A Critique of New Social Movement Theory.
A Critique of New Social Movement Theory There appears to be a high level of consensus among European students of social movements about trends in the recent past. Two parallel and opposed developments have occurred. On one hand, labour movements, concerned to improve workers' material conditions, have declined in significance. On the other hand, new social movements, concerned with such oppressions as those around gender, sexuality and race and with such pathologies of modernity as militarism and environmental degradation, have become more important. This consensus, which began to emerge in the early 1980s, was not accidental. That period witnessed the rapid growth of peace movements, and the increasing prominence of the Green movement in West Germany and elsewhere. Around the same time most of the advanced economies of Europe, North America, and Japan experienced significant declines in levels of strike action. Reflecting on these dual and opposing trends, social movement theorists sought explanations to encompass both developments. Why were New Social Movements (NSMs) becoming more important while labour movements were declining? Out of their reflections, in an intellectual context marked by a discrediting of traditional Marxism, there appeared a paradigmatic account, which this article critically reviews. The Paradigm At the risk of over-simplification, there
Bradford Riots. In this paper we focus in particular on the Bradford riot of July 7th 2001 and specifically the views of the local South Asian community.
THE BRADFORD 'RIOT' OF 2001: A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS Introduction In 2001 Britain saw another summer of rioting in its cities, in Oldham on May 26th, Leeds on June 5th, Burnley on June 23rd, and Bradford on July 7th. Although comparable to those of 1981 and 1985, in significant ways these 'riots' were quite different from earlier years, and mark a new departure in Britain's racial politics. In this paper we focus in particular on the Bradford riot of July 7th 2001 and specifically the views of the local South Asian community. Britain has witnessed sequences of 'riots' involving racial factors since the late 1950s, when Whites and African Caribbeans fought in Nottingham and in Notting Hill, London (Fryer, 1984:376-81; Ramdin, 1987: 204-10). The 'riots' of 1981 and 1985 have been seen by subsequent commentators as community insurrections against the police. The antecedents on those occasions involved heavy policing of predominant African Caribbean communities. Furthermore, of particular relevance here was the 'riot', which took place in Manningham, Bradford on 10-12th June 1995, mainly involving South Asians. This was again popularly blamed on heavy policing, although the official reports simply blamed it on 'anti-social' individuals (The Bradford Commission Report, 1996: 11). The 'riots' of 2001 are more complex: whilst there are characteristics similar to those before
To what extent, therefore, has current Labour Government Policy successful tackled the issue of Homelessness and Overcrowding?
QUESTION: Statistics show that during the period 1979 to 1995, under the Conservative Government 'Homelessness...almost doubled' (Barr: 1998). Although a direct comparison cannot be made, the exact figures were reported at 55,530 (1979) and 121,280 (1995).1 To what extent, therefore, has current Labour Government Policy successful tackled the issue of Homelessness and Overcrowding? ABSTRACT: This assignment focuses on analysing current Government Policy with regard to the following specific aims: * 'Achieving a decent home for every family at a price within their means' * The provision of 'a degree of priority in access for people in housing need who in the past have found themselves at the end of the queue.' Recent release of statistics published by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), indicate that for the third quarter of 2003 Local Authorities accepted 36,260 households as 'unintentionally homeless' and 'in priority need,' representing an 8% increase from the previous year. Furthermore approximately 10% were perceived as repeat homelessness cases. Such figures demonstrate the underlying trend of rising homelessness within the UK, which is expected to accelerate well into the future. The existence of such an issue demonstrates both economic inefficiencies, in terms of the size and quantity of housing stock, and in addition equity concerns over equality of
A research project into the perceptions of graffiti by certain individuals and groups can be seen as having grounding in both sociology and criminology. The sociology of deviance and delinquency
Introduction. A research project into the perceptions of graffiti by certain individuals and groups can be seen as having grounding in both sociology and criminology. The sociology of deviance and delinquency in urban areas, as well as the socio-historical development of graffiti as a cultural practice provides a basis for further research into the effects of this phenomenon. In terms of criminology, the extent to which the police and local authorities see graffiti as a problem is also worth investigating. Various theses have analysed the link between minor offences such as low level property crime, and the perceptions of certain public spaces as run down or insecure. As students of sociology the five researchers involved in this project have an interest in how graffiti provokes a societal reaction to the changing environment of these spaces. In addition to this, all of the researchers have some limited experience of criminological studies which would be enhanced by an analysis of how government legislation and local initiatives have affected communities and individuals exposed to graffiti. In terms of government legislation, graffiti as a form vandalism is a criminal offence under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. This act, supplement by section 33(1) of the Magistrates Court Act 1980, gives penalties for minor vandalism such as graffiti as a maximum £2500 fine or up to 3
New Social Movements most effectively describe a specific movement-type emerging in the late 1970s; principally the peace, women's, ecological and local-autonomy
../../copy.htmlCopyright Sociological Research Online, 1999 Alana Lentin (1999) 'Structure, Strategy, Sustainability: What Future for New Social Movement Theory?' Sociological Research Online, vol. 4, no. 3, <http://0-www.socresonline.org.uk.emu.londonmet.ac.uk:80/socresonline/4/3/lentin.html> Published: 30/9/1999 New Social Movements (NSMs), originating in the early 1980s. It became clear that the type of movement to which the NSM label was pinned, primarily the environmental, peace and women's organisations of the 1970s and 1980s, now used widely differing strategies for promoting similar messages. On the other hand, movements evolving later around the issues of ethnicity, 'race' or sexuality could not be captured within the same frame. This essay will introduce the concept of New Social Movements and distinguish between the various approaches used to study them when arguing about if new values are behind te rise of environmental protests. I will then review the work of three authors who identify NSMs in terms of the changing political and social structures of the 1970s and 1980s and in recognition of the 'new identities' created within the New Social Movements: Claus Offe, Alberto Melucci and Alain Touraine. New Social Movements most effectively describe a specific movement-type emerging in the late 1970s; principally the peace, women's, ecological and
The ethnic minority population of the United Kingdom has increased at a tremendous rate since the 1950's, when most ethnic minority immigrants came to the UK as part of a replacement labour force.
