Tag: anomie

• Political action’s psychological layer

  The “classical model” of social movement theory explains the emergence of social movements in terms of collective psychological reactions to structural changes in society. In short, people are alienated and therefore join protest movements. Hating on this approach is something of a cornerstone of the sociological canon of contemporary social movement theory. Central among the…

  Jonathan Matthew Smucker

  March 21, 2014

  Uncategorized

  alienation, anomie, classical model, collective action, Doug McAdam, OWS, social psychology

• Sunday afternoon rough notes on messaging for populist alignment

  Messaging (/symbolic contestation) for populist alignment: very rough notes, pieces of the puzzle, for future exploration… Messages and memes (i.e. carriers of messages) must be potent enough to penetrate the meaning-making processes of existing social aggregations (aka “groups”). Proximate groups are the primary spaces where meanings are processed, judged, opinions shaped, etc. (A “proximate” group…

  Jonathan Matthew Smucker

  July 22, 2012

  Uncategorized

  anomie, hegemony, imagined communities, inoculation, memes, messaging, populism, proximate groups, strategy