The Art of Moral Protest : Culture, Biography, and Creativity in Social Movements

In __The Art of Moral Protest__, James Jasper integrates diverse examples of protest—from nineteenth-century boycotts to recent movements—into a distinctive new understanding of how social movements work. Jasper highlights their creativity, not only in forging new morals but in adopting courses of action and inventing organizational forms."A provocative perspective on the cultural implications of political and social protest."—__Library Journal__ Protest has become an everyday part of modern societies, one of the few recognized outlets for voicing and discussing basic moral commitments. Protest movements shape our thinking about social change and human agency. At a time when schools, the media, and even religious institutions offer little guidance for our moral judgments, protest movements have become a central source for providing us with ethical visions and creative ideas.In "The Art of Moral Protest", James Jasper integrates diverse examples of protest -- from nineteenth-century boycotts to recent antinuclear, animal-rights, and environmental movements -- into a distinctive new understanding of how social movements operate. Jasper highlights their creativity, not only in forging new morals but in adopting courses of action and inventing organizational forms. The work stresses the role of individuals, both as lone protesters and as key decision-makers, and it emphasizes the open-ended nature of strategic choices as protesters, their opponents, their allies, and the government respond to each other's actions.Drawing on lengthy interviews, historical materials, surveys, and his own participation in protests, Jasper offers a unique systematic overview of the field of social movements. He weaves together accounts of large-scale movements with individual biographies, placing the movements in cultural perspective and focusing on individuals' experiences. Few books have ever presented such a rich picture of protest dynamics. In The Art of Moral Protest, James Jasper integrates diverse examples of protest - from nineteenth-century boycotts to recent antinuclear, animal-rights, and environmental movements - into a distinctive new understanding of how social movements operate. Jasper highlights their creativity, not only in forging new morals but in adopting courses of action and inventing organizational forms. The work examines the role of individuals, both as lone protesters and as key decision-makers, and it emphasizes the open-ended nature of strategic choices as protesters, their opponents, their allies, and the government respond to each other's actions. In The Art of Moral Protest , James Jasper integrates diverse examples of protest—from nineteenth-century boycotts to recent movements—into a distinctive new understanding of how social movements work. Jasper highlights their creativity, not only in forging new morals but in adopting courses of action and inventing organizational forms. "A provocative perspective on the cultural implications of political and social protest."— Library Journal There is a lamppost below my apartment on Bleecker Street that helps me gauge what political causes are popular at any given moment. James M. Jasper. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [449]-483) And Index.