David Snow Research Articles

Structural Inequality, Homelessness, and Moral Worth: Salvaging the Self through Sport?

This urban ethnography explores how a group of men experiencing homelessness collectively produced an economy of moral worth and socially beneficial labor within and through a weekly sport-for-development program in the distinct settler-colonial context of Edmonton, Alberta. For over two decades, weekly floor hockey games have been organized by local health workers as part of a broader sport-based intervention/corrective aimed, in part, at reforming Edmonton’s urban ‘underclass’, one that is decidedly Indigenous. Drawing upon three-years of ethnographic field notes and interviews with ten men aged 25–42 years, our analysis revealed how these weekly sporting interludes served as convivial, safe, and consistent events that nurtured the development of long-term meaningful relationships with other participants and social workers, as well as a genuine sense of community. The weekly floor hockey matches were, thus, powerful sites in the broader struggle for what David Snow and Leon Anderson (1993) have called “salvaging the self” for men who embodied a repertoire of trauma and who are regularly positioned as morally devalued subjects who lacked personal responsibility and self-governance.

Black Catholicism and Black Lives Matter: the process towards joining a movement

ABSTRACTThis ethnographic study examines how Black Catholics identify with and respond to the Black Lives Matter movement. The study follows several national Black Catholic gatherings since the death of Mike Brown. Using an adaptation of Scott Hunt, Robert D. Benford, and David Snow's social movement frame analysis, I explore how Black Catholics define and construct the ongoing political issues within the Black Lives Matter movement. I discuss the conditions which contribute to Black Catholic’s participation, or lack thereof, in this social movement through the processes of diagnostic framing, prognostic framing, and motivational framing. I position the larger Black Catholic belief system within frame analysis, examine the relevance of the frames with the Black Catholic community, and analyse the frames’ timing with the Black Lives Matter cycle of protest. This research has implications for intragroup meaning making as Black Catholics start the process towards identifying with the Black Lives Matter social movement.

Joseph Bryan Nelson (1932-2015)

Joseph Bryan Nelson (1932-2015)

Introduction: Framing Political Violence – A Micro-Approach to Civil War Studies

The papers of the special issue analyse intra-state conflict escalation and armed rebellion from a framing perspective. Following Robert Benford and David Snow, framing is understood as strategic c...

Narrative fidelity to the Little Red Book in the framing efforts of the Red Guard Movement: A theoretical model for foundational documents

My research interests take strong cues from much theorizing performed within the social movement theoretical community. Building on framing insights pioneered by David Snow and Robert Benford, I focus on how much narrative fidelity a political activist’s speech has to culturally exalted primary source text(s); this is what I have termed foundational documents. I am proposing a foundational document theoretical model that interacts with novel concepts emerging among critical discourse analysts, and with insights produced within social movement studies under the cultural paradigm. This framework is intended to uncover resonating ideational elements within foundational texts. These are the crucial elements social movement entrepreneurs utilize in order to create culturally potent frame presentations.

The Emergence, Development, and Future of the Framing Perspective: 25+ Years Since "Frame Alignment"

It has been more than twenty-five years since publication of David Snow, Burke Rochford, Steven Worden, and Robert Benford's article, "Frame Alignment Processes, Micromobilization, and Movement Participation" in the American Sociological Review (1986). Here we consider the conceptual and empirical origins of the framing perspective, how its introduction fundamentally altered and continues to influence the study of social movements, and where scholarly research on social movement framing is still needed.

Picturing Same-Sex Marriage in the Antebellum United States: The Union of "Two Most Excellent Men" in Longstreet's "A Sage Conversation"

Au g u s t u s b a l d w i n l o n g s t r e e t ’ s s h o r t s t o r y “A Sage Conversation” appears at first glance to be an astonishingly modern tale. It assembles an elaborate social tableau that has at its center “George Scott and David Snow; two most excellent men, who became so much attached to each other that they actually got married.” The story was included in the author’s 1835 collection Georgia Scenes, Characters, Incidents c indeed, David Rachels, editor of the Georgia edition, has complained that the story, even though it “may be the best of the Georgia Scenes,” nonetheless “is certainly the most misunderstood because critics have been unwilling to

Hizballah as a Social Movement Organization: A Framing Approach

Hizballah is more than just an armed group; it is a social movement organization. The article shows how framing theory can explain Hizballah's growing popularity in Lebanon. It follows David Snow and Robert Benford's division of framing into three categories: diagnostic, prognostic and motivational. Indeed, Hizballah has adopted certain diagnostic, prognostic and motivational frames in order to transmit messages to selected audiences. Its frames are not static, but rather flexible to changing political and socio-economic circumstances. In addition, Hizballah has endorsed the master frames of pan-Islamism, human rights and anti-globalization that could confer legitimacy to the group's aims.

