Beyond Structural Analysis: Toward a More Dynamic Understanding of Social Movements

Abstract

Discusses the developments in social movement studies, namely, the inadequacies of purely structural considerations & the impact of social networks. A sociology of knowledge approach to the embrace of "structure" in the discipline & the scholarly advances due to structure are explored. Three processes are analyzed: individual recruitment, emergent mobilization, & scale shift. The need to supplement the structural approach in social movement studies with a more culturally oriented approach is advocated. 3 Figures. L. Collins Leigh