Download Lesson 45 Social Movements

Lesson 45 Social Movements
I. Types of Social Movements
a. Social Movement: long-term conscious effort to
promote or prevent social change.
b. Reactionary Movements: aimed at reversing a current
social change, want to “turn back the clock.”
i. Example: Ku Klux Klan, Libertarians like Ron
Paul.
c. Conservative Movements: Try to protect what they
see as America’s prevailing values from change.
i. Ex. The Religious Right Wing of the Republican
Party. Rick Perry
d. Revisionary Movements: want to improve or revise
some part of society through social change.
i. Ex. Women’s Suffrage Movement, President
Obama with Obamacare.
e. Revolutionary Movements: Total and radical change
to the social structure.
i. Ex. Bolshevik Revolution of 1917
II. The Life Cycle of Social Movements:
a. Agitation: When a small group attempt to make
people aware of a social problem.
i. Movement to support Unions 1800’s
b. Legitimization: When the social problem receives
government support.
i. Government legalization of Unions in early
1900’s
c. Bureaucratization: When the movement gains a
formal structure in the Government.
i. Growth of Labor Unions
d. Institutionalization: Bureaucrats oversee daily
operations of the movement. Movement becomes
conservative to change.
i. Wisconsin public labor union laws of 2011.
Mass protests to stop the laws.
III. Explaining Social Movements:
a. Relative Deprivation Theory:
i. People join social movements because they feel
deprived relative to the other people or groups in
a society.
1. Often the cause of many Revolutionary
Movements.
a. Conflict Theory
b. Resource Mobilization Theory:
i. Every social movement must have ample
resources to mobilize and cause change.
1. Supporters, money, access to media
2. Most sociologists today subscribe to this
theory.