Silcences and Voices in Social Movement studies

Social movements have been affected by transformations in democracy and, at the same time, they have contributed to them. They have not only challenges the dominant liberal model of democracy, but also developed alternative theories and practices oriented towards ideals of participation and deliberation. This seminar will investigate the complex relations between normal and contentious politics, focusing on some new trends, but also some silences in social movement theories.

The aim of the seminar is to stimulate participation in debates around recent research and theorization on new areas in social movement studies. By presenting research-in-progress the seminar also aims at linking theoretic and empirical dimensions. Linking theories with empirics, the seminar will host SNS post-doctoral fellows, in order to introduce a plurality of points of view on both theory and research project ongoing at the department of Political and Social Sciences at SNS.

Participants are expected to have read the assigned material and be ready to discuss them as well as the implication of the various topics for their own work.

Session 1. Social movements in times of crisis: contextual challenges

February 6, 2-5pm

Guest researchers: Eugene Nulman, Cesar Guzman

This session introduces general approaches to the contextual dimensions in social movement studies with particular attention to critical junctures. Research on the progressive movements in pandemic times will be discussed.

Readings

D. della Porta, 2022, Contentious politics in emerging critical junctures, Cambridge University Press.

Additional reading:

Markoff, John, Historical Analysis and Social Movements Research, in D. della Porta and Mario Diani (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Social Movement Studies, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015, 68-85.

Session 2. Backlash and countermovement

February 13, 2-6pm

Guest researchers: Anna Lavizzari, Stella Christou

This session addresses issues of time in social movements, reflecting in particular on the movement-countermovement dynamics. It will discuss examples from research on anti-vax and anti-gender protests as well as on the Charlie Hebdo attacks as discoursive critical junctures

Readings:

Della Porta, D. Regressive movements in pandemic times, Oxford: Oxford University Press, forthcoming, chapter 1.

Della Porta, Donatella, Pietro Castelli Gattinara, Andrea Felicetti, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Discoursive Turns and Critical Junctures, Oxford University Press, 2020, chapter 1

Additional readings

Alter, K. and M. Zurn, 2020 “Conceptualising backlash politics: Introduction to a special issue on backlash politics in comparison,The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 22 (4) download here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1369148120947958

della Porta D. 2020. “Conceptualising Backlash Movements: A (patch-worked) Perspective From Social Movement Studies”. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 22 (4): 585–597, download here https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1369148120947360

Session 3. Social movements and social cleavages

February 17, 2-6pm

Guest researchers: Riccardo Chesta, Gianni del Panta

This session will analyse the impacts of capitalist transformations on contentious politics. Research on student protests and new forms of labour mobilization will be presented.

Readings:

D. della Porta, L. Cini and R. Chesta, 2022, Labour Conflicts in the Digital Age, Bristol University Press, chapter 1 and 6.

Della Porta, Donatella, Lorenzo Cini and Cesar Guzman, Contesting Higher Education, Bristol University Press, 2020, Chapter 1

Additional readings

Silver, B. and S.S. Karatasli, Historical dynamics of capitalism and labour movements, in in D. della Porta and Mario Diani (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Social Movement Studies, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015

Session 4. Generations, gender, ethnicity and social movements

February 20, 2-5pm

Guest researchers: Federico Alagna, Giada Bonu

The session will address the role of generations, gender, ethnicity in social movements, with particular attention to research on movements on migrant rights and against racism.

Readings:

Della Porta, Donatella and Elias Steinhilper (eds.), Contentious Migrant Solidarity, London, Routledge, 2021, Chapter 1

Della Porta, D., Lavizzari, A. and Reiter, H. (2022), The Spreading of the Black Lives Matter Movement Campaign: The Italian Case in Cross-National Perspective. Sociological Forum. 37 (3), 700-721  https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12818

della Porta, D. (2019a), Deconstructing Generations in Movements: Introduction, InAmerican Behavioral Scientist https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764219831739

Additional reading:

Wulff, Stephen, Mary Bernstein and Taylor, V, New Theoretical Directions from the Study of Gender and Sexuality Movements: Collective Identity, Multi-Institutional Politics, and Emotions, in D. della Porta and M. Diani, Oxford Handbook on Social Movement Studies, Oxford: Oxford University press, 2015, pp. 108-130

Session 5. Social movements, cultural turns and collective identities

February 23 2-6 pm

Guest researchers: Carlotta Caciagli, Daniela Chironi

This session will address the cultural turns in social movement studies, with a particular focus on the effects of eventful protests on the development of contentious politics. Research on memories of past events on contentious moments will be presented.

Readings:

Della Porta, Donatella, Massimiliano Andretta, Tiago Fernandes, Eduardo Romanos, Markos Votgiatzoglou, Legacies and Memories in Movements, Oxford University Press, 2018, chapter 1..

Della Porta,D and R Tufaro, 2022, Mobilizing the past in revolutionary times: Memory, counter-memory and nostalgia during the Lebanese uprisings, Sociological Forum 37 (S1) 1387-1413

Della Porta, Donatella N Bertuzzi, D Chironi, C Milan, M Portos, L Zamponi 2022, Resisting the Backlash: Street Protest in Italy, London, Routledge, chapter 1.

Additional readings

Polletta, F. and B.G. Gardner, Narrative and social movements, in D. della Porta and Mario Diani (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Social Movement Studies, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2015, 534-548.

Session 6. Protest outcomes and interrelated outcomes

February 27, 4-7pm

The session will be held by Lorenzo Bosi

During this session we will review the main concepts and approaches on collective action outcomes research, while drawing attention to key contemporary debates and the main problems that have undermined this field of studies. We will also look at one silence within the sub-filed of the literature: how different types of effects relate to each other.

Readings:

Bosi, L. e K. and Uba. 2021. Collective Action Outcomes: Ways Forward for the Subfield. Partecipazione e Conflitto 14 (3): 987-997.

Bosi, L.. 2016. “Social Movements and Interrelated Effects.” Revista Internacional de Sociologia 74.