Empowering the activist: Using framing devices on activist organizations’ web sites

The researchers analyzed activist organization web sites to determine the framing techniques employed in their public relations messages. The macro framework for this study was based on the work of sociologists David Snow and Robert Benford, who focus on how social activist organizations frame their messages. At the micro level, the researchers examined the web sites for the presence or absence of five devices identified by Gamson and Modigliani ( American Journal of Sociology 1989;95:1–37) as commonly used when framing issues. The findings suggest that public relations practitioners working for activist groups are not making use of most of these message-framing devices in their issue-related messages on their web sites. Based on Gamson and Modigliani’s work, it would seem that practitioners incorporating these devices would only add to the persuasive power of their messages.

Locating Frames in the Discursive Universe

Scholars from a range of disciplines use the term ‘frame’ to mean a variety of disjointed and incompatible concepts. This paper examines a range of framing literature, from the writings of authors including Erving Goffman, Tuen van Dijk, Serge Moscovici, George Lakoff, Alan Johnson, William Gamson, David Snow, Robert Benford and Paolo Donati. Then it develops the theoretical case for defining frames as semi-structured elements of discourse which people use to make sense of information they encounter. Additionally, this paper demonstrates the need to include social system frames, which provide patterns for understanding social relations, among the presently acknowledged frame types. Frames develop in parallel with language, vary across cultures, and shape, but are distinct from other extra-linguistic discourse forms, including myths and ideologies.

Social Equity and Environmental Politics in Brazil: Lessons from the Rubber Tappers of Acre

For two decades, representatives of third world countries have argued in international fora that poverty pollutes more noxiously than does development.' From the IUCN's World Conservation Strategy in 1980 to the Brundtland Commission report and the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, environmentalist manifestoes increasingly incorporated developmental concerns.2 The notion of sustainable development linked environmental conservation with economic growth and later increasingly with social equity.3 In practice, the connections have been difficult to sustain. As long as poor people were seen mainly as causes, however inadvertent, of environmental degradation, solutions were unlikely to be of their own making. At the end of the 1980s, however, in several well-publicized cases, including the one discussed here, advocates began to portray poor people as protagonists, even leaders, in seeking solutions. The story of how and why this inversion occurred is a fascinating example of the social construction of an issue and shows the relationship between strategic acts of image making, alliance building, and the seizing of institutional opportunities. The political configuration of environmental and social conflicts and those attempting to address them vary considerably among and within countries. Connections are not always self-evident, nor are they self-activating. They are at least in part constituted by the social actors involved. When environmentalists began to call for growth with equity, they moved onto terrain already occupied by labor and social movement activists who were not sure what to make of them. The reinterpretation of long-standing struggles for social justice through an environmental lens has had profound implications for the resources and strategies available to their protagonists. Similarly, attempts to meld social and environmental agendas have been a major challenge for environmentalists. Although it is not unusual for social movements to adapt to new situations, blending old struggles with new and developing new strategies for approaching them, the approximation discussed here is unusual for two reasons. First, it involves sets of actors who normally espouse different visions of such fundamental questions as the relationship between humans and nature and the primacy of material and nonmaterial struggles. Second, it has involved a great deal of self-conscious negotiation, not only of alliances and strategies, but also of these fundamental conceptions. Activists trying to build these relationships frequently rely on stories about struggles where environmental and equity considerations are joined. These stories help to build a frame in which apparently contradictory meanings and demands dissolve and diverse struggles become one. This process of frame alignment (in the sense that David Snow and his colleagues use the term) addresses not only participants and potential participants, but also broader publics who can be expected to respond to one or another element in the stories.

Down on Their Luck: A Study of Homeless Street People.

