Protest: A Cultural Introduction to Social Movements

by James M. Jasper

Every day around the world there are dozens of protests both large and small. Most groups engage the local police, some get media attention, and a few are successful. Who are these people? What do they want? What do they do to get it? What effects do they ultimately have on our world?In this lively and compelling book, James Jasper, an international expert on the cultural and emotional dimensions of social movements, shows that we cannot answer these questions until we bring culture squarely into the frame. Drawing on a broad range of examples, from the Women's Movement to Occupy and the Arab Spring, Jasper makes clear that we need to appreciate fully the protestors' points of view - in other words their cultural meanings and feelings - as well as the meanings held by other strategic players, such as the police, media, politicians, and intellectuals. In fact, we can't understand our world at all without grasping the profound impact of A Cultural Introduction to Social Movements is an invaluable and insightful contribution to understanding social movements for beginners and experts alike.

216 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 22, 2014

About the author

James M. Jasper divides his time between the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, the University of Texas at Austin, and the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence. He writes about culture and politics, and his most recent books are The Emotions of Protest and Protestors and their Targets.

Reviews

[L7od · Rating 4 out of 5]

A temática por si só já é incrível, e pelo fato de ser um estudo sobre o protesto e os movimentos sociais, em alguns momentos parece uma burocratização na organização didática do autor. Por outro lado, e esse lado é suficiente pro livro valer a pena, o autor discute muitos movimentos contemporâneos e do século XX, como as conquistas ou lutas se deram, as direções que um movimento pode tomar, quem os influencia, a cultura de ações, as arenas possíveis. Mandem ver!

[Kambria Bass · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like this was a pretty accessible book and it was a good choice for a textbook this semester. I don't have too much to say about the writing and organization, since I was doing these readings with the intent of class discussion.