Lecture 2

Question 1

Stages of Social Movements?

Answer 1

1) Emergence
When the social problem being addressed is first identified

2) Coalescence
Resources are mobilized and certain actions are taken around the problems outlined in stage 1

3) Routinization
The movement becomes institutionalized and a formal structure develops to promote the cause

*** All successful SM go through this

Question 2

Stages of Social Movements? (HIV/AIDS movement example)

Answer 2

Emergence: The HIV/AIDS movement emerged on February 1981 after doctors identified a new disease among otherwise healthy gay men, initially called “gay-related immune deficiency” (GRID)

Coalescence: June 1981- a group of concerned activist founded the Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the organization around which a movement was formed

Routinization: 1982- the GMHC established an office in NYC and published a newsletter. GRID was renamed (AIDS) and by 1988, GMHC organized the first “Aids Day” (12/1)

Question 3

Early theories of SM (Pre 1970s theorist)

Answer 3

People used to think that individuals who joined SM were aligned or had psychological needs

People who were unhappy with society would join SM

Focused on the individuals

Today this has changed, scholars see movements as healthy and good political engagements

Question 4

Arab Spring

Answer 4

December 17, 2010, a Tunisian street vendor—Mohamed Bouazizi—set himself on fire protesting the illegal seizure of the goods he was selling and repeated harassment at the hands of state officials

Bouazizi’s act is widely held as the “spark” that ignited the Tunisian Revolution which ultimately led to a change in political power in the country and a social movement that continues today—Arab Spring

Question 5

Mobilizing Grievances

Answer 5

Mobilizing grievances are grievances that are shared among some number of actors, individuals or organizations, and that are felt to be sufficiently serious to warrant not only collective complaint but also some kind of corrective, collective action.

(Mobilizing griencevces are grievances that are shared among a group of individuals and that are felt to be serious enough to start a collective action)
- Problem is felt to be serious enough, people feel deeply about this problem

Mobilizing grievances are like mushrooms because they don’t flourish constantly they only flourish during certain conditions

Big answer to the question why social movements occur