David Snow and Leon Anderson show us the wretched face of homelessness in late twentieth-century America in countless cities across the nation. Through hundreds of hours of interviews, participant observation, and random tracking of homeless people through social service agencies in Austin, Texas, Snow and Anderson reveal who the homeless are, how they live, and why they have ended up on the streets. Debunking current stereotypes of the homeless, Down on Their Luck sketches a portrait of men and women who are highly adaptive, resourceful, and pragmatic. Their survival is a tale of human resilience and determination, not one of frailty and disability.

Birds, Discovery and Conservation. 100 Years of the British Ornithologists' Club David Snow

Birds, Discovery and Conservation. 100 Years of the British Ornithologists' Club David Snow

Birds and Berries, by Barbara and David Snow [Review

Birds and Berries, by Barbara and David Snow [Review

Reviews

Environmental Management in Agriculture, European Perspectives. Edited by J.R. Park, 1988. Belhaven Press, London and New York. 260 pp. Price £25.00., by Peter Lack The Birds of Africa, Volume III. Edited by C.H. Fry, S. Keith & E.K. Urban, 1988. Academic Press, London. 611 pp., 32 colour plates and many line drawings. Price £71.50., by John Wyatt The Life of Birds. J.C. Welty & L. Baptista, 1988. 4th edition. Saunders, New York. 581 pp. +117 (references and index). Price £24.00., by Paul Rose The Pheasant: Ecology, Management and Conservation. By David Hill & Peter Robertson, 1988. Blackwell Scientific Publications Professional Books, Oxford. 281 pp. Price £17.95., by R. E. Green Ecology and Management of Gamebirds. Ed. by P.J. Hudson and M.R.W. Rands, 1988. Blackwell Scientific Publications Professional Books, Oxford. 263 pp. Price £14.95., by Robert Moss Birds and Berries. By Barbara & David Snow, 1988. T. & A.D. Poyser, Calton. 268pp. Illustrated by John Busby. Price £16.00., by Helen Smith The Sparrows. By J.D. Summers-Smith, 1988. T. & A.D. Poyser, Calton. 342 pp. 8 colour plates, many drawings by R. Gillmor. Price £22.00., by Patrick Thopmson The Quails, Partridges, and Francolins of the World. By P.A. Johnsgard, 1988. University Press, Oxford. 264 pp., 127 colour plates. Price £47.50. Studies of the Wild Turkey in Florida. By L.E. Williams & D.H. Austin, 1988. University Presses of Florida, Gainesville. 232 pp. Price $27.50. The Behavioural Biology of Aggression. By J. Archer, 1988. University Press, Cambridge. 257 pp. Price (hardback) £27.50, (paperback) £9.95. The Ecology of Social Behaviour. Edited by C.N. Slobodchikoff, 1988. Academic Press, London. 430 pp. Price £38.00.

Reviews.

Birds and Berries. By Barbara and David Snow.

Assessment of fitness in the horse

In PracticeVolume 9, Issue 1 p. 26-30 Equine Practice Assessment of fitness in the horse David Snow, David SnowSearch for more papers by this author David Snow, David SnowSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 January 1987 https://doi.org/10.1136/inpract.9.1.26Citations: 2AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume9, Issue1January 1987Pages 26-30 RelatedInformation

The Cotingas, by David Snow [Review

The Cotingas, by David Snow [Review

A Bird Family: The Cotingas . Bellbirds, Umbrellabirds and Other Species. David Snow. Color plates by Martin Woodcock. British Museum (Natural History), London, and Comstock (Cornell University Press), Ithaca, N.Y., 1982. 204 pp. $45.

A Bird Family: <i>The Cotingas</i> . Bellbirds, Umbrellabirds and Other Species. David Snow. Color plates by Martin Woodcock. British Museum (Natural History), London, and Comstock (Cornell University Press), Ithaca, N.Y., 1982. 204 pp. $45.

A Bird Family: The Cotingas . Bellbirds, Umbrellabirds and Other Species. David Snow. Color plates by Martin Woodcock. British Museum (Natural History), London, and Comstock (Cornell University Press), Ithaca, N.Y., 1982. 204 pp. $45.

A Bird Family: <i>The Cotingas</i> . Bellbirds, Umbrellabirds and Other Species. David Snow. Color plates by Martin Woodcock. British Museum (Natural History), London, and Comstock (Cornell University Press), Ithaca, N.Y., 1982. 204 pp. $45.