Despite extensive theoretical debates over the utility of "political opportunities" as an explanation for the rise and success of social movements, there have been surprisingly few serious empirical tests. Contention in Context provides the most extensive effort to date to test the model, analyzing a range of important cases of revolutions and protest movements to identify the role of political opportunities in the rise of political contention.With evidence from more than ...

“Anyone can take responsibility for a place,” writes Simon Roosevelt, great-great grandson of avid conservationist President Theodore Roosevelt, here in his foreword. “How persistently and well a conservationist pursues responsibility, connection, and the imperatives of use and care is as much a record of a conservation commitment as is the landowner’s mark on the land.” Private working lands account for 60 percent (more than one billion acres) of US land, providing food, fiber, purified a...

Providing a unique blend of cases, concepts, and essential readings The Social Movements Reader, Third Edition, delivers key classic and contemporary articles and book selections from around the world.Includes the latest research on contemporary movements in the US and abroad, including the Arab spring, Occupy, and the global justice movementProvides original texts, many of them classics in the field, which have been edited for the non-technical readerComb...

This landmark volume brings together some of the titans of social movement theory in a grand reassessment of its status. For some time, the field has been divided between a dominant structural approach and a cultural or constructivist tradition. The gaps and misunderstandings between the two sides-as well as the efforts to bridge them-closely parallel those in the discipline of sociology at large. This book aims to further the dialogue between these two distinct approaches to social moveme...

Despite extensive theoretical debates over the utility of "political opportunities" as an explanation for the rise and success of social movements, there have been surprisingly few serious empirical tests. Contention in Context provides the most extensive effort to date to test the model, analyzing a range of important cases of revolutions and protest movements to identify the role of political opportunities in the rise of political contention.With evidence from more than ...

This handbook provides a broad and comprehensive overview of the study of social movements and collective action, discussing the different disciplinary approaches that have developed. In addition to updated discussions of topics that were included in the 1st edition, this handbook includes substantial advances in the research and scholarship in the field. The study of collective behavior and contentious politics has spread to a number of new disciplines such as communication science, organ...

A rethinking of American democracy that puts caring responsibilities at the centerAmericans now face a caring deficit: there are simply too many demands on people’s time for us to care adequately for our children, elderly people, and ourselves.At the same time, political involvement in the United States is at an all-time low, and although political life should help us to care better, people see caring as unsupported by public life ...

Valuable reading for anyone concerned with contemporary dynamics of social change. â• International AffairsMargaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink examine a type of pressure group that has been largely ignored by political analysts: networks of activists that coalesce and operate across national frontiers. Their targets may be international organizations or the policies of particular states. Historical examples of such transborder alliances i...

Creating a clear, analytical framework, this comprehensive exploration of the relationship between institutional theory and the study of organizations continues to reflect the richness and diversity of institutional thought—viewed both historically and as a contemporary, ongoing field of study. Drawing on the insights of cultural and organizational sociologists, institutional economists, social and cognitive psychologists, political scientists, and management theorists, the book reviews an...

Radicalizing Learning calls for a total rethinking of what the field of adult education stands for and how adult educators should assess their effectiveness. Arguing that major changes in society are needed to create a more just world, the authors set out to show how educators can help learners envision and enact this radical transformation.Specifically, the book explores the areas of adult learning, training, teaching, facilitation, program development, and research. Each...

This widely used text has been expanded to include the most important issues in contemporary schooling, including:New end-of-chapter sections for Further Reading.New references added to the useful Additional Resources section.School and Society, Fifth Edition uses realistic case studies, dialogues, and open-ended questions designed to stimulate thinking about problems related to school and society, including curriculum reform, social justice,...

This groundbreaking book represents the most systematic examination to date of the often-invoked but rarely examined declaration that "history matters." Most contemporary social scientists unconsciously take a "snapshot" view of the social world. Yet the meaning of social events or processes is frequently distorted when they are ripped from their temporal context. Paul Pierson argues that placing politics in time--constructing "moving pictures" rather than snapshots--can vastly enrich our ...