Introduction The ethnic minority population of the United Kingdom has increased at a tremendous rate since the 1950's, when most ethnic minority immigrants came to the UK as part of a replacement labour force, which was urgently needed following the loss of a large proportion of the nations labour force during the war. Ethnic minorities occupied the less skilled, the dirtiest and the lowest paid jobs. The flexible and cheap labour which black immigrants supplied to the UK was an essential component of the moderate but sustained expansion of the UK economy in the 1950's and early 1960's. The majority of ethnic minority immigrants housing and their place of employment were located in inner city areas, in the poorest and most run-down areas of cities throughout the UK. Bradford was a city which was experiencing economic prosperity during the post-war period, and its textile industry was amongst the most important in the world. Bradford's textile industry was the common thread binding the white and Asian working class into a single social fabric. But with its collapse, each community was forced to turn inwards on to itself. The depressed inner-city areas, lined with old 'two-up-two-down' terraced houses which had been built for mill-worker families, were abandoned by those whites that could afford to move out to the suburbs. Those that could not afford to buy themselves out
Consensus perspective
2.0 Consensus perspective Functionalism Functionalism essentially views society as containing numerous interconnected parts which collectively form a system. The fundamental unit of analysis is society, and its assortments of parts can be comprehended in terms of their collective relationship. Functionalists' in the preliminary stages of the approach tented to draw comparisons between society and organisms such as the human anatomy. Primarily the comparisons existed because they viewed society as operating in theoretically the same way as the organisms in the anatomy. Specifically, for one to understand the operation of an organ, such as the heart or lungs, it involves a profound understanding of its relationship with other human organs and, particularly, its general contribution towards the maintenance of the organism. Thus, in terms of society they argued that for one to understand the operation of it, an examination and analysis is required in order to determine its relationship with the other parts of society, and of course, its contribution to the maintenance of society. For example, social institutions such as family and religion can be analysed principally by researching their diverse system rather than analysing each particular unit individually. Consequently, through determining their contributions they make to the social system as a whole, they claim that they can
Modern Political Thought.
GV 100 Modern Political Thought LT 04 * JJ Rousseau Born in Geneva in 1712. Mother died in childbirth, raised by father and relatives. He was apprenticed in his early teens but ran away when he was 16. He fell under the influence of the of his protector Mme de Warens, a catholic proselytiser who gave him free run of her home and library in return for his becoming her lover. During his time with her he immersed himself in study - becoming a self made intellectual - a writer, composer and music critic, novelist, botanist and political philosopher. Rousseau left for Paris in 1742 where he became familiar with many of the chief thinkers of the French Enlightenment. In 1750 he entered a competition from the Academy of Dijon and won with his Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, in which he famously argues that the spread of science and literature was morally corrupting. It was society and its ways that posed a threat to man, not a solution to his base and corrupt nature. * The Discourse on Inequality (1755): for and against the Enlightenment: society is the cause of inequalities and war amongst men; but man is capable of self-improvement, and of compassion towards others. In the Social Contract, published in 1762, he sets out to describe which kind of political society would enable us to remain free, equal, to live in peace and to express our compassion for others- the kind of
Sociological Analyses of Suicide
Sociological Analyses of Suicide Most analyses of suicide tend to begin with Durkheim ("Suicide: A Study In Sociology", 1897) and this one is no exception, since Durkheim's contribution to both our understanding of suicide and the methodological principles involved in the study of social phenomena represent one of the most significant developments in sociological forms of analysis. "Suicide: A Study In Sociology" remains one of the most significant books in the history of sociology for two main reasons: . It was the first attempt to apply a set of systematic principles of scientific investigation to a specific social phenomenon (suicide). These principles had been elaborated, by Durkheim in his earlier book "The Rules of Sociological Method", 1895. 2. Having outlined the principles involved in the scientific study of society, Durkheim attempted to demonstrate the way in which we could apply those principles to the study of any social phenomenon. A phenomenon such as suicide, for example, could, Durkheim argued, be analysed scientifically and the causes of that phenomenon elaborated. Durkheim believed that, in order to understand social life we had to analyse human behaviour in terms of its explicitly social characteristics and, for this reason, the study of suicide was a particularly appropriate choice of subject matter because: . Up until Durkheim's analysis, suicide
Football Hooliganism: A Critical Approach
Football Hooliganism: A Critical Approach A report by Jonathan Fogg, Christian Happel, Dale Johnston and Elizabeth Parker. List of contents: Introduction........................................................................................3 Dominant Portrayals.............................................................................. 4 Contesting the 'English Disease'................................................................8 Contesting football hooliganism as a 'Modern Phenomenon...............................10 Contesting "Football Hooligans are the xenophobic lower working class"............. 12 The Postmodernist view on football hooliganism.......................................... 13 Who is marginalised?...........................................................................15 Alternatives.......................................................................................18 Reflection..........................................................................................20 Conclusion.........................................................................................22 References.........................................................................................24 Executive Summary/Abstract: This report considers the social issue that is football hooliganism. The main findings are that hooligans cannot be stereotyped. The
