Rhyming Hope and History: Activists, Academics, and Social Movement Scholarship (Social Movements, Protest and Contention)

317 Pages·2005·1.37 MB·English

by  David Croteau

020405 UMP-Croteau+ (smpc).key 2/23/06 12:33 PM Page 1
SOCIOLOGY/ POLITICAL SCIENCE C Editors
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David Croteau
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Afterword by
William A. Gamson
“The world presents us with chances at collaborative relationships that allow us to be of use and to R
transcend our individual limits. But we have to be attentive and ready to be hopeful or we may miss H
the moment.” WILLIAM GAMSON, FROM THE AFTERWORD Y
M
Rhyming Hope and Historyexposes the frayed relations between activism and social movement I
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scholarship and examines the causes and consequences of this disconnect between theory and
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practice. Both scholars and activists explore solutions, weighing the promise and perils of engaged

theory and the barriers to meaningful collaboration. This volume asserts that partnerships among H
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scholars and activists benefit both academic inquiry and social change efforts.
P
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Contributors:Kevin M. Carragee, Catherine Corrigall-Brown, Myra Marx Ferree, Richard Flacks,

Adria D. Goodson, Richard Healey, Sandra Hinson, David S. Meyer, Cynthia Peters, Barbara Risman, A
Robert J. S. Ross, Leila J. Rupp, Cassie Schwerner, David A. Snow, Valerie Sperling, Verta Taylor. N
D

David Croteauis formerly associate professor of sociology and anthropology at Virginia H
Commonwealth University. I
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William Hoynesis professor of sociology and director of media studies at Vassar College. O
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Charlotte Ryanis codirector of the Media Research and Action Project at Boston College. Y
William A. Gamsonis professor of sociology at Boston College.
R H Y M I N G H O P E A N D H I S T O R Y
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, PROTEST, AND CONTENTION SERIES
University of Minnesota Press
Printed in U.S.A.
Activists, Academics,
Cover design by Jeenee Lee
Cover photograph courtesy of Corbis
and Social Movement Scholarship
RHYMING HOPE AND HISTORY
Social Movements, Protest, and Contention
Series Editor: Bert Klandermans, Free University, Amsterdam
Associate Editors: Ron R. Aminzade, University of Minnesota
David S. Meyer, University of California, Irvine
Verta A. Taylor, University of California, Santa Barbara
Volume 24 David Croteau, William Hoynes, and Charlotte Ryan, editors,
Rhyming Hope and History: Activists, Academics, and Social
Movement Scholarship
Volume 23 David S. Meyer, Valerie Jenness, and Helen Ingram, editors,
Routing the Opposition: Social Movements, Public Policy, and
Democracy
Volume 22 Kurt Schock, Unarmed Insurrections: People Power Movements
in Nondemocracies
Volume 21 Christian Davenport, Hank Johnston, and Carol Mueller,
editors, Repression and Mobilization
Volume 20 Nicole C. Raeburn, Changing Corporate America from Inside
Out: Lesbian and Gay Workplace Rights
Volume 19 Vincent J. Roscigno and William F. Danaher, Th e Voice of
Southern Labor: Radio, Music, and Textile Strikes, 1929–1934
Volume 18 Maryjane Osa, Solidarity and Contention: Networks of Polish
Opposition
Volume 17 Mary Margaret Fonow, Union Women: Forging Feminism in the
United Steelworkers of America
Volume 16 Bert Klandermans and Suzanne Staggenborg, editors, Methods
of Social Movement Research
Volume 15 Sharon Kurtz, Workplace Justice: Organizing Multi-Identity
Movements
For more books in the series, see page 297.
RHYMING HOPE AND HISTORY
Activists, Academics, and
Social Movement Scholarship
David Croteau, William Hoynes,
and Charlotte Ryan, Editors
Afterword by William A. Gamson
Social Movements, Protest, and Contention
Volume 24
University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis • London
Excerpts from “Th e Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes,”
by Seamus Heaney, copyright 1990 by Seamus Heaney. Reprinted by permission
of Faber and Faber Ltd. and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.
Copyright 2005 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published by the University of Minnesota Press
111 Th ird Avenue South, Suite 290
Minneapolis, MN 55401-2520
http://www.upress.umn.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rhyming hope and history : activists, academics, and social movement
scholarship / David Croteau, William Hoynes, and Charlotte Ryan, editors ;
afterword by William A. Gamson.
p. cm. — (Social movements, protest, and contention ; v. 24)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8166-4620-1 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-8166-4621-X (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Social movements. 2. Social movements—Study and teaching. 3. Social
action. I. Croteau, David. II. Hoynes, William. III. Ryan, Charlotte, 1949–
IV. Series.
HM881.R59 2005
303.48'4—dc22
2005003715
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
Th e University of Minnesota is an equal-opportunity educator and employer.
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
Th e longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.
—Seamus Heaney, “Th e Cure at Troy”

