Type
Text
Type
Dissertation
Advisor
Schwartz, Michael | Rosenthal, Naomi | Fallon, Kathleen M. | Jasper, James M..
Date
2016-12-01
Keywords
networks, occupation, organization, social movements, space | Sociology
Department
Department of Sociology
Language
en_US
Source
This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/11401/76811
Publisher
The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.
Format
application/pdf
Abstract
While scholars have separately analyzed the role of both networks and space in social movements, little attention has been drawn to their relationship. This dissertation draws from in-depth qualitative research on the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement in New York City in order to provide an insight into this relationship. The findings discussed in the dissertation suggest, in particular, that social movements’ internal networks and various uses of space have a mutually constitutive and interactive relationship—that different uses of space create, reflect, and reproduce social movement networks. The findings of the research are presented in three substantive chapters. The first set of findings introduces the connection between social movement networks and uses of space by highlighting how the Occupy Wall Street movement’s sustained occupation of Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan carried out four organizational functions: messaging, recruitment, building commitment, and connecting participants to each other. The findings discussed in the following chapter additionally illustrate this connection by showing how the Occupy Wall Street movement’s decentralized structure and tactic of occupation served as mutually beneficial elements of a distinctive global repertoire. The final substantive chapter then discusses two factors that contributed to the engagement of OWS participants—a perceived ability to contribute to or shape the direction of a movement, and dense ties among participants—and in particular highlights the role of the occupation in strengthening the movement’s internal networks. Together, these findings illustrate the interactive and mutually constitutive relationship between social movement networks and uses of space. Ultimately, both social movement scholars and practitioners stand to benefit from a more sophisticated understanding of the specific ways in which social movements’ internal networks and uses of space affect one another. | While scholars have separately analyzed the role of both networks and space in social movements, little attention has been drawn to their relationship. This dissertation draws from in-depth qualitative research on the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement in New York City in order to provide an insight into this relationship. The findings discussed in the dissertation suggest, in particular, that social movements’ internal networks and various uses of space have a mutually constitutive and interactive relationship—that different uses of space create, reflect, and reproduce social movement networks. The findings of the research are presented in three substantive chapters. The first set of findings introduces the connection between social movement networks and uses of space by highlighting how the Occupy Wall Street movement’s sustained occupation of Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan carried out four organizational functions: messaging, recruitment, building commitment, and connecting participants to each other. The findings discussed in the following chapter additionally illustrate this connection by showing how the Occupy Wall Street movement’s decentralized structure and tactic of occupation served as mutually beneficial elements of a distinctive global repertoire. The final substantive chapter then discusses two factors that contributed to the engagement of OWS participants—a perceived ability to contribute to or shape the direction of a movement, and dense ties among participants—and in particular highlights the role of the occupation in strengthening the movement’s internal networks. Together, these findings illustrate the interactive and mutually constitutive relationship between social movement networks and uses of space. Ultimately, both social movement scholars and practitioners stand to benefit from a more sophisticated understanding of the specific ways in which social movements’ internal networks and uses of space affect one another. | 105 pages
Recommended Citation
Savio, Gianmarco, ""Lost My Job, Found an Occupation:" Space, Networks, and Organization in Occupy Wall Street" (2016). Stony Brook Theses and Dissertations Collection, 2006-2020 (closed to submissions). 2687.
https://commons.library.stonybrook.edu/stony-brook-theses-and-dissertations-collection/2687