Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study examines purist-pragmatist
orientations among southern political party
activists, relying primarily on the data
conducted by the Southern Grassroots Party
Activists 2001 Project, with the 1991 SGPA
data used to examine change over time. The
analysis finds that Republican activists are
more purist than Democratic activists, but
that the difference between the two groups of
activists has diminished over the past
decade, as Republicans became somewhat less
purist and Democrats somewhat more purist.
Among Republican activists, stronger purist
orientations are more prevalent among strong
conservatives, especially those who are
supporters of the Christian Right. Among
Democrats, purism is only weakly linked to
ideology. For both groups of activists, more
purist orientations are associated with lower
levels of party organizational activity and
involvement.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: A number of studies characterize and compare attitudes of social movement activists versus non-activists. Despite this attention, few have characterized alternative food system activists let alone compared them with non-activists. Utilizing data from two mail surveys this paper seeks to fill this gap. A motivated consumer group active in food system issues in Central Ohio is compared to a general population motivated group not collectively engaged in food system issues, but nevertheless highly supportive of local and organic foods. Results suggest significant socioeconomic and attitudinal differences. The findings have implications for theorizing food system activism and contribute to the growing interest in food system politics

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: This paper discusses the inclusion of feminist movements -- and by implication all social movements -- inside the State. It makes two major arguments. First, that exclusion from the State is a continuous variable with many social movement actors having penetrated the State to some degree. We then argue that social movements’ inclusion is a function of characteristics of the State, particularly the partisan control of the bureaucracy and mechanisms for building the civil service, and characteristics of movements, particularly ideology and their partisan allies. We examine these arguments by examining three cases of feminist activism inside the State: the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The U.S. and Germany have similar bureaucratic characteristics in terms of recruitment and partisan control but differ dramatically in the nature of the feminist movement. The women’s movements of Germany and the United Kingdom share many characteristics but the pathways into the bureaucracy differ dramatically. We find that feminist insider participation through women’s policy agencies is affected by partisan control and the organization of the bureaucracy (e.g. location of the women’s policy agency). The participation of individual feminist insiders also appears affected by norms of partisan control and by the ideology of the women’s movement.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper profiles and analyzes participation and demographic and biographical characteristics of interns in the AFL-CIO sponsored Union Summer labor activist and education program. The quantitative analysis has two primary functions: first to provide an overview of the demographic composition of the program and the educational and union affiliations of interns, and second to investigate what variables correlate with commitment, success, or subsequent levels of participation. This research demonstrates the way in which social scientific analyses of social movement activity can aid activists in determining larger movement patterns and the consequences of their strategic choices.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This paper asks how organizations for girls construct the relationship between girls and the public sphere. Drawing upon document research and two intensive case studies, one at a Girl Scout camp and the other at a community based organization, I argue that there are two primary types of girls’ organization: normative and transformative. Normative organizations, such as the Girl Scouts, rely upon a psychological understanding of the problems facing girls and avoid issues of race and class differences amongst girls. They imagine the public as a space of threat that girls must be protected from and full of barriers that girls must learn to overcome. When they do involve girls in their communities, it is only in the form of service. Transformative organizations engage girls in a more sociological analysis of the conditions of their lives, including analyses of the intersections of race, class and gender. They also believe that girls can and should have public authority and voice and encourage girls’ involvement in a wide range of social change projects and political activities. Given growing social concern with youth civic engagement, this paper highlights these two models divergent implications for girls’ public and political identities.