Theorizing Meaning Construction in Social Movements: Symbolic Structures and Interpretation during the Irish Land War, 1879–1882

Abstract

Though the process of meaning construction is widely recognized to be a crucial factor in the mobilization, unfolding, and outcomes of social movements, the conditions and mechanisms that allow meaning construction and cultural transformation are often misconceptualized and0or underanalyzed. Following a "tool kit" perspective on culture, dominant social movement theory locates meaning only as it is embodied in concrete social practices. Meaning construction from this perspective is a matter of manipulating static symbols and meaning to achieve goals. I argue instead that meaning is located in the structure of culture, and that the condition and mechanism of meaning construction and transformation are, respectively, the metaphoric nature of symbolic systems, and individual and collective interpretation of those systems in the face of concrete events. This theory is demonstrated by analyzing, through textual anlaysis, meaning construction during the Irish Land War, 1879-1882, showing how diverse social groups constructed new and emergent symbolic meanings and how transformed collective understandings contributed to specific, yet unpredictable, political action and movement outcomes. The theoretical model and empirical case demonstrates that social movement analysis must examine the metaphoric logic of symbolic systems and the interpretive process by which people construct meaning in order to fully explain the role of culture in social movements, the agency of movement participants, and the contingency of the course and outcomes of social movements.

Keywords and Cultural Change: Frame Analysis of Business Model Public Talk, 1975–2000

“…The primary task of cultural analysis should be "to identify recurring features, distinctions, and underlying patterns which give form and substance to culture" (Wuthnow et al, 1984:255; see also Ghaziani, 2004). Meaning-or the sense people make of the world or some aspect of it-is established from the relationship among these patterns (e.g., Alexander, 1990;Barthes, 1964;Benedict, 1934;Bourdieu, 1984;Kane, 1997;Lévi-Strauss, 1963;Sahlins, 1976). Given this, we turn to data for how keyword meanings spread over time and across communities.…”

Interpretação e ação coletiva: o “enquadramento interpretativo” no estudo de movimentos sociais

“…Primeiramente, aponta-se que ao enfatizar a agência dos empreendedores de movimentos, essa abordagem tende a secundarizar (ou, no limite, desconsiderar) capacidade reflexiva de seus interlocutores, como os potenciais aderentes com os quais os empreendedores interagem (Benford 1997;Kane 1997;). …”

“…Kane (1997) defende a importância de analisar os "sistemas simbólicos", que oferecem os modelos culturais a partir dos quais os indivíduos e organizações envolvidos nos processos de mobilização dão sentido às situações e definem suas ações. Fiss e Hirsch (2005) destacam a importância do conceito de "campo discursivo" -definido por Wuthnow (1983, p.13) como o espaço simbólico que "proporciona as categorias fundamentais a partir das quais o pensamento pode ocorrer" -para analisar as possibilidades de enquadramento interpretativo por parte dos indivíduos e organizações em um dado contexto.…”

Identidad, organización y estrategia en dos movimientos que pugnan por la soberanía alimentaria en México

“…También implica la valoración y separación de "otros", y el posicionamiento de estas características en las relaciones intergrupales (Lehman, 1967: 105-107). La identidad permite crear marcos de significado para entender y problematizar la realidad (Kane, 1997;Freeman, 1999). Estos marcos constituyen esquemas de interpretación que facilitan localizar, percibir, identificar y etiquetar situaciones; sirven para organizar la experiencia y orientar la acción, individual y colectiva, al dotar de sentido los acontecimientos (Snow y Benford, 1988: 201).…”