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Integrating Social Movement Th eory and Practice xi
David Croteau, William Hoynes, and Charlotte Ryan
Part I. Activism and Research
1. Th e Question of Relevance in Social Movement Studies 3
Richard Flacks
2. Which Side Are You On? Th e Tension between
Movement Scholarship and Activism 20
David Croteau
3. Knowing What’s Wrong Is Not Enough:
Creating Strategy and Vision 41
Cynthia Peters
4. Movement Strategy for Organizers 57
Richard Healey and Sandra Hinson
Part II. Bridging the Divide: Lessons from the Field
5. Housing Crisis: Gaining Standing in a Community Coalition 79
Kevin M. Carragee
6. Media Research and Media Activism 97
William Hoynes
7. Successful Collaboration: Movement Building
in the Media Arena 115
Charlotte Ryan
8. Feminist Research and Activism: Challenges of Hierarchy
in a Cross-National Context 137
Myra Marx Ferree, Valerie Sperling, and Barbara Risman
9. Building the Movement for Education Equity 157
Cassie Schwerner
10. Sweatshop Labor: (Re)Framing Immigration 176
Robert J. S. Ross
Part III. Implications for Theory and Scholarship
11. Scholarship Th at Might Matter 191
David S. Meyer
12. Building Bridges, Building Leaders: Th eory, Action,
and Lived Experience 206
Adria D. Goodson
13. Falling on Deaf Ears: Confronting the Prospect
of Nonresonant Frames 222
David A. Snow and Catherine Corrigall-Brown
14. Crossing Boundaries in Participatory Action Research:
Performing Protest with Drag Queens 239
Verta Taylor and Leila J. Rupp
Afterword 265
William A. Gamson
Contributors 281
Index 285
Acknowledgments
Th is book is dedicated to William A. Gamson, honoring him for expanding
social movement theory and practice. He personifi es the eff ort to bridge the
work of academics and activists. While making signifi cant theoretical contri-
butions, his scholarship has targeted key issues of relevance to activists, such
as movement strategies and media framing. He also has used his institution-
al position to carve out space for activists and academics to work together;
nowhere is this more evident than in the Media Research and Action Project
(MRAP) at Boston College. Bill Gamson’s impact as both a colleague and
mentor is evident throughout this volume. He has always supported students
to work not in his footsteps but in their own way, whether through schol-
arly research, teaching in any form, or public life, including organizing. We
could think of no better way to honor his legacy than to demonstrate that in
many distinct venues we continue to do what he does so well.
We thank the American Sociological Association’s Fund for the Advance-
ment of the Discipline, particularly Roberta Spalter Roth, and the Graduate
School of Arts and Sciences at Boston College. Th eir support enabled us to
bring together these contributors and others to explore the tenuous relation-
ship between social movement scholarship and activism. Zelda Gamson,
Sharon Kurtz, Jeff Langstraat, and Stephen Pfohl off ered critical support dur-
ing the project’s infancy and evolution. Additionally, we thank the following
people for their ongoing support of the project: Eitan Alimi, Mike Anastario,
Julie Childers, Joe Christiani, Annette Duke, Jess Geier, Jess Littenberg,
Louise Lymperis, Jorge Martinez, Aldon Morris, David Satterwaite, Leah
Schmalzbauer, and Matt Williamson.
ix