Suchergebnisse

Examines how individual/collective identities are linked processually through social movement participation, highlighting the problem of identity correspondence across personal/movement contexts. Dispositional & structural perspectives on the identity/movement nexus are compared, & the value of a constructionist approach is discussed. Processes through which personal & collective identities are aligned in social movements are outlined, focusing on "identity work," "identity convergence," & "identity construction"; this last is further divided into processes of identity amplification, consolidation, extension, & transformation. The relationship between identity processes & other mediating mechanisms is explored, & the trajectory of identity work over the course of a movement from emergence through institutionalization & diffusion is delineated. The affinity between types of social movements & types of identity is also explored. 61 References. K. Hyatt Stewart

Documents the increased attention by macrosociologists to the concept of social identity, attributing this to increased global attention to national identity & collective interests. Some definitional issues are addressed, including the construction of "we-groups," notions of "us" vs "them," & the social labeling process, which strengthen national identity via the exclusion of outsiders; resultant xenophobia & ethnocentrism are examined. Social integration is discussed in terms of its individual, structural, & moral components, & further distinguished from systemic integration at the level of the nation-state (which generally follows a Western democratic model). These points are considered in an analysis of the situation in contemporary postreunification Germany. K. Hyatt Stewart

Variations in forms & levels of participation in social movements are examined in terms of identity theory & commitment as functions of both individual differences & differences in social structure, location, & interaction. The concept of identity in social psychology is reviewed, noting its cultural & collective dimensions & the ways that it employs self-categorization in collapsing "group" & "social category." Ways that identity theory can explain social movement recruitment; the impact of identities related to friends, family, or other social networks on individual decisions to participate -- or not -- in social movements; commitment to a movement; & the salience of the collective identity gained through social movement participation are analyzed. 39 References. K. Hyatt Stewart