Introduction to Part IV

Abstract

Abstract Activists in social movement organizations and communities construct rich internal cultures that help to maintain solidarity and commitment (Johnston and Klandermans 1995; Lichterman 1996; Taylor and Rupp 1999). They construct collective identities, group definitions through which they understand themselves, their connection with one another, and their political place in the world (Bernstein 1997; Melucci 1989; Taylor and Whittier 1992). They develop frames and discourses for understanding their issues, which they deploy publicly to gain recruits and bring about change (Benford and Snow 2000; della Porta 1995; Snow et al. 1986; Steinberg 1998). Yet they do none of these things in isolation. Movement participants construct collective identities, frames, and discourses within the context of the dominant culture and structural inequalities. The chapters in this part highlight the connections between how activists conceptualize themselves and their worlds and the external structures and dominant cultures in which they operate. Contributors develop analytic tools for examining these intersections, showing how movements draw on both dominant and oppositional cultures, how structural inequalities shape collective identity and movement culture, and how external contexts affect the interpretation and implementation of movement frames and discourses. They build connections from social movement theory to feminist theory, discourse analysis, and intersectional theories of race, class, and gender. They bridge culture and structure, internal and external levels of analysis, and political opportunity and collective identity theories.