Presentation Title
Transnational Social Movements: Technology, Occupy Wall Street, and Implications
Format of Presentation
15-minute lecture to be presented the Saturday of the conference
Location
IB 1015
Start Date
24-3-2018 10:30 AM
End Date
24-3-2018 10:45 AM
Abstract
As the world becomes more globalized, so too have international social movements. Since the demise of the USSR and the dawn of the internet, the global debate about social justice has changed dramatically – in both medium and message. The internet has changed the way people organize. It has also changed the ways power structures react to such organization. Social movements are now more diverse, less hierarchical, and more dispersed than they once were. This has both positive and negative effects on organizing. This presentation will focus on the global justice movement and the new organizational paradigm, using Occupy Wall Street as a case study.
The most obvious feature of transnational social movements is that they exist both between and within many nations. Rather than unite around one strict common agenda, there is a broader understanding of various overlapping interests. Many movements come together in solidarity with one another to make their voices louder. Twentieth century social movements were marked by hierarchies and a focus on achieving state power on a national level and reconciling class antagonisms. The international Communist and decolonization movements were key twentieth century transnational social movements. Late twentieth century onwards, the “new left” gradually emerged, changing the face of global social movements. The demise of the Soviet Union further eroded the “old left” model. What is known as the global justice movement would largely move into the vacant space. The global justice movement is in many respects a successor to these more militant movements. In more recent years we have seen the left once again considering state power in the form of insurgent candidates like Sanders. What are the implications of this?
Department
Sociology and Anthropology
Faculty Advisor
Monica Sanchez-Flores
Transnational Social Movements: Technology, Occupy Wall Street, and Implications
IB 1015
As the world becomes more globalized, so too have international social movements. Since the demise of the USSR and the dawn of the internet, the global debate about social justice has changed dramatically – in both medium and message. The internet has changed the way people organize. It has also changed the ways power structures react to such organization. Social movements are now more diverse, less hierarchical, and more dispersed than they once were. This has both positive and negative effects on organizing. This presentation will focus on the global justice movement and the new organizational paradigm, using Occupy Wall Street as a case study.
The most obvious feature of transnational social movements is that they exist both between and within many nations. Rather than unite around one strict common agenda, there is a broader understanding of various overlapping interests. Many movements come together in solidarity with one another to make their voices louder. Twentieth century social movements were marked by hierarchies and a focus on achieving state power on a national level and reconciling class antagonisms. The international Communist and decolonization movements were key twentieth century transnational social movements. Late twentieth century onwards, the “new left” gradually emerged, changing the face of global social movements. The demise of the Soviet Union further eroded the “old left” model. What is known as the global justice movement would largely move into the vacant space. The global justice movement is in many respects a successor to these more militant movements. In more recent years we have seen the left once again considering state power in the form of insurgent candidates like Sanders. What are the implications of this?