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The Centre on Social Movement Studies

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Advances in the visual analysis of social movements

Nicole Doerr; Alice Mattoni; Simon Teune

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Type: Edited Volume
Year: 2013

This special issue of Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change highlights the importance of visuals in the current study of social movements. It is indispensable reading as it introduces new analytical concepts and methodological frameworks for understanding visuals in social movements; combining cultural and political analysis in a fresh, unique and interdisciplinary way. The articles featured in this special issue examine visual expressions of social movements through case studies from across the globe; including: injustice symbols in the Egyptian uprising; contested images from anti-surveillance protests in Germany; gendered visualization of local activism; commemorative videos of activists in recent European protests; and images used in Australian movements against abortion. In the open section of the volume articles examine the work of renowned political science scholar Charles Tilly, and discuss classic concepts in social movement studies. Firstly, considering the concept of repertoire of contention in order to understand the use of distinct contentious performances in Latin America. Secondly, analyzing the role of storytelling in the construction of trust and blame in social movements.
Table of Contents:
• Foreword • Toward a Visual Analysis of Social Movements, Conflict, and Political Mobilization, Nicole Doerr, Alice Mattoni, Simon Teune (pp. xi – xxvi) • Part I: Special Topic: Advances in the Visual Analysis of Social Movements • “We are all Khaled Said”: Visual Injustice Symbols in the Egyptian Revolution, 2010–2011, Thomas Olesen (pp. 3 – 25) • Bodies Keying Politics:A Visual Frame Analysis of Gendered Local Activism in France and Finland, Eeva Luhtakallio (pp. 27 – 54) • Images of Surveillance: The Contested and Embedded Visual Language of Anti-Surveillance Protests, Priska Daphi, Anja Lê, Peter Ullrich (pp. 55 – 80) • The Emotional Imperative of the Visual: Images of the Fetus in Contemporary Australian Pro-Life Politics, Kirsty McLaren (pp. 81 – 103) • Protest Movements and Spectacles of Death: From Urban Places to Video Spaces, Tina Askanius (pp. 105 – 133) • Part II: Comments on Advances in the Visual Analysis of Social Movements • What we can do with Visual Analysis in Social Movement Studies: Some (Self) Reflections, Donatella della Porta (pp. 137 – 144) • Part III: General Theme: Narratives and Repertoires of Contention • The Work Stories do: Charles Tilly’s Legacy on the Provision of Reasons, Storytelling, and Trust in Contentious Performances, Marc W. Steinberg, Patricia Ewick (pp. 147 – 173) • Repertoires of Contention and Tactical Choice in Latin America, 1981–1995, James C. Franklin (pp. 175 – 208) • About the Contributors, pp. 209 – 212)
Research in Social Movements, Conflict and Change, 2013, Vol. 35, Special issue. ISBN: 9781781906354; 9781781906361 ISSN: 0163-786X

News

01/07/2024

Le basi istituzionali di un panico morale

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Attraverso una lunga rassegna di casi concreti, Donatella Della Porta, direttrice di Cosmos, descrive il processo per cui la lotta istituzionale all'antisemitismo in Germania, inizialmente promossa dalla società civile progressista, si è trasformata nella costruzione di un apparato statale e di una struttura di potere ufficiale come strumento di razzializzazione e repressione.

14/06/2024

The Far-right and conspiraciy theories from Covid to the European elections

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Donatella Della Porta, Cosmos Lab director, has researched on “Regressive movements in time of emergency” using the case of protests against anti contagion measures. In this case as in many others (from the conservative “anti gender”  European farmers) protesters pictured themselves as an abused minority of powerless victims fighting against some hidden and organized power. This frame seems to be a version of those being used by populist (mainly far-right) parties against Europe. We asked Della Porta to explain why and how conspiracy theories and this kind of posturing is keen to fall for the political offer of rightwing parties.

10/06/2024

Social movements, Coronavirus and the right to healthcare

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The 2020 pandemic has brought renewed focus on public healthcare and many mobilizations both on healthcare systems and vaccine patents. What are the peculiarities of right to healthcare movements? A talk with Cosmos Lab member Stella Christou

03/06/2024

Far right movements and the European elections

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Intersections and differences among far right politica Europan parties and movments, transatlantic exchanges, the role of mobilizations at the grassroots level. An interview with political scientist Andrea Pirro

17/05/2024

An open letter on freedom of expression and protest on Palestine by the European social movement studies community

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As social movement scholars we express strong concerns about the growing trend to restrict the right of expression, critique, and protest in several countries in Europe. Signed by research centres, journals and standing groups.

