Browsing by Subject "social movements"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
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    Extracting Identities and Value from Nature: Power, Culture, and Knowledge in the Contested Politics of Mining
    (2018-07) Kojola, Erik
    Global capitalism’s accelerating consumption of natural resources and new technologies are driving development of new riskier forms and sites of extraction. These developments create conflicts around socio-ecological hazards and perceived trade-offs between economic growth and environmental protection. I take proposed copper-nickel mines in Northern Minnesota as an illustrative case study of the contentious politics that arise around ecological risks, environmental governance and land-use decisions. Northern Minnesota is an emblematic case of the tensions around resource use in a rural mining region, but also has a distinct history of progressive politics and militant unionism, American Indian sovereignty, and ethos of environmentalism. I examine how class and place-based identities and collective memories inform how people make sense of environmental hazards and construct different visions for the future. I investigate how social actors (unions, mining companies, environmentalists, American India Tribes and local politicians) legitimize their positions, create competing truth claims, and engage in environmental decision-making. I situate these discourses and actions within the particular socio-ecological histories of Northern Minnesota and broader relations of power and political-economic and ideological processes. I contribute to environmental and natural resource sociology by integrating interdisciplinary theories of political ecology to address the interconnections between class, race, and indigeneity in environmental governance.
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    The Women’s March Movement on Facebook: Social Connections, Visibility, and Digitally Enabled Collective Action
    (2019-03) Chen, Simin Michelle
    Since the Arab Spring of 2011, scholars have debated the efficacy of social media in facilitating offline collective action. This dissertation seeks to fill a gap in that literature by examining the role of social ties in determining intention to participate in collective action. Using a mixed methods approach involving statistical analysis of survey results and in-depth interviews, this study examines how the Minnesota chapter of the Women’s March in opposition to President Donald Trump used Facebook to engage and mobilize supporters. Findings show that aspects of tie strength such as reciprocity, duration, affect have different impact on intention to participate in high- and low-cost political actions. Similarly, the publicness of supporters’ political action on Facebook has differing effects on intention to participate in collective action depending on supporters’ tie strength with the chapter. Findings from this study have practical implication for social movement organizers seeking to energize, grow, and mobilize supporters using social media.