Author Description

Doug McAdam and David A. Snow's Social Movements: Readings on Their Emergence, Mobilization, and Dynamics is intended for use in courses on social movements, collective behavior, and political sociology.The reader is distinctive in several respects:* The book is organized sequentially and logically, to facilitate understanding of the dynamics of social movements--from their emergence, through the micromobilization process and tactical action, to outcomes and consequences. This reader is not wedded to a single approach, but exposes students to both resource mobilization and cultural thinking about social movements.* Thought-provoking introductions to each section guide the reader and ease instruction by providing a modular "road map" that highlights key issues and the major contributions of each selection. This lends internal cohesiveness and structure to the articles.* The book covers a wide range of social movements, including the civil rights, women's, pro-choice, and animal rights movements. Also included are works on other types of collective action, such as riots and revolution. A comprehensive appendix provides instructors with alternatives for using the selections.* A significant number of articles in the book are devoted to gender and to cultural issues in relation to social movements.The editors also acknowledge the international operation of social movements by including works from other cultural and national contexts, such as Chile, Germany, Iran, and the Netherlands.