21/03/2024

CFP: Feminism as a method - Feminist Epistemologies, Methodologies and Methods in Social Sciences

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International Conference 14-15 November 2024 Anastasia Barone, Giada Bonu Rosenkranz and Donatella della Porta (Scuola Normale Superiore)

Publications

Journal Article - 2023

Resisting right-wing populism in power: a comparative analysis of the Facebook activities of social movements in Italy and the UK

Niccolò Pennucci
This paper aims to present a comparative study of the civil society reaction to right-wing populism in power through social media, by looking at cases in Italy and the United Kingdom.

Journal Article - 2023

Emotions in Action: the Role of Emotions in Refugee Solidarity Activism

Chiara Milan
This article investigates the different types of emotions that result from participation in refugee solidarity activism, investigating how they change over time and to what extent they explain why individuals remain involved in action in spite of unfavorable circumstances.

Journal Article - 2023

‘Love is over, this is going to be Turkey!’: cathartic resonance between the June 2013 protests in Turkey and Brazil

Batuhan Eren
This study addresses the question of why and how a protest can inspire individuals in distant countries. Taking the June 2013 protests in Turkey and Brazil as cases, it investigates the reasons why the Turkish protests were framed as one of the inspirational benchmarks by some Brazilian protesters.

Journal Article - 2023

Mutual aid and solidarity politics in times of emergency: direct social action and temporality in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Lorenzo Zamponi
From the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the social distancing measures introduced created a series of social problems and needs that were partially addressed in Italy as well as in other countries by grassroots mutual aid initiatives. While many of these initiatives were strongly rooted in the Italian social movement and civil society landscape and the choice to engage in mutual aid activities was the result of long years of reflection and planning, the article shows how strongly the temporality of emergency affected the nature of these initiatives, their development and their outcomes, in particular with regard to the extraordinary number of people who volunteered and their relationship with politicisation processes.

Monograph - 2023

Populism and (Pop) Music

Manuela Caiani, Enrico Padoan
The book provides a detailed account of the links between production of popular culture to the rise of populism and contributes to studies on populism and popular culture in Italy, using a comparative approach and a cultural sociology perspective

Monograph - 2022

Labour conflicts in the digital age

Donatella della Porta, Riccardo Emilio Chesta, Lorenzo Cini
From Deliveroo to Amazon, digital platforms have drastically transformed the way we work. But how are these transformations being received and challenged by workers? This book provides a radical interpretation of the changing nature of worker movements in the digital age, developing an invaluable approach that combines social movement studies and industrial relations. Using case studies taken from Europe and North America, it offers a comparative perspective on the mobilizing trajectories of different platform workers and their distinct organizational forms and action repertoires.

Monograph - 2022

Resisting the Backlash: Street Protest in Italy

Donatella della Porta, Niccolò Bertuzzi, Daniela Chironi, Chiara Milan, Martín Portos & Lorenzo Zamponi
Drawing interview material, together with extensive data from the authors’ original social movement database, this book examines the development of social movements in resistance to perceived political "regression" and a growing right-wing backlash.

Journal Article - 2021

Learning from Democratic Practices: New Perspectives in Institutional Design

Andrea Felicetti
Drawing from literature on democratic practices in social movements and democratic innovations, the article illustrates three ways to advance institutional design in the wake of the systemic turn.

Monograph - 2021

Migrant Protest. Interactive Dynamics in Precarious Mobilizations

Elias Steinhilper
This book explores the interactions and spaces shaping the emergence, trajectory, and fragmentation of migrant protest in unfavorable contexts of marginalization.

Journal Article - 2021

Populism between voting and non-electoral participation

Andrea Pirro & Martín Portos
The article focuses on a neglected aspect of populist mobilisation, i.e. non-electoral participation (NEP), and elaborates on the extent to which populist party voters engage politically outside the polling station. While challenging common understandings of populism as inherently distrustful and apathetic, and protest as an exclusive practice of the left, the study critically places NEP at the heart of populism in general, and populist right politics in particular.