reply to their post about countermovement interaction.
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