Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland: Applied Studies in Communication Theory: David Osborn: Lexington Books

Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland

Applied Studies in Communication Theory

Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland

Applied Studies in Communication Theory

Description

Given the centrality of economics and communication in the Occupy movement, Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland uses economic insights and contemporary theories of communication to better understand the movement at this current juncture in history. This collection is organized by complementary theoretical and methodological perspectives: the global—critical cultural and economic understandings of Occupy; the local—interpretive ethnographic examinations of a local site—Occupy Portland, Oregon; and mediated perspectives—analyses of the words of officials and media. The contributors also examine social movement phenomena by stepping outside of social movement theory to analyze the macro- and microprocesses of the Occupy movement, demonstrating the saliency of communication theory. Throughout the volume are in-depth case studies that examine universal narratives about Occupy. One of the challenges of studying Occupy is that members of this movement are committed to not allowing any one person (or entity) to define it. One way the editors acknowledge this and attempt to honor the individualism and postmodern fragmentation of this movement is to consider their findings in light of the three interpretive lenses of the romantic, functional, and critical. This informative and comprehensive text provides a critical lens on the constantly evolving Occupy movement.

Foreword
David Osborn
Introduction: Engaging Occupy: An Introduction to Romantic, Practical, and Critical Perspectives
Renee Guarriello Heath and C. Vail Fletcher
Part 1: Situating Occupy Globally: the Cultural and Economic Context
Chapter 1: A Genealogy of Occupy within Transnational Contexts, and Communication Research
Priya Kapoor
Chapter 2: We are the 99 percent: Occupy and the Economics of Discontent
William Barnes
Chapter 3: Neofuedalism and the Financial Crisis: Implications for Occupy Wall Street
Majia Holmer Nadesan
Part 2: Local Interpretations of Occupy Portland
Chapter 4: Confessional Tales from the Field: Owning Researcher Methods and Positionality
Renee Guarriello Heath, Ricardo V. Munoz, and C. Vail Fletcher
Chapter 5: Finding the Space Between: Participative Democracy, Consensus Decision-Making and a Leaderful/less Movement
Renee Guarriello Heath
Chapter 6: Globalization from Below: Discourses of Horizontalism, Direct Action, and Violence
Ricardo V. Munoz
Chapter 7: (De) Colonization and Collective Identity: Intersections and Negotiations of Gender, Race, and Class in Occupy
C. Vail Fletcher
Part 3: Re(presentations) and Revelations: Occupy Mediated
Chapter 8: Violence, Bias, or Fair Journalism? Understanding Portland Media Coverage of an Episodic Protest
Jennette Lovejoy and Keeler Brynteson
Chapter 9: An “Official” Account: Delivering Occupy Portland’s Eviction Notice
erin daina mcclellan
Chapter 10: Interconnected Discontent: Social Media and Social Capital in the Occupy Movement
Doug Tewksbury

Product details

Published	Aug 25 2015
Format	Paperback
Edition	1st
Extent	264
ISBN	9781498520669
Imprint	Lexington Books
Illustrations	3 BW Illustrations, 3 Graphs
Dimensions	9 x 6 inches
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing

Anthology Editor

Renee Guarriello Heath

Anthology Editor

Courtney Vail Fletcher

Anthology Editor

Ricardo Munoz

Contributor

William Barnes

Contributor

Keeler Brynteson

Contributor

Priya Kapoor

Contributor

Jennette Lovejoy

Contributor

erin daina mcclellan

Contributor

Majia Holmer Nadesan

Contributor

Doug Tewksbury

Foreword

David Osborn

Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland is strongest in chapters where contributors closely follow the contours of Occupy Portland to deliver ethnography-derived insight into the Occupy movement and the immediate environment within which it operated. . . .For communication, political science, or social movement scholars or students, as for those who are now continuing Occupy’s work in other arenas, Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland presents a useful sociological description of Occupy Portland and its communication and consensus-building successes, as well as a cogent analysis of some of the rewards and challenges that accompany Occupy’s participatory, leaderless model of social movement organizing.

Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
This book on Occupy reminds us of the important ways the movement connected local to global issues and vice versa. The collection of chapters appropriately represent diverse voices from and perspectives on the movement. This volume will provide a valuable resource for students, scholars, and all those who are considering Occupy's influences on movements to come.

George Cheney, Kent State University
Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland uses multiple communication perspectives to understand this critically important development in social movements. One of the many strengths of the volume is that it investigates Occupy at the broader cultural and economic context, the mediated context, and at the level of everyday, on-the-ground organizing. The book is a must-read for students and scholars in communication, social movements, organizational studies, political science, and economics, and anyone else interested in the dynamics of social contention in late capitalism.

Heather M. Zoller, University of Cincinnati
The “Occupy” movement presents novel and rich complexities as the first postmodern social movement. This volume goes significantly beyond popular commentary on the movement and typical social movement analyses to the internal micro-practices of development and struggle. The results are fresh, insightful and compelling.

Stanley A. Deetz, University